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Dead Lucky: Life After Death on Mount Everest
Lincoln Hall's breathtaking account of surviving a night in Everest's "death zone."
Lincoln Hall likes to say that on the evening of May 25, 2006, he died on Everest. Indeed, Hall attempted to climb the mountain during a deadly season in which eleven people perished. And he was, in fact, pronounced dead, after collapsing from altitude sickness. Two Sherpas spent hours trying to revive him, but as darkness fell, word came via radio from the expedition's leader that they should descend in order to save themselves. The news of Hall's death traveled rapidly from mountaineering websites to news media around the world, and ultimately to his family back in Australia. Early the next morning, however, an American guide, climbing with two clients and a Sherpa, was startled to find Hall sitting cross-legged on a sharp crest of the summit ridge.
In this page-turning account of survival against all odds, Hall chronicles in fascinating detail the days and nights that led up to his fateful night in Mount Everest's "death zone." His story is all the more miraculous given his climbing history. Hall had been part of Australia's first attempt to reach the top of Everest in 1984 but had not done any major climbing for many years, having set aside his passion in order to support his family. While others in the team achieved their dream during this 1984 expedition, Hall was forced to turn back due to illness. Thus, his triumph in reaching the summit at the age of fifty is a story unto itself. So, too, is Hall's description of his family's experience back in Australia, as sudden grief turned to relief and joy in a matter of hours. Rarely has there been such a thrilling narrative of one man's encounter with the world's tallest mountain.
Lincoln Hall likes to say that on the evening of May 25, 2006, he died on Everest. Indeed, Hall attempted to climb the mountain during a deadly season in which eleven people perished. And he was, in fact, pronounced dead, after collapsing from altitude sickness. Two Sherpas spent hours trying to revive him, but as darkness fell, word came via radio from the expedition's leader that they should descend in order to save themselves. The news of Hall's death traveled rapidly from mountaineering websites to news media around the world, and ultimately to his family back in Australia. Early the next morning, however, an American guide, climbing with two clients and a Sherpa, was startled to find Hall sitting cross-legged on a sharp crest of the summit ridge.
In this page-turning account of survival against all odds, Hall chronicles in fascinating detail the days and nights that led up to his fateful night in Mount Everest's "death zone." His story is all the more miraculous given his climbing history. Hall had been part of Australia's first attempt to reach the top of Everest in 1984 but had not done any major climbing for many years, having set aside his passion in order to support his family. While others in the team achieved their dream during this 1984 expedition, Hall was forced to turn back due to illness. Thus, his triumph in reaching the summit at the age of fifty is a story unto itself. So, too, is Hall's description of his family's experience back in Australia, as sudden grief turned to relief and joy in a matter of hours. Rarely has there been such a thrilling narrative of one man's encounter with the world's tallest mountain.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
74 people are currently reading
1717 people want to read
About the author
Lincoln Hall
18 books7 followersLincoln Hall is one of Australia's best-known mountaineers, with a climbing career that spans three decades. He is the author of seven books, including the bestseller White Limbo, which chronicled the first Australian ascent of Mount Everest in 1984. Hall, who has worked as a trekking guide and edited adventure magazines, is also a director of the Australian Himalayan Foundation. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1987 for his services to mountaineering.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
September 8, 2008
Lincoln Hall's story is amazingly compelling: falling ill with cerebal edema after beginning his descent from Everest's summit, his team cannot move him and is forced to leave him for dead. The next morning, other climbers find him alive and a rescue is underway. The story is full of drama and great heroes and villains, and Hall's feat defies all common sense and history.
I loved "Into Thin Air" when I read it many years ago, so after purchasing this book for my mom I gave it a read. I liked it far less than Krakaeuer's work, primarily because Hall comes off as highly narcissistic and a know it all. Yes, he's been an expert climber for decades, but so have many of the other members of his team (incluing his rescuers), yet he constantly elevates his own expertise and skills above theirs. I suppose to be an Everest climber you have to have at least some streak of narcissism toput yourself and your family through that experience, but Hall's is especially large and remains irritating throughout the book. I don't mean to belittle what he went through, but his attitude about why he survived and others doesn't exactly add to the reader's sympathy.
All in all, an intriguing read. If you liked "Into Thin Air," you'll enjoy this.
I loved "Into Thin Air" when I read it many years ago, so after purchasing this book for my mom I gave it a read. I liked it far less than Krakaeuer's work, primarily because Hall comes off as highly narcissistic and a know it all. Yes, he's been an expert climber for decades, but so have many of the other members of his team (incluing his rescuers), yet he constantly elevates his own expertise and skills above theirs. I suppose to be an Everest climber you have to have at least some streak of narcissism toput yourself and your family through that experience, but Hall's is especially large and remains irritating throughout the book. I don't mean to belittle what he went through, but his attitude about why he survived and others doesn't exactly add to the reader's sympathy.
All in all, an intriguing read. If you liked "Into Thin Air," you'll enjoy this.
February 15, 2016
This book has left me feeling both informed and absolutely irritated.
The Good: Hall provides a very detailed account of his experience during the 2006 climb of Everest, from start to finish. I appreciated the depth he went into talking about the characteristics of the mountain, Base Camp, subsequent camps, and the processes leading up to the climb itself. He was very descriptive in his thoughts and feelings, which provided a lot of depth and passion to a very interesting subject. The descriptive manner in which he describes the beauty of the mountain was absolutely engaging. In that context, this book is a great read.
