Here you are again, entering the death zone of Everest for the second time in your life.
And it’s not just called the death zone to sound cool and attract more tourists – the
region 8,000 meters above the ground earned its ominous name because of the high altitude
and thin oxygen.
95% of climbers require extra oxygen here and many have died.
But that doesn’t faze you – you’re so close to the peak now that you can almost
see the spectacular view in front of you and the sense of relief in your chest.
Focused on your ever-closer end goal, you take a look at the peaks below.
And that’s when you see the last thing you expected: a yellow blur to your left.
What on earth could that be?
You’ve not been in the death zone long, surely you can’t be hallucinating already?
And then you see it again.
You shout at the group to stop for a while so you can take a better look.
The others look towards what you’re staring at and notice it too.
So, it must be real.
But there aren’t exactly many bright yellow things near the top of Everest – what could
it be?
Did someone drop their jacket?
Did some scandalous, littering climber leave some trash behind?
Surely it couldn’t be a person…
You’d woken up early that morning with a sense of anticipation, knowing it would be
the day you’d finally reach the summit.
After years of training and preparation, plus an eye-watering cost of $20,000 to get here,
today was finally the day.
It wouldn’t be your first time reaching the peak – you’re not some kind of noob
– but still, it was exciting.
So, you set off feeling about as cheerful as a person who is about to enter a region
with life-threateningly low oxygen levels can be, knowing you’d reach the peak within
a few hours.
But you’d not been climbing for long before you caught sight of the mysterious flash of
yellow.
And it wasn’t a piece of garbage or even an old jacket.
It was a human.
And he seemed to be alive too.
It might not sound like a huge deal to run into a person, even on Everest, but this guy
was clearly out of his mind.
He was sitting cross-legged on a tiny precipice with a huge precipice beneath him, flinching
and swaying.
And it seemed like he was trying to take his jacket off.
This was a man who was probably hallucinating and suffering from frostbite and who knows
what else.
You wondered how long he’d been here and how long he had left.
As you glanced back at your group, you realized that everyone was thinking the same thing.
Yes, everyone looked concerned and worried about a man who may be on the verge of death.
But there was also a sense of disappointment in the air.
Why did this have to happen now, so close to the top?
Instantly, you realized you were about to face an important and unenviable choice.
Look after this man, or reach the peak of Everest.
There was no way you could do both – it’s too dangerous to stay in the parts of Everest
with the greatest altitude and the least oxygen.
If you were to stay with the man long enough to guide him to safety, you’d have no chance
of reaching the peak of Everest.
Years of training and thousands of dollars down the drain, just like that – and maybe
you’d never get this opportunity again.
Selfish as it sounds, it was hard not to be slightly resentful at the situation.
But first, you needed to take a better look at the guy and see what condition he was in.
So, you began the descent to where he was perilously perched on the precipice.
By the time you arrived, he’d taken off his coat and was trying to strip down further.
Quickly, one of your companions grabbed him so he couldn’t remove more clothing, and
together you made sure he put his coat back on.
Even with a coat, it was hard to survive here for long.
You’re an experienced climber.
You know what hypothermia looks like.
And boy, was this man ticking all the boxes.
It wasn’t just him wanting to take off his coat – it was the way he was resisting your
attempts to stop him like an angry child.
You’d seen it before, and this wouldn’t be the last time.
As you first approached, he turned and said to you: “I imagine you’re surprised to
see me here.”
His words took you by surprise – maybe he had his wits about him more than you’d expected.
But these were just about the only droplets of sanity you’d get out of him.
It soon became apparent that he had no idea how he’d got here or where he even was.
However, he could tell you his name.
Lincoln Hall.
So it wasn’t all bad.
Instead of realizing he was in the danger zone of Everest and sitting next to a dangerous
drop, Lincoln seemed to think he was… on a boat.
He made some comment about what a great boat ride you were all on and got up, raising his
arms as if he was about to launch himself off the boat and jump into the water.
You and your companions jumped into action and managed to restrain him.
Luckily, that wasn’t too difficult considering Lincoln was so weak.
You decided to keep him restrained on the ground.
But who was Lincoln Hall?
And how had a man who believed he was on a boat and wanted to take his coat off in freezing
temperatures survived so long?
So many questions…
You rummaged through his coat pockets and bag, hoping to find some further clues about
his identity or maybe some supplies.
You found he belonged to the popular 7 Summits climbing group, but there were no supplies
at all.
He was here with zero oxygen and no food.
Had someone abandoned him and taken all his stuff?
Had another climber seen him alone and taken advantage by robbing him?
Both of the possibilities seemed pretty bleak.
It would have been nice to have had some extra oxygen up here, but you’d have to make do.
You shared some of your own oxygen with Lincoln and some snacks, which he ate under your careful
supervision.
Meanwhile, you tried to figure out what you’d do next.
The whole group agreed you needed to call for help so he could descend to safety as
soon as possible.
The question was: would you stay with him or still try to make it to the top?
You gave the leader of the 7 Summits group a ring and were relieved to hear someone answer.
You couldn’t help but feel angry toward the group.
Chances were, the very people Lincoln had relied on to keep him safe had betrayed him
and left him to die.
