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.