The Bad: Hall is, how do I put this nicely.... a raging egomaniac. His narcissism is apparent from the first few pages and just doesn't quit. There are brief respites from it when he gets really into a scenario, but once he snaps out of it, almost every paragraph can be depended upon to contain at least one ego-stroke towards himself. Every time one of these little gems popped up, it was like throwing a screwdriver into a working gear. It just brought everything to an astounding halt. By the end, I was rolling my eyes so hard I was sure they'd just roll right on out of my head. There is truly no end to this man's heightened opinion of himself. He spent an entire chapter talking about the absolute devastation he caused, to people he'd met one or two times no less, upon his "death." The whole thing is laughably ironic, given that he is a self-proclaimed Buddhist. I could go on about this for pages, but you'll find out for yourself soon enough I'm sure.
The Ugly: This is where it really gets insufferable. He went so far as to play the victim the entire time, slandering Sherpas as abusive bullies, talking down to them, belittling other climbers and overall being a complete arrogant ass, all the while so oblivious to his own shortcomings while putting down those on the mountain with giant climbing egos. He takes credit for absolutely everything he can, while spending so little time giving credit to those who truly deserved it. The way he spoke of some people (drawing from his severely hypoxic memories during his descent), namely some Sherpas who can be credited with saving his life, made me physically nauseous. It becomes apparent quite early on that he will throw anyone under the bus if it meant him looking better, and this includes media interviews upon his return.
You would think that after having been so close to death only to survive and thrive, one would be a bit more humble and grateful. Lincoln Hall is not one of these people. While he is a talented writer and brought the picture of Mount Everest to life, it was so, SO hard to get past his over-inflated, undeserved ego on so many occasions. I would have loved this book had it not been for that. Truly disappointing in that regard.
The Good: Hall provides a very detailed account of his experience during the 2006 climb of Everest, from start to finish. I appreciated the depth he went into talking about the characteristics of the mountain, Base Camp, subsequent camps, and the processes leading up to the climb itself. He was very descriptive in his thoughts and feelings, which provided a lot of depth and passion to a very interesting subject. The descriptive manner in which he describes the beauty of the mountain was absolutely engaging. In that context, this book is a great read.
The Bad: Hall is, how do I put this nicely.... a raging egomaniac. His narcissism is apparent from the first few pages and just doesn't quit. There are brief respites from it when he gets really into a scenario, but once he snaps out of it, almost every paragraph can be depended upon to contain at least one ego-stroke towards himself. Every time one of these little gems popped up, it was like throwing a screwdriver into a working gear. It just brought everything to an astounding halt. By the end, I was rolling my eyes so hard I was sure they'd just roll right on out of my head. There is truly no end to this man's heightened opinion of himself. He spent an entire chapter talking about the absolute devastation he caused, to people he'd met one or two times no less, upon his "death." The whole thing is laughably ironic, given that he is a self-proclaimed Buddhist. I could go on about this for pages, but you'll find out for yourself soon enough I'm sure.
The Ugly: This is where it really gets insufferable. He went so far as to play the victim the entire time, slandering Sherpas as abusive bullies, talking down to them, belittling other climbers and overall being a complete arrogant ass, all the while so oblivious to his own shortcomings while putting down those on the mountain with giant climbing egos. He takes credit for absolutely everything he can, while spending so little time giving credit to those who truly deserved it. The way he spoke of some people (drawing from his severely hypoxic memories during his descent), namely some Sherpas who can be credited with saving his life, made me physically nauseous. It becomes apparent quite early on that he will throw anyone under the bus if it meant him looking better, and this includes media interviews upon his return.
You would think that after having been so close to death only to survive and thrive, one would be a bit more humble and grateful. Lincoln Hall is not one of these people. While he is a talented writer and brought the picture of Mount Everest to life, it was so, SO hard to get past his over-inflated, undeserved ego on so many occasions. I would have loved this book had it not been for that. Truly disappointing in that regard.
December 30, 2014
I read this book a while ago, but have always wondered (I'm a Nurse) if he actually died up there (by our usual definitions of death) and the intense cold put his body into some sort of suspended state. He clearly was unconscious for a time...I wonder if his heart might have stopped beating and like the strange occurrances of people, especially children, drowning in ice cold water, his body was able to restart once a fraction more warmth came back to it?
I would love to know more about this aspect of his experience and read and reread the pages of what he remembers thinking and feeling when he was actually trapped over that night.
Hoping to one day run into a Neurologist who might be able to enlighten me on theories about the brain in these extreme situations.
In any case, i loved this book. Absolutely amazing what he went through and after reading several books about mountain climbing and deaths doing it, it was almost a relief to hear a story from someone who has survived and that at the time of his "death" he was quite okay and calm and not actually in a great deal of actual pain. When we hear about bodies left behind, I always get distressed thinking of their suffering, but maybe in those conditions, they don't suffer as much as I've imagined.
I would love to know more about this aspect of his experience and read and reread the pages of what he remembers thinking and feeling when he was actually trapped over that night.
Hoping to one day run into a Neurologist who might be able to enlighten me on theories about the brain in these extreme situations.
In any case, i loved this book. Absolutely amazing what he went through and after reading several books about mountain climbing and deaths doing it, it was almost a relief to hear a story from someone who has survived and that at the time of his "death" he was quite okay and calm and not actually in a great deal of actual pain. When we hear about bodies left behind, I always get distressed thinking of their suffering, but maybe in those conditions, they don't suffer as much as I've imagined.
August 28, 2014
This book was longer than it needed to be, and I guess I like adventure/survival stories better in the 3rd person because I got tired of being in his head (and hearing in great detail about his family and friends) and just wanted to cut to the chase. I was skimming after a while, and when I realize he had been discovered alive and I'd skipped right over it, I figured it was time to stop.
