One of the youngest Indians to climb Mount Everest, Arjun Vajpai, returned home safely on Tuesday, over a week after the devastating Nepal earthquake left him stranded on Mount Makalu.
Arjun was rescued from the Hillary Base Camp at about 15,000 feet by a Nepal Army Mi-17 helicopter on Sunday. On Tuesday morning, an Indian Army aircraft got him from Kathmandu to Chandigarh, from where he travelled by road to Noida.
About 60 climbers were on Mt. Makalu, the fifth highest peak in the world, on April 25 when the earthquake struck. All climbers were safe.
On returning home, the 21-year-old mountaineer said: "The way I see mountains now has changed. Makalu is now more than a mountain for me. When you see massive mountains dance and giant chunks of ice fall, you realise how small you really are."
Arjun said he will be returning to Nepal to help with the rehabilitation work there, but for now, sleep is his next mission.
