It has been a few years since I ‘bounced off’ the rocky mountain, but I decided to refresh the details of my accident on this blog. The tragic events took place on the infamous route called Orla Perc in the Tatra mountains.
The reason for bringing this up is simple: to warn other mountaineers, hikers, and tourists to be observant and vigilant before setting off to the higher parts of the Tatras, especially in winter.
This is a short excerpt from my recording, which I made shortly after I fell off the Rocky Mountains while traversing back to the Tatras Mountains. I had survived the fall not only because it was winter and most of my bouncy ride down was on half-frozen snow but also because of my, as it turned out, strong mental state during that trek. This mountain area has had a history of quite a few fatalities in recent years. In a nutshell: my whole life flashed within ‘seconds’. I was trying to grasp air and protect my head. That’s all you can do if you manage not to panic as a self-preservation instinct kicks in. The rest is gravity. The real pain comes later if you don’t lose consciousness, of course. I was 30ft down and I landed on my back. I “surveyed” my body for possible fractures, torn muscles, ligaments and tendons. Nothing, except mauled face and a pain in my rib cage…. or what I thought. What happened was, when adrenaline fades down you start to feel the REAL consequences of the fall. Internal organs are violently shaken, ribs cracked, concussion, wrist disabled, hypothermia. It was remote area and I knew if I’d stayed I would not have made it till next day. I crawled slowly back down to the next passage in the hope of finding mountaineers. For one mile I was slowly moving on my bottom and feet, struggling to breathe, getting disoriented by every minute. The physical pain was becoming unbearable but mentally was keeping strong and my fight to survive was evident. Inch by inch, breath by breath. Stop. Look around and again. I could not shout, I was too exhausted. By the time I was found I had lost some blood, the body temperature dropped, I lost sensation in my legs and hands, going snow blind and into a coma. Luckily, soon enough I was airlifted to hospital and ….become doctors’ wonder. I had been thoroughly examined and later discharged on my request. Part of my nose was shattered and my whole body was covered in bruises for weeks. I returned to the same spot recently to recover from fear of mountains. I made it this time.
Frog on the border 