March 1, 2013
An amazing book! I will personally take to heart his comment, "The lesson I learned that night was that as long as you can keep moving, you should do so, because you will never know exactly how much you still have left to give".
November 15, 2009
i feel weird about this book. i liked it...but i didn't like it as much as i wanted to like it. i'd chalk it up to lincoln hall maybe not being a great writer, but the dude has written several other books. not that it matters, plenty of shitty writers churn out book after book & manage to get them published. maybe the problem is that i am not a mountaineer. i sometimes found myself confused by the technical language he used for maneuvers he was performing while climbing mount everest, & it took me out of the story while i tried to understand exactly what he meant. i probably would have enjoyed the story more if i hadn't had to keep stopping to parse out what was going on in that respect.
the story is an interesting one. in 2006, lincoln joined up with an expedition making an attempt on the summit of mount everest. he was hired on as a camerman, to document the expedition because one of climbers was hoping to become the youngest person to reach the summit. things didn't work out for that climber--he had a lot of problems adjusting to the altitude & wisely heeded the guide's recommendation not to attempt the summit. but lincoln was cleared to climb to the summit with a couple of sherpas, & he succeeded. he had been climbing mountains for decades & had come just short of everest's summit in 1983. so he was pleased to finally fulfill his dream, but things deteriorated for him on the descent.
he started suffering the effects of hypoxia, which involve acting irrationally & having hallucinations. his team of sherpas attempted to ferry him down the mountain to safety, but had to give up at mushroom rock, where the terrain requires a climber to be able to think & act for himself. two sherpas stayed with him as long as they could, trying to talk sense into him, but eventually had to abandon him to save themselves. when they left, they saw no signs of life in him & he was declared dead. his family was informed & bulletins went out to mountaineering websites all over the internet. funeral-in-absentia (because it's pretty much impossible to remove a body from that altitude) plans were begun.
but the next morning, three climbers discovered lincoln sitting on a ledge. he'd pulled off part of his jacket in a delusional hallucination, but he was alive & he was able to talk to them. he was still severely hypoxic, slipping in & out of rationality, but they gave him oxygen & water & abandoned their own summit attempt to try to get him safely down the mountain. a team of sherpas joined the effort, & lincoln successfully made it back to safety, minus a few frostbitten fingers & toes. it's a pretty amazing tale of survival. no one else has ever survived overnight at that altitude.
things get a little weird when he starts crediting his survival to his buddhist meditation techniques, but...whatever helps you live, you know? i know i would die the minute i set foot on mount everest, so i'm not going to say anything to take away from this guy's incredible feat of survival. it's a decent yarn...i just found my attention wandering a bit, & because so much of the story happened without any witnesses save for lincoln himself, who was having crazy hallucinations, things are sometimes really hard to follow. two chapters are almost alike, word for word, save for a few clarifications on what was a hallucination & what was real (even though most of the hallucinations are pretty obvious--when he starts talking about being in poland, wrapped in a cloak, you know it's another crazy altitude hallucination).
i guess it's a good read if you are interested in mountain survival stories--especially if you know a lot of mountaineering lingo already.
the story is an interesting one. in 2006, lincoln joined up with an expedition making an attempt on the summit of mount everest. he was hired on as a camerman, to document the expedition because one of climbers was hoping to become the youngest person to reach the summit. things didn't work out for that climber--he had a lot of problems adjusting to the altitude & wisely heeded the guide's recommendation not to attempt the summit. but lincoln was cleared to climb to the summit with a couple of sherpas, & he succeeded. he had been climbing mountains for decades & had come just short of everest's summit in 1983. so he was pleased to finally fulfill his dream, but things deteriorated for him on the descent.
he started suffering the effects of hypoxia, which involve acting irrationally & having hallucinations. his team of sherpas attempted to ferry him down the mountain to safety, but had to give up at mushroom rock, where the terrain requires a climber to be able to think & act for himself. two sherpas stayed with him as long as they could, trying to talk sense into him, but eventually had to abandon him to save themselves. when they left, they saw no signs of life in him & he was declared dead. his family was informed & bulletins went out to mountaineering websites all over the internet. funeral-in-absentia (because it's pretty much impossible to remove a body from that altitude) plans were begun.
but the next morning, three climbers discovered lincoln sitting on a ledge. he'd pulled off part of his jacket in a delusional hallucination, but he was alive & he was able to talk to them. he was still severely hypoxic, slipping in & out of rationality, but they gave him oxygen & water & abandoned their own summit attempt to try to get him safely down the mountain. a team of sherpas joined the effort, & lincoln successfully made it back to safety, minus a few frostbitten fingers & toes. it's a pretty amazing tale of survival. no one else has ever survived overnight at that altitude.
things get a little weird when he starts crediting his survival to his buddhist meditation techniques, but...whatever helps you live, you know? i know i would die the minute i set foot on mount everest, so i'm not going to say anything to take away from this guy's incredible feat of survival. it's a decent yarn...i just found my attention wandering a bit, & because so much of the story happened without any witnesses save for lincoln himself, who was having crazy hallucinations, things are sometimes really hard to follow. two chapters are almost alike, word for word, save for a few clarifications on what was a hallucination & what was real (even though most of the hallucinations are pretty obvious--when he starts talking about being in poland, wrapped in a cloak, you know it's another crazy altitude hallucination).
i guess it's a good read if you are interested in mountain survival stories--especially if you know a lot of mountaineering lingo already.
March 6, 2024
A crazy tale of man vs wild. It's hard to believe anyone could survive a night near the top of Everest and the story of how this guy did it is incredible. There were parts of the book that I didn't really think needed to be included and they slowed things down a bit, but once the author started the final climb, things really picked up.
July 10, 2016
If you're like me, you think these guys are off-the-wall for risking their lives (especially with kids and a spouse at home). If you've ever been frustrated with "becasue its there," if you want a really intimate look inside the mind, both at sea level and the most extreme location on this planet, this is your book.
While his logic and reason are just as deluded and irrational as other extreme mountaineers who find ways to justify their obsessions, the peril at which they place themselves the people around them; the contradictory and transparent attempts at modesty laid over an over-whemling sense of entitlement, attention seeking, and outrageously inflated sense of their own importance Mr. Hall does a better job explaining (or tells a more interesting story about) what happens to his mind in an overnight in the death zone. Just as fascinating as his hallucinations are the conclusions they inspire in retrospect. Its is a bizarre journey into the fantastical consciousness, masochism, and personal legend that exists within the psyche of an extremist at the most extreme location on earth.
The detail puts his psychological morbidity on full display and what results is part train wreck, part fantasy, part dangerous rescue, part personal self aggrandizement/hero-worship and wholly engrossing.
While his logic and reason are just as deluded and irrational as other extreme mountaineers who find ways to justify their obsessions, the peril at which they place themselves the people around them; the contradictory and transparent attempts at modesty laid over an over-whemling sense of entitlement, attention seeking, and outrageously inflated sense of their own importance Mr. Hall does a better job explaining (or tells a more interesting story about) what happens to his mind in an overnight in the death zone. Just as fascinating as his hallucinations are the conclusions they inspire in retrospect. Its is a bizarre journey into the fantastical consciousness, masochism, and personal legend that exists within the psyche of an extremist at the most extreme location on earth.
The detail puts his psychological morbidity on full display and what results is part train wreck, part fantasy, part dangerous rescue, part personal self aggrandizement/hero-worship and wholly engrossing.
January 15, 2009
I really enjoyed this miraculous and inspiring story. It's unbelievable that Lincoln Hall even lived to tell his story. I suppose I found this story so gripping because you would never find me anywhere near Mt. Everest, since my fear of heights generally keeps my feet planted on low ground. I sometimes found myself overwhelmed by the numerous names that Hall drops during his narrative. I couldn't decide which names I needed to remember and who's name I could forget. This ultimately left me feeling a bit confused later in the story as I would have to go back in the book to decide who was who. Also, I sometimes felt like he spent a little too much time on his personal belief system, but I guess you're at liberty to do that when you die on Mt. Everest and then come back from the dead to tell about it. Overall it was an interesting read.
January 1, 2015
I am a fan of this genre of books and I've read a few that relate to the Everest season of 2006 so I've read Lincoln Hall's story from the perspective of others involved. I felt it might be interesting to get the survivor's story from the man himself and I was right! The first third of the book maybe is a fairly day to day account of a climber's life and interest. After that I found the story stronger. The background to the climb as he saw it and his perspective on those around was worthwhile. The book really came into its own tackling the mystery of why he didn't die on Everest. For someone who was not lucid at the time mostly he has managed to cobble together a pretty coherent account of at least some of what happened and that was, for me, enormously powerful. I'd certainly recommend it as a read for those who are interested.
November 21, 2009
Ok, I'm going to be honest: I didn't read this entire book. In fact, I only got to page 11 before I had to put it down. I am very familiar with Lincoln Hall's story from other sources and was really excited to read his personal account. His story is truly amazing and inspirational, that's not debatable. I have enjoyed several other Everest books and personal stories, but I was unable to get past Hall's apparent narcissism, which I felt clearly within the first ten pages. After reading several other reviews with this same theme, I decided not to waste precious time on it. There's too many books in the sea!
May 28, 2020
Lincoln Hall’s wonderful memoir is a uniquely perceptive tale of one of the most epic survival stories of all time.
The fact that Mr. Hall survived an open-air bivouac above 8,000 meters on Everest is astounding enough. The madness he endured on the way down makes the story hardly believable.
A classic story by one of Australia’s cutting-edge alpinist.
The fact that Mr. Hall survived an open-air bivouac above 8,000 meters on Everest is astounding enough. The madness he endured on the way down makes the story hardly believable.
A classic story by one of Australia’s cutting-edge alpinist.
January 10, 2021
Well written account of the dangers at high altitude.
May 23, 2023
me 🤝🏼 reading any book about mountaineering on Everest. Cool story, average read. Whether I want to or not, I compare any Everest mountaineering book to Krakauer’s Into Thin Air (simply one of my favorites)
February 16, 2009
About a man who was left for dead on Mount Everest and his unlikely survival. I enjoy mountaineering books, and although this wasn't my favorite book, I did like reading it. Lincoln Hall describes his story well and it really gives the reader an accurate depiction of the dangers of Mount Everest. I remember seeing his story in the news and the accompanying outrage across the world over "leaving people to die" on the mountain. His story (along with other stories) make it clear that disasters happen and in general when someone struggles so high up on Mount Everest, there isn't a lot that anyone can do for them, even if they are an experienced climber like Hall. Although Hall gave adequate background information about his life, his mountaineering experience, and his run-ins with famous mountaineers, I wish he would have included more information about others on the mountain with him. Parts of the book felt like he was rattling off his accomplishments and all the famous people he's met, but I felt the story would have been strengthened by telling more about his fellow climbers and the Sherpa on the expedition. It seemed like there was more than enough information about Hall and not enough information about everyone else in the book. But overall, I did enjoy the book.
November 4, 2008
I couldn't get over the nagging feeling that this book could have been, and should have been, better than it was. Lincoln Hall has an amazing story to tell. He summitted Mount Everest in 2006, a year in which the mountain claimed 12 lives. He arrived at the summit at 9:00 a.m., in good weather. It then took him more than 8 hours to descend a few hundred feet, at which point he could go no farther and collapsed, comatose and apparently just minutes from death. It being impossible to bring a comatose person down from 28,000 feet he was left for dead, and indeed declared to be dead. His wife, children and family were so informed.
But he had not died, and somehow roused himself. Dead Lucky tells the harrowing account of his descent, during which he was pushed to his limits, and believed (or hallucinated) that he was beaten and tortured by two of his Sherpa guides. Not a bad story, right? But somehow, among the many memoirs written by mountaineers, this one does not stand out. Although Hall's story is indeed extraordinary, his book, alas, is merely pedestrian.
But he had not died, and somehow roused himself. Dead Lucky tells the harrowing account of his descent, during which he was pushed to his limits, and believed (or hallucinated) that he was beaten and tortured by two of his Sherpa guides. Not a bad story, right? But somehow, among the many memoirs written by mountaineers, this one does not stand out. Although Hall's story is indeed extraordinary, his book, alas, is merely pedestrian.
April 16, 2009
There is a part, albeit small, of me that occassionally wonders how it would be to climb Mount Everest.
I have never climbed a mountain before and as long as I keep reading stories like this, I'll probably remain summitless.
However, this was a great read. It was a little hard to get into because of all the names Hall throws at you and if you aren't particularly interested in climbing, the backstory can be long and tedious. But once he started in on the incident where he's left for dead just below the summit of Everest, it's a gripping tale.
I especially like how he plays his hallucinations into the story, making you wonder for a split second what exactly is going on before you realize that he's telling it exactly as he experienced it.
Good read that I would recommend to any outdoor enthusias.
I have never climbed a mountain before and as long as I keep reading stories like this, I'll probably remain summitless.
However, this was a great read. It was a little hard to get into because of all the names Hall throws at you and if you aren't particularly interested in climbing, the backstory can be long and tedious. But once he started in on the incident where he's left for dead just below the summit of Everest, it's a gripping tale.
I especially like how he plays his hallucinations into the story, making you wonder for a split second what exactly is going on before you realize that he's telling it exactly as he experienced it.
Good read that I would recommend to any outdoor enthusias.
December 18, 2009
Self told history of Lincon Hall’s climb of Mount Everest in 2006. Includes his dilusionary states as he started the decent, the sherpa’s decision (along with Russian lead at Base Camp) to leave him as unresponsive at 28,000 feet, his halucinations during the process and at night, and the subsequent discovery of him the next morning and the inevitable rescue decent. Also notable in that Dan Mazur was the man who gave up his oxigen to Hall when he was discovered after spending the night on Everest. Dan is the man who led Jason’s accent of Chu Abue and had dinner with both of us in Hong Kong.
January 4, 2010
Awesome! Now and again an obsession with survival in the cold comes upon me and this New Year's weekend it hit me like an avalanche (ha!). I really think it is sort of lucky (for want of a better way of putting it) when a writer gets stuck in these sort of situations (think Jon Krakauer). Lincoln Hall survived a night on Everest above 26,000 ft - the only person that has ever done that. I'm so glad he survived - he's just SO nice. I know he's writing about himself and he can give a good impression but in that, he was successful. Such a nice chap. Such an enjoyable read.
August 24, 2008
Man climbs Mt. Everest. Can't get down. Loses mind. Left for dead. Found next day by accident. Despite losing some fingers and toes, somehow survives to tell the story.
September 27, 2020
Really 3.5 stars. A very good read if you like this genre, which I obviously do. Amazing story of being abandoned for dead high on the slopes of Everest. Well written and engrossing.
January 10, 2024
Akhirnya buku setebal 544 halaman ini berhasil kutuntaskan juga. Sungguh cerita yang menggetarkan soal kebesaran kuasa Tuhan. Lincoln Hall sudah dinyatakan meninggal setelah ia terkena cerebral edema saat turun dari puncak Everest. Dia bahkan sudah ditinggalkan oleh rekan dan para sherpa. Namun, setelah itu dia bangkit dari kondisi mati suri dan diselamatkan oleh dua pendaki lain yang saat itu akan mendaki puncak.
Sponsor untuk pendakian ini adalah Dick Smith Foods. Kemudian disusul oleh Bradley Trevor Greive, petualang sekaligus pengarang yang memiliki ketertarikan besar pada Everest dan juga tahu prestasi mendaki Lincoln Hall. Dia mengumumkan bahwa dirinya mau membiayai ekspedisi Christopher Harris di media di Taman Satwa Taronga, Sydney. Dia bisa melakukannya karena merupakan pengelola Yayasan Taronga dan sponsor Taronga Poetry Prize bagi orang-orang muda Australia. Dukungan dari BTG membuat Lincoln tak lagi ragu mengambil tawaran untuk kembali mendaki Everest.
Sponsor untuk pendakian ini adalah Dick Smith Foods. Kemudian disusul oleh Bradley Trevor Greive, petualang sekaligus pengarang yang memiliki ketertarikan besar pada Everest dan juga tahu prestasi mendaki Lincoln Hall. Dia mengumumkan bahwa dirinya mau membiayai ekspedisi Christopher Harris di media di Taman Satwa Taronga, Sydney. Dia bisa melakukannya karena merupakan pengelola Yayasan Taronga dan sponsor Taronga Poetry Prize bagi orang-orang muda Australia. Dukungan dari BTG membuat Lincoln tak lagi ragu mengambil tawaran untuk kembali mendaki Everest.
April 20, 2013
For my outside reading book I read Dead Lucky by Lincoln Hall. This adventure based, thrilling memoir recalls Hall’s final expedition to the summit of Mount Everest and all the events surrounding it that take place. This final ascent of Hall’s proved to be fatal, as he died on top of the great peak, but awoke the next morning to tell about it.
Dead Lucky tells the story of Lincoln Hall’s daring ascent of Mount Everest in the spring of 2006. Lincoln Hall, a thrill-seeking family man, lived with his family in Singapore until 2003, when they moved to Australia, just before his Everest climb. Most of this novel, however, takes place on Mount Everest and on the ridges and in the valleys surrounding it. Lincoln Hall is an outgoing man in his late forties in the beginning of this novel. His scraggly teeth and wispy brown hair, along with his lean build are his most defining physical features. Being a mountain climber for most of his life, he is extremely athletic and adventurous with a humble personality helping him gain many friends over his years of climbing. In 1984 he attempted to climb to the summit of Mount Everest, but had to turn back just before reaching the top for risk of losing his life. Ever since that climb the task of reaching the summit had seemed an impossible accomplishment, now with his two kids, Dorje and Dylan, and the effects of age. Other characters in the story include Hall’s wife, Barbara, and his two sons. Barbara is almost as athletic as Hall, enjoying nature just as much as him. She spends her time taking care of her husband and her sons. Other main characters aren’t really prominent in this story, as Hall describes almost every person he meets.
The novel begins with Hall and his family making the decision to move to Australia from Singapore because Hall found a better job there, working for a national newspaper. Hall gets a phone call from an old friend, Michael Dillon, about a kid that wants to climb Mount Everest. Mike, knowing Hall as an experienced climber, asks him if would join them on the climb as a camera man. Seeing this as an opportunity to redeem himself after his 1984 climb, Hall accepts. He then spends the next few months preparing for his upcoming climb and leaves in early spring for the Himalayas. Another couple months are spent high in the mountains at the base of Everest with the huge climbing team, the 7Summits-Club, acquainting himself with the team and his body with the altitude. After their climb begins up the ridges and faces of Everest, Hall soon finds out that the boy, Chris Harris, is getting really sick and they have to turn back. However, Hall refuses and presses on with the remaining men and Sherpas, determined to reach the summit. On the way up the mountain, eleven people died. Hall and the remaining three Sherpas eventually reach the summit, but things start going wrong on their way down. Severely deprived of oxygen, Hall starts acting strange and becomes immobile. He is left on the mountain to die. Revived the next day by men making their way up the mountain, Hall starts heading down the ridge. Everyone is shocked to hear he might be alive and coming down. After his descent he makes it to a hospital and is eventually reunited with his family.
This book was an extremely exciting read when the story picked up. My favorite part of the story was when a few Sherpas has found him weak, heading down the mountain, and started abusing him. Hall could not defend himself in his condition and when these men figured out he needed their help, they threatened to leave him or beat him if he didn’t do what they say. This scene kept me reading because I wanted to find out what was going to happen to Hall and these men. This novel was a pretty exciting read, after the slow descriptions in the beginning, and told a very intense story.
Dead Lucky tells the story of Lincoln Hall’s daring ascent of Mount Everest in the spring of 2006. Lincoln Hall, a thrill-seeking family man, lived with his family in Singapore until 2003, when they moved to Australia, just before his Everest climb. Most of this novel, however, takes place on Mount Everest and on the ridges and in the valleys surrounding it. Lincoln Hall is an outgoing man in his late forties in the beginning of this novel. His scraggly teeth and wispy brown hair, along with his lean build are his most defining physical features. Being a mountain climber for most of his life, he is extremely athletic and adventurous with a humble personality helping him gain many friends over his years of climbing. In 1984 he attempted to climb to the summit of Mount Everest, but had to turn back just before reaching the top for risk of losing his life. Ever since that climb the task of reaching the summit had seemed an impossible accomplishment, now with his two kids, Dorje and Dylan, and the effects of age. Other characters in the story include Hall’s wife, Barbara, and his two sons. Barbara is almost as athletic as Hall, enjoying nature just as much as him. She spends her time taking care of her husband and her sons. Other main characters aren’t really prominent in this story, as Hall describes almost every person he meets.
The novel begins with Hall and his family making the decision to move to Australia from Singapore because Hall found a better job there, working for a national newspaper. Hall gets a phone call from an old friend, Michael Dillon, about a kid that wants to climb Mount Everest. Mike, knowing Hall as an experienced climber, asks him if would join them on the climb as a camera man. Seeing this as an opportunity to redeem himself after his 1984 climb, Hall accepts. He then spends the next few months preparing for his upcoming climb and leaves in early spring for the Himalayas. Another couple months are spent high in the mountains at the base of Everest with the huge climbing team, the 7Summits-Club, acquainting himself with the team and his body with the altitude. After their climb begins up the ridges and faces of Everest, Hall soon finds out that the boy, Chris Harris, is getting really sick and they have to turn back. However, Hall refuses and presses on with the remaining men and Sherpas, determined to reach the summit. On the way up the mountain, eleven people died. Hall and the remaining three Sherpas eventually reach the summit, but things start going wrong on their way down. Severely deprived of oxygen, Hall starts acting strange and becomes immobile. He is left on the mountain to die. Revived the next day by men making their way up the mountain, Hall starts heading down the ridge. Everyone is shocked to hear he might be alive and coming down. After his descent he makes it to a hospital and is eventually reunited with his family.
