The news from Mount Everest this past week has been literally chilling. It’s the deadliest climbing season since the notorious spring of 1996, chronicled by Jon Krakauer’s film "Into Thin Air: Death on Everest" — as many as 15 people may have died so far this year, many in especially tragic circumstances, and several others are missing. For Jonathan Chester, a photographer and adventurer who is part of the team for our upcoming "In Search of Australia Extreme" expedition, these stories have struck particularly close to home. He files this report.
"Bad News," read the e-mail subject heading. "I just heard that Lincoln Hall has died on Everest," wrote an Australian friend on May 26 at 4 a.m.
This was worse than bad. Just a week ago, I had met with Lincoln’s wife and two teenage sons Dillon and Dorjay in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales while on assignment for Richard Bangs Adventures.
Lincoln and I had been part of the Australian climbing team that had made the first ascent of Mount Minto in Antarctica in 1987-88 nearly 20 years ago. We had then collaborated on the subsequent book "The Loneliest Mountain," the story the Australian Bicentennial Antarctic Expedition. We had kept in touch over the years and we would catch up when ever we were both back in Australia.
He was descending from the summit of Mount Everest, having achieved a goal that had eluded him on his previous Everest encounter back in 1984. A writer, magazine editor and mountain guide, 50-year-old Lincoln had taken the job of guiding 15-year-old Chris Harris and his father Richard on Everest; Chris was attempting to become the youngest person to climb Mount Everest as part of his "Seven Summits" bid. Lincoln, Chris and Richard Harris, and filmmaker Mike Dillon signed onto the "7 Summits Club" commercial expedition led by Alexander Abramov of Russia that was tackling Everest by the North Col route from Tibet.
Chris and Richard Harris abandoned their summit bids because of altitude sickness, but, feeling fit, Lincoln had gone on and reached the 8850-meter (29,035 feet) summit at about 9 a.m. on May 25. After some celebratory radio calls, he and the two Sherpas accompanying him headed back down. Not long afterward Lincoln was hit by cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) and became disoriented, ataxic and at 8800 meters (28,870 feet) collapsed. For almost 9 hours the Sherpas tried to help and lowered him down over very technical sections of the mountain. But under the influence of extreme altitude sickness, Lincoln became delusional and obstructive and they determined at 70 p.m. that they could not help him further.
With night coming on, expedition leader Abramov ordered the Sherpas to abandon him and save themselves, so they returned to the camp at 8300 meters suffering snow blindness. Abramov issued the news that Lincoln Hall had perished, and the report hit the wires across Australia soon after.
At 7 a.m. the next morning, American guide Dan Mazur was climbing towards the summit with some clients when they came across Hall who, though inert, showed weak signs of life. One report on EverestNews.com claimed Lincoln was sitting with his legs dangling over the face of the mountain half undressed and without a hat. They report his first words were, "I imagine you are surprised to see me here."
Mazur administered tea and radioed down to base camp. Immediately 13 Sherpas camped at the North Col (7000 meters) began climbing back up to rescue Lincoln, under the direction of Abramov. By 11 a.m., three Sherpas with medicine, oxygen and tea reached Lincoln at the Second Step (8600 meters) and with the help of Mazur and team they began to move him down on a stretcher.
The news that he was still alive was quickly transmitted to news services by "Project Himalaya," one of the other teams in Base Camp on the North side. They misreported that Mazur had gone onto the summit. This added fuel to the controversy that had erupted the week before when it was revealed that about 40 climbers on their way to the summit had passed by a British climber in a similar predicament, David Sharp, who eventually died. This had become a damming story for Everest climbers in the press.
Sirdar Mingma Gelu and more Sherpas arrived, and brought Hall to the North Col Camp at 7000 meters where he was treated by Russian Doctor Andrey Selivanov for "acute psychosis" and given oxygen while sleeping. So rapid is the recovery from edema after descending, Lincoln walked the last 500 meters into camp unaided. A further day-long decent brought him back down to Advanced Base Camp (ABC) and much thicker air — the best medicine for altitude problems.
From ABC, Lincoln was able to speak to his wife Barbara by phone. He told her that he has bad frostbite in his fingers, and Barbara answered that she would love him all the same even if he lost them all.
Project Himalaya guide and friend, Jamie McGuinness, says Hall still has a long way to go in his recovery. "There is a jeep for him and he should be back in Katmandu, if he is very lucky, today if not tomorrow, and back to the thick air."
It has been another very tragic season on Everest. As of this writing 10 deaths have been confirmed and possibly another 4 or 5 climbers have died as well. Abramov blames the good weather for the deaths, according to an online report.
"In season of 2006 on Everest the record amount of climbers, under our information — 15 persons [were] lost. Strangely enough, the reason for it [was] extremely good, windless weather. This unnatural weather for Everest proceeded from May, 10 till May, 25. This weather has allowed a plenty of climbers to reach the summit. In more severe conditions, they, probably, would stop [climbing] at lower heights."
All that can be said is that Lincoln Hall is one very lucky person to have survived cerebral edema and a night out on Everest in the death zone (above 8000 meters). His friends rejoice and thank the teams and Sherpas who risked their lives, their summit bids and dreams to save him from certain death.
—Jonathan Chester is an adventure photojournalist and the author of 13 books, his most recent being Extreme Digital Photography.
Other links for this story:
