Left for Dead on Everest: The Miraculous Survival of Lincoln Hall

After hours of attempting to move him, the Sherpas made an impossible decision. They reported to their expedition leader that Lincoln had stopped breathing. Believing he was dead, they were forced to leave his body behind in order to save their own lives.

News of his death spread quickly. Back home in Australia, Lincoln’s family received the heartbreaking message that he had died near the summit of Everest. They mourned him deeply, unable to imagine the horror of his final moments. But they had no idea that the story was far from over.

Meanwhile, high on the ridge, Lincoln Hall was not dead. Somehow, in the freezing mountain darkness, he regained consciousness. He woke alone, confused, and sitting in a thin fleece jacket with no gloves, no hat, no goggles, and no oxygen. His gear had been removed by those who believed he had perished. He was perched on a narrow ridge with an 8,000-foot cliff just inches away.

The temperature that night dropped far below freezing. Winds roared across the slopes. Under normal circumstances, any climber exposed like this would die within minutes. Yet Lincoln Hall survived the night — a fact that doctors and climbers still struggle to fully explain.Continue reading…