“They were poking his eyes with their fingers and he wouldn’t move”, in the “death zone”, at minus 20 or 30 degrees. “He looked like a 3-year-old child.” Unbelievable rescue of Australian mountaineer fhi 20 years ago.
In 2006, an ascent of Mount Everest dramatically exposed the limits of the human body and the extreme decisions it takes as never before. “death zone” imposes.
The Australian Lincoln Halla climber, was 50 years old when he was pronounced dead at around 8,500 meters above sea level and abandoned on a narrow ridge, without supplementary oxygen and with part of his equipment allegedly removed by other members of the expedition. But hours later, Hall was found alive by another team that was climbing the mountain and ended up being rescued.
In the “death zone”, the thin air makes prolonged acclimatization impossible and where hypothermia, cerebral edema and exhaustion can quickly lead to death. death.
On May 26, 2006, Hall’s family was informed that the climber had died. His team tried to revive him for hours, without success, before declaring him dead and continuing on their way. In the process of trying to revive him, his gloves, hat and thermal suit were removed from his body.. Once it was “dead”, there was no justification for wearing it again. And Hall was abandoned like that, and without an oxygen bottle. But the next morning, the story took a twist 180 degrees.
And Mazurthen 45 years old, recalled the day he found Hall abandoned on Everest a few months ago, speaking to the magazine . He was climbing the highest mountain on Earth accompanied by a guide and two other climbers when he came face to face with the Australian adventurer, sitting on top of a ridge with a drop of around 2,400 meters on one side. He was shocked.
“We found him suddenly. He was sitting on top of a ridge, with a cliff on one side that had a drop of about 2400 meters. His arms were hanging out of his feather overalls, wearing only a thin woolen blouse. He had no hat, gloves or goggles. There was no oxygen. He had no equipment and he was just sitting, mouth open”, recalls Mazur.
The Australian’s condition indicated severe and probable hypothermia neurological impairment due to lack of oxygen. Mazur tried to dress him and make him close his coat, but Hall, most likely in a state of delirium, continued to remove the pieces.
The mountaineer’s hands showed signs of severe frostbite. The team tied him to a snow stake to prevent him from falling, and dealt with the climber’s mental confusion, who appeared to be hallucinating and spoke as if he were on a boat.
“He was ‘dead,'” recalls Mazur, “so the people who were with him apparently took all his things. He had three Sherpas, and I heard that they They were poking his eyes with their fingers and he wasn’t moving. They thought he was dead. Maybe he was almost dead. Some people told me afterwards that they did everything they could. Anyway, he said, ‘You must be surprised to see me here.’ I said, ‘Yeah, buddy, I’m really surprised to see you.’”
“His fingers looked like candles. Half frozen. Completely waxy, yellow”, continues the well-known philanthropist who had already, in 1991, rescued the Russian Roman Giutashvili on the same giant mountain.
“There were some -20 or -30 degrees. But there was no wind. I said, ‘Hold out your hand, man. Is that your glove? Let’s put on that glove. Okay, where’s your hat? Let’s put on the hat. Zip your coat.’ He looked like a 3 year old“, said Mazur.
The rescue team improvised care with what they had: they gave him water, energy bars and oxygen from a spare bottle.
As Hall regained some lucidity and mobility, they were able to identify which expedition he belonged to through a logo on his jacket and contacted base camp. Hall would eventually descend and receive medical treatment, recovering despite suffering frostbite and brain swelling associated with the altitude.
Little is known about the rest of Hall’s life, but according to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian even lost the tips of his fingers and a toe due to frostbite. However, there is no record of permanent neurological consequences: after the episode, he wrote books (Dead Lucky: Life after death on Mount Everest) and maintained work associated with the Himalayan community (including the Australian Himalayan Foundation).
Hall would, in fact, die in 2012, victim of mesothelioma (a cancer often associated with asbestos exposure).
Jamie McGuinness/Project-Himalaya