This book was an extremely exciting read when the story picked up. My favorite part of the story was when a few Sherpas has found him weak, heading down the mountain, and started abusing him. Hall could not defend himself in his condition and when these men figured out he needed their help, they threatened to leave him or beat him if he didn’t do what they say. This scene kept me reading because I wanted to find out what was going to happen to Hall and these men. This novel was a pretty exciting read, after the slow descriptions in the beginning, and told a very intense story.
October 18, 2017
Lincoln Hall was a relatively well-known Australian mountaineer, having spent a lot of time in the Himalayas climbing, and was part of the Australian team that were the first from that country to ascend Everest in 1984, pioneering a new route in the process. Hall turned back from the summit in '84, so when he was offered a role in the team of a person attempting to be the youngest to complete the Seven Summits in 2006, he jumped at the chance.
2006 proved to be a particularly deadly one on Everest, but Lincoln did not die - his story was much scarier - he was left for dead at 28,000 feet, spent the night in the open, and manged to survive and make it down the mountain to safety.
As Hall makes clear at the beginning of the book, this is not the whole story of what happened on Everest in that year, just the story of his remarkable survival. There are however some interesting observations on the whole guided mountaineering activity that goes on in the Himalayas, as Lincoln's party was attached to one of these companies (7Summits), whereas his previous experience in high mountains had been with small teams of experienced mountaineers.
What was weighing on his mind more than the commercialization of Everest was his limited seven week preparation for his summit bid, even though he was using oxygen, something he hadn't used previously. When his young charge found that he could't cope with the thin atmosphere at the North Col and turned back, Hall thought that his climb too was over. When he was given the OK to continue on his own attempt, he set off with high hopes.
He made the summit without too many problems, but almost immediately on the climb down he began suffering from the effects of exhaustion and altitude sickness, and collapsed. The Sherpas from his team spent eight hours dragging him down the mountain, but only managed to get him down to 28,000 feet before they too were exhausted. By this time Hall was unresponsive, and to all intents and purposes dead.
The story then breaks into two strands: the reaction to the news of his death back in Australia, and a vivid description of the hallucinatory power of altitude sickness as Hall made it through the night. He was lucky enough to be lucid when the next mornings summiters appeared, and they abandoned their climb to help him.
His ordeal was by no means over however, with Hall the recipient of some surprising brutality from some of the Sherpas who assisted him down, along with high quality care and attention from his Russian expedition leaders, and others in Kathmandu and Australia.
This book was written in the year after Hall's return from Everest, when Hall was still trying to come to grips with how, and more importantly why, he survived. He comes up with no definitive answers. The trauma of the night and the rescue comes out clearly in the book, and was obviously still with him at the time of writing.
As a semi-professional writer (Dead lucky was his eighth book), this is a well written story, as gripping as it should be, and one that does give some insight into the mindset of a mountaineer.
In a tragic irony, Hall died early in 2012 from mesothelioma, possibly contracted when building cubby houses from asbestos in his youth.
If you have a penchant for mountaineering tales, it's hard to go past this one. Highly recommended.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
2006 proved to be a particularly deadly one on Everest, but Lincoln did not die - his story was much scarier - he was left for dead at 28,000 feet, spent the night in the open, and manged to survive and make it down the mountain to safety.
As Hall makes clear at the beginning of the book, this is not the whole story of what happened on Everest in that year, just the story of his remarkable survival. There are however some interesting observations on the whole guided mountaineering activity that goes on in the Himalayas, as Lincoln's party was attached to one of these companies (7Summits), whereas his previous experience in high mountains had been with small teams of experienced mountaineers.
What was weighing on his mind more than the commercialization of Everest was his limited seven week preparation for his summit bid, even though he was using oxygen, something he hadn't used previously. When his young charge found that he could't cope with the thin atmosphere at the North Col and turned back, Hall thought that his climb too was over. When he was given the OK to continue on his own attempt, he set off with high hopes.
He made the summit without too many problems, but almost immediately on the climb down he began suffering from the effects of exhaustion and altitude sickness, and collapsed. The Sherpas from his team spent eight hours dragging him down the mountain, but only managed to get him down to 28,000 feet before they too were exhausted. By this time Hall was unresponsive, and to all intents and purposes dead.
The story then breaks into two strands: the reaction to the news of his death back in Australia, and a vivid description of the hallucinatory power of altitude sickness as Hall made it through the night. He was lucky enough to be lucid when the next mornings summiters appeared, and they abandoned their climb to help him.
His ordeal was by no means over however, with Hall the recipient of some surprising brutality from some of the Sherpas who assisted him down, along with high quality care and attention from his Russian expedition leaders, and others in Kathmandu and Australia.
This book was written in the year after Hall's return from Everest, when Hall was still trying to come to grips with how, and more importantly why, he survived. He comes up with no definitive answers. The trauma of the night and the rescue comes out clearly in the book, and was obviously still with him at the time of writing.
As a semi-professional writer (Dead lucky was his eighth book), this is a well written story, as gripping as it should be, and one that does give some insight into the mindset of a mountaineer.
In a tragic irony, Hall died early in 2012 from mesothelioma, possibly contracted when building cubby houses from asbestos in his youth.
If you have a penchant for mountaineering tales, it's hard to go past this one. Highly recommended.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2013
It's always nice to read about miracles, and I think the survival of Lincoln Hall on Mount Everest falls into that category. But Dead Lucky is not only good because of the extraordinary nature of the story, but it is also a well written book that lets you know about the thoughts of a man who had a dream and how he tried to decide if this dream is worth risking his life for it.
For me it was an added bonus that I had been familiar with some of the mountaineers who showed up in the book. If you have a basic knowledge of the history of climbing Everest you probably heard about Russel Brice, David Sharp or Mark Inglis. I had seen Discovery Channel's series: Everest Beyond the Limit, and the documentary about Sharp called Dying for Everest, so when I read the book the whole situation was familiar to me, but of course I really wanted to know how things had happened with Hall.
One other thing that made me like this book very much was that it's a rare kind of book about a mountaineering tragedy (which wasn't a tragedy in the end, but it doesn't really matter in this case) where human mistakes didn't have an effect on the events. Hall didn't really make mistakes on the mountain, he summited at an early hour of the day, he seemed to be in good shape so there was no indication of what would happen on the descent. It's like a warning sign for those who are planning to climb Everest. Anything can happen anytime when you're high up on the highest mountain of our planet.
When people are dying on mountains we cannot really know how they feel about it. Are they scared, or do they just accept their fate? Of course there were some cases when dying climbers had the chance to say goodbye to their fellow climbers or even to their families using a satellite phone, but in this book we get to see how a dying man really felt when he was left alone at 8600 meters up on the mountain and what he saw and felt at the time when he was supposed to die. Those hallucinations that Hall had are among the most interesting parts of this book. Even though you know that somehow he would survive in the end, you just want him to pull himself together and try to get off of the mountain.
The only chapters of Dead Lucky I didn't enjoy as much as the others were the ones where we see how Hall's family received the terrible news and how they tried to cope with it. I know it's an important part of the story, but I felt it was a bit too lengthy. No matter how interesting this part could be, I wanted to know what was happening with Hall when he was sitting at the Mushroom rock.
All in all Dead Lucky is a nice and very interesting book, and I'm sure that fans of the genre are going to enjoy reading it. Although it is about a very serious subject I found it to be an easy read. An easy read that you don't really want to put down until you are done with it.
For me it was an added bonus that I had been familiar with some of the mountaineers who showed up in the book. If you have a basic knowledge of the history of climbing Everest you probably heard about Russel Brice, David Sharp or Mark Inglis. I had seen Discovery Channel's series: Everest Beyond the Limit, and the documentary about Sharp called Dying for Everest, so when I read the book the whole situation was familiar to me, but of course I really wanted to know how things had happened with Hall.
One other thing that made me like this book very much was that it's a rare kind of book about a mountaineering tragedy (which wasn't a tragedy in the end, but it doesn't really matter in this case) where human mistakes didn't have an effect on the events. Hall didn't really make mistakes on the mountain, he summited at an early hour of the day, he seemed to be in good shape so there was no indication of what would happen on the descent. It's like a warning sign for those who are planning to climb Everest. Anything can happen anytime when you're high up on the highest mountain of our planet.
When people are dying on mountains we cannot really know how they feel about it. Are they scared, or do they just accept their fate? Of course there were some cases when dying climbers had the chance to say goodbye to their fellow climbers or even to their families using a satellite phone, but in this book we get to see how a dying man really felt when he was left alone at 8600 meters up on the mountain and what he saw and felt at the time when he was supposed to die. Those hallucinations that Hall had are among the most interesting parts of this book. Even though you know that somehow he would survive in the end, you just want him to pull himself together and try to get off of the mountain.
The only chapters of Dead Lucky I didn't enjoy as much as the others were the ones where we see how Hall's family received the terrible news and how they tried to cope with it. I know it's an important part of the story, but I felt it was a bit too lengthy. No matter how interesting this part could be, I wanted to know what was happening with Hall when he was sitting at the Mushroom rock.
All in all Dead Lucky is a nice and very interesting book, and I'm sure that fans of the genre are going to enjoy reading it. Although it is about a very serious subject I found it to be an easy read. An easy read that you don't really want to put down until you are done with it.
August 9, 2008
It is a rare treat to find a book that I can’t put down. Don’t you love that? Reading a story that is so interesting and exciting that you just want to keep going? This book was so good that I read the acknowledgments at the end. It was an absolutely amazing story.
Lincoln Hall is a veteran climber from Australia. He has written several books in the Mountain Climbing genre and is quite well known among these Mountaineering types. He attempted Everest in his twenties but was not able summit (I believe White Limbo chronicles this attempt). He continued climbing through the years but then settled in with his family in Australia living a nice life. However, when he was approached to be a photographer for a climb involving the youngest climber to attempt the summit he decided it was something he had to do.
He makes the summit but on the way down, just below the summit things began to go very wrong. He started hallucinating and when he fell down in the snow to “rest” he could not be revived by his team so he was left for dead not far below the summit. News traveled fast. His family was notified, the media were notified and people in Australia and around the world mourned Lincoln Hall’s death.
The next morning another team of climbers were attempting the summit and saw someone sitting up and moving around. They went over to him and the man said, “I bet your are surprised to see me here.” The men asked what his name was and he said, “I’m Lincoln Hall.” Unbelievably, Hall survived a night at the top of Mt. Everest. This has never happened before. Even more unbelievably, Hall walked down most of the mountain! He was confused, but he did it. His walk down the mountain is even more unbelievable. I won’t give you the details because I want you to read the book. The story is absolutely jaw dropping.
The book is very well written. He puts his reader on the mountain with him as he his sitting through the night. You are going through the hallucinations with him and you are there with him when he suddenly realizes where he is and that he has to survive this. Amazing stuff.
Lincoln Hall is a veteran climber from Australia. He has written several books in the Mountain Climbing genre and is quite well known among these Mountaineering types. He attempted Everest in his twenties but was not able summit (I believe White Limbo chronicles