India, July 1 -- The mountains ahead of Tawang teach a strong sense of humility. Their beauty, serene under a thick shroud of snow, can turn treacherous in an instant, isolating you from the world in a heartbeat.

Serving as a young medical officer in a vulnerable detachment perched 9,000 feet above sea level-the ADS (advanced dressing station) in military terms-I tasted that isolation daily. It was 1987. Winter had descended like a sentient force. Merciless snowfall erased roads, grounded helicopters and made evacuating the seriously sick and injured an impossible task.

One night, in heavy snowfall, a young soldier was brought in from a remote post. He had been unwell for days. His face looked pale, his uniform hung loose from his frame...