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

Continuing to the top would mean leaving Lincoln to die. Helping him would mean turning back and abandoning their once-in-a-lifetime chance at the summit.

Mazur later said the decision was immediate. For his team — Myles Osborne, Andrew Brash, and Jangbu Sherpa — there was no debate. They had found a living human being in desperate need, and they knew what they had to do.

They gave Lincoln oxygen, water, food, and warm clothing. They wrapped him in gear to protect him from the cold. They radioed for help, though they knew rescue at this altitude was nearly impossible. Still, they refused to leave him.

Hours passed as they tended to him on the exposed ridge. The wind battered them. The cold seeped into their bones. But they stayed. They kept him alive until rescue Sherpas could climb up from below.

Finally, after an exhausting operation, Lincoln Hall was lowered from the ridge and descended to the North Col. From there, he was taken to Advanced Base Camp, where medical staff began treating him for frostbite, dehydration, and the brain swelling that had nearly killed him.

Miraculously, he survived.

The climbing world erupted with shock. Stories of climbers left behind on Everest are not uncommon — but stories of climbers coming back from the dead are almost unheard of. Lincoln’s survival was called “the resurrection on Everest,” and it quickly became global news.Continue reading…