Who would do that?
You can hear the shock in the voice of the man who answers the phone when you tell him
that Lincoln Hall is, in fact, alive.
He explains that Lincoln’s group had declared him dead yesterday and been forced to abandon
him.
Last night – that meant Lincoln had survived in Everest overnight with no oxygen, despite
being severely ill.
It was insane and completely unheard of.
But the man tells you he’ll send some Sherpas up to where you are to help carry Lincoln
to safety and bring more essential supplies.
You thank him.
The Sherpas are an ethnic group native to the Himalayas, many of whom guide climbers
due to their amazing capacity to withstand the coldest temperatures and their strength
to carry essential goods.
If anyone can come to this guy’s rescue, it’s probably them.
Before hanging up, the man whispers to you that the job of the Sherpas is to guide climbers,
not to die for them.
You don’t reply.
Maybe that was true.
But what about all the other climbers?
Surely you can’t have been the first person to come across Lincoln over such a large time
span?
Is this what climbing Everest has come to now?
Finally, it was time for your group to make a big decision.
You could leave Lincoln here, alone, and hope that the Sherpas would come and safely take
him back to camp, while you made it to the peak of Everest like you’d dreamed you would.
Or, you could wait here with Lincoln and ensure he stayed alive.
Besides, what if the Sherpas didn’t even come…?
You desperately wanted to make it to the top again.
There’s no feeling quite like it.
And you wanted those in your group who’d never even known that feeling yet to experience
it for the first time.
Yet you also knew the taste would be bittersweet knowing the sacrifice that had been made to
get there.
And if Lincoln didn’t make it, you’d have to live with that forever.
As you looked at your companions, you only needed to share a few words to reach an agreement.
You were going to stay here with Lincoln.
So, now there was nothing to do but wait here and hope for the best.
You stay mostly in silence, with Lincoln restrained on the ground.
None of you say anything, but you’re sure everyone feels the same way you do.
Mourning what could have been.
You could have been reaching the top of Everest by now.
Making the right decision was easy, but digesting the reality of that decision isn’t.
And it didn’t exactly help to have nothing to do except sit and wait while a man lays
beside you dying.
After a few hours, you hear some voices.
People!
Finally!
Could that be the Sherpas?
Not quite – instead, you see two dark-haired men speaking in what sounds like Italian.
But still, they should be able to help, right?
At first, it seems like they’re trying to avoid eye contact with you.
Surely they can’t have failed to see a relatively large group acting so unusually?
You call up to them and explain you need help, that there’s a man here who is on the verge
of death.
They shout down that they don’t speak English and briskly walk off.
As they disappear, you struggle to process what just happened.
Since when were language skills a prerequisite for carrying a man to safety or offering an
oxygen mask?
Well, bugger it.
There’s nothing for it but to sit here and wait for even longer.
Just as you were about to lose faith in all humanity and suspected the guy on the phone
had been lying to you about helping, a group of Sherpas showed up.
Slowly and gradually, you made the long walk down, taking it in turns to support Lincoln
as he staggered and struggled.
How had this guy survived so long?
It was a journey of mixed emotions, knowing your journey was over prematurely but that
you’d most likely saved someone’s life.
It was an 11-hour trek down to the North Col camp, 7,000 meters above the ground.
Hall was then taken on to the base camp, and you were left to make the journey down in
your own time.
Everyone was safe now, but there were still plenty of questions hanging in the air.
What exactly had happened to Lincoln before you arrived?
And would he make a full recovery from such grotesque damage?
Only time would tell.
A few days later, you reached the base camp and prepared to visit him.
In a bizarre twist of events, you chanced upon none other than the Italian climbers
who had ignored your plea for help the previous day.
And yep, you guessed it, they were speaking English perfectly now.
But on to Lincoln.
The guy wasn’t exactly in perfect health – six of his fingertips had been removed
due to frostbite and he’d also suffered water on the brain – but he was looking
well compared to when you last saw him.
At least he didn’t think he was on a boat ride anymore.
He explained the truth of how he’d ended up alone in the death zone of Everest.
Turned out that Lincoln was an experienced climber and had made it to the peak of Everest
before.
But this time, as he was descending back from the summit with his group, he suddenly started
to feel very ill and weak.
It was a sign of cerebral edema, a type of brain swelling that leads to hallucinations
and fatigue.
He remembered asking his companions if he could lay down at the top of the mountain,
and his group had needed to carry him down.
The Sherpas had tried to revive him, with no luck.
Lincoln only got sicker and sicker, to the point where the Sherpas declared him dead
after he’d shown no signs of life for two hours.
Worried about running out of oxygen and causing more deaths, they opted to leave him for the
greater good of the group.
And before they went, they took all his supplies for their own use, like the oxygen mask and
food.
Nobody was sane enough to have a good idea of what happened after that, but it seems
like Lincoln probably fell asleep then wandered off, gradually getting sicker.
We’ll never truly know how he survived.
He’s not the only one who has survived such a crazy feat.
Another climber, Beck Weathers, was left for dead on Everest but ended up making his own
way back to camp.
For more crazy real-life stories, check out our videos about passengers who survived a
plane crash in the Andes and a soldier who survived falling into an active volcano.