Here's some "Humanity"...right here!!

A rare find in the World today; this is some selflessness, bravery and pure HUMANITY right here!!

Truly stunning...love of an unknown fellow man. Might even get some dust in your eye over this one!!



Enjoy...life!

ETA - To those who may bark about no thorough description (of the video in the OP), here you go: Several Sherpa climbers near the Summit on Everest found two climbers unconscious at the South Col (just below the Hillary Step) at 28,379 feet (about 240' below the summit). The two incapacitated climbers were a Pakistani (in yellow) and his Sherpa guide (the one in blue being lowered). The climbers, turned rescuers, stopped their climb and rescued the two fallen climbers who actually survived thanks to their efforts. Most expeditions would have left these climbers for dead at this altitude.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


Never give up.

Great thread

There are always heroes and hope. Great thread!

super cool.....

but also a bit disturbing with the statement that most expeditions would just leave them for dead, holy cow

originally posted by: ManBehindTheMask
super cool.....

but also a bit disturbing with the statement that most expeditions would just leave them for dead, holy cow

They were 2,380 vertical feet above the line generally accepted as the "Death Zone" (26,000ft / 8000m). The amount of oxygen at this altitude is not sufficient to support human life. Once you cross over this line you are dying, and the human body will continue to die until it crosses back over this line on the way back down. To get trapped, for whatever reason, in the Death Zone is a one-way ticket to a dirt nap...100% of the time. The amount of energy it takes just to put one foot in front of another in this region is staggering. To expend the energy and oxygen to rescue another climber at this altitude makes this feat all the more rare and spectacular.

The human body cannot acclimatize above this line, so while these climbers were Sherpas, they were still humans.

And yes, the level of selfishness at these altitudes is stunning. This selfishness is primarily out of self-preservation and the will to live. The amount of oxygen saturation of the blood at these altitudes is often as low as 60% (55% is generally accepted as the level where a person will lose consciousness). So mental function is impaired (minimally).

In any case, an amazing story.

To see what it's really like on these mountains, here is a well done video which really illustrates the level of effort required. No music (thankfully), just the sounds of the raw determination it takes (not to mention skill). This video is not of an Everest expedition, but K2, the 2nd highest peak in the World (and arguably far more difficult than Everest). It's a fairly long video (33 minutes), but it's definitely worth a watch and it really captures the level of exposure of the climbers.

You will notice in many sections it is so steep the climber cannot tilt his head down to look down without hitting his head on the wall in front of him, he has to turn his head sideways to look down. This one is just CRAZY!



No rescue here, just an incredible climb straight to the summit. However, one climber from another expedition does fall to his death and parts of it are caught on video by this climber.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Thank you for the video description! 😊. I am one of those "barkers" about not having a video description. T&C's man....

I agree with ManBehind..that your comment about most people there would leave them for dead is disturbing. I also understand your explanation about WHY folks just walk on by. I wonder if those that walk on by suffer any mental or emotional consequences after they are down the mountain. Do they regret it? Do they think "If I climb again and see someone unconscious, next time I won't leave them there?" Or do they think "I won't make that climb again, because how messed up is that?"

I also wonder about those that die up there. As they are losing consciousness and know they are dying, I wonder how many of them think "I'm gonna die up here but it was worth it." Or are they thinking "What the hell did I just do? I'm dying because I wanted to say I made it to the top of a mountain?!"

I get it, needing to accomplish an almost unattainable goal. But I do wonder how many of those dying there would do it again if they knew the outcome.

a reply to: KansasGirl

Well, in the OP video it's not really clear whether the climbers were climbing, or descending. Most deaths on the big 8000m mountains happen on descent. I got into alpine climbing for a while when I was much younger so I can readily understand why. You're so focused on getting to the top it's like the only thing you can think about. Once you summit there is this overwhelming sense of accomplishment and relief. It's extremely easy to let your guard down and relax thinking it's all 'downhill' from there (literally and metaphorically). The descent is actually more dangerous than the ascent; you're physically and mentally spent, but now you've got gravity on your side, not working against you. You're moving in the direction gravity wants to take you, and it's easy to stumble, slip or fall. Even the most minor slip in those places can send a person off a 4,000 foot cliff (because you have cliffs on all sides of you).

So, to your question of "what are they thinking?". The climbers are right on the razor's edge of complete exhaustion, they've accomplished what they've come there to do, and it's pretty easy to just give up. In your oxygen depleted mind, you've been so focused on a goal for so long and through so much agony and exertion...you just don't care anymore. The only thing you want to do is rest. So you fall into this trap thinking it's okay to do just that, rest. And, this is the exact opposite thing you should do!

In the OP video, I suspect this is what happened to the Pakistani climber, he just gave up and decided to rest until he ran out of 02, after which point he would just die. The Sherpa probably succumbed to exposure trying to help him. I'm not sure it matters whether they were going up or down at that point.

That's my take.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

So they probably aren't even thinking that they are about to die, it sounds like you're saying.

a reply to: KansasGirl

Likely correct. The lines between life and death are so blurred by that point people start thinking they've already died, now all they want to do is rest. Crazy, I know, but that's how extreme it is. As hypothermia sets in victims will often become euphoric to the point they don't even understand the consequences of their actions. You can see evidence of this with the fallen Sherpa climber, both of his gloves are off and his hands are likely frozen solid. Your mental state is so depleted you just stop caring about things, or understanding what they mean.