25 April 2015 will remain in my mind forever. I thought it was the end for me, my pregnant wife, Pauline, and our two-year-old daughter, Margaux. It started well that Saturday morning in Langtang. It was Pauline’s birthday and we were together with our little family, waiting for the fourth one to come.

My friend Colin and I put on our cross-country skis and left the lodge owned by my Nepali friend, Gyalbu. We crossed Kyangjin Gompa village (3860m) and went down the bridge leading to Ganja La on the other side.

The weather wasn’t that great, the snow hadn’t frozen enough, and I hadn’t slept well. So we went back to our rooms. Around 11.30AM, Margaux proudly gave her mum a bracelet we had bought together in the village. She’s only two and we were at 3800m: I’m proud of my daughter.

A few minutes later, Colin joined us in the main room of the lodge. It was great to start an expedition in Nepal in such a serene atmosphere: with a friend and my family all welcomed into Gyalbu’s lodge.

Just before noon, the ground started shaking. We had enough time to understand that it was an earthquake. “Everybody out!” I grabbed Margaux and rushed outside. The quake became stronger, and we jumped over the terrace to get away from everything that could crumble upon us.

Stones were falling from the walls and we wondered which building was going to collapse first. All the villagers were out, there was a terrible commotion. As the shaking stopped, we heard a loud scream. A monstrous snow cloud burst out of the fog from above the moraine. We were already sprinting in the opposite direction.

I looked back, the avalanche was already upon us. We couldn’t race it. I took shelter behind a house and protected my daughter. Dirty snow was falling on us, my daughter started to cry. The walls were not able to resist the shockwave. I put my polar fleece over Margaux’s head so she wouldn‘t choke in the blowing snow. I was wondering where Pauline and Colin were.

I have seen avalanches before but nothing as big and powerful as this one.

The snow stopped blowing, I have seen avalanches before but nothing as big and powerful as this one. Margaux had ‘snow dreadlocks‘ in her hair. I got rid of the snow so she wouldn‘t get sick. Pauline came out of the crowd, she was safe but she was covered in snow.

I wanted to take Pauline and Margaux to a safe area so they would be protected from another avalanche. There was still mist all around us. We were away from the cliffs below Langtang Lirung, and I hoped Kyangjin Ri should have protected us, but it was hard to tell where it would be the safest.

Colin was still missing, and I went to look for him leaving Pauline and Margaux sheltered under a makeshift tent, made of plank, tarpaulins and bed covers from a devastated hotel.

Colin had apparently ran towards the slope below the village. I reached the edge of the slope but the fog prevented me from seeing below. I think I called out for Colin.

I found Nepalis helping each other climb up the slope. There was one with a bleeding head due to a scalp wound. Another one was lying with his body contorted and head down, no one was helping him. He was unconscious, and moaning when I tried to wake him up, he seemed to be in pain. Then I saw Colin slowly walking towards us, painfully climbing up the slope.

The village was not there anymore. Half of the houses had disappeared.

We carried the wounded back to the village. I couldn‘t believe what was happening, It took a few minutes to turn a joyous day into pure terror. We reached the ledge overlooking Langtang Village, and couldn’t believe our eyes. The village was not there anymore. Half of the houses had disappeared.

The ground was still shaking, and we were worried that there would be another avalanche. What if it happened at night? We wouldn‘t be able to see anything. The aftershocks came through the night, but no avalanche.

This lasted three days but it seemed like eternity. We left, but many of our Nepali friends are still there. There were more landslides and avalanches, and the Tuesday aftershock must have made it worse.

While waiting for rescuers we learnt that Langtang Village, only two hours on foot from Kyanjin, had been wiped off the map. All those living in Kyanjin are originally from Langtang, many of their families were perished.

After travelling for 24 hours, we found ourselves safe and sound in our own house in France. The memories make it hard to sleep. Our only wish is to try to help the people of Nepal the best we can.

Aymeric Clouet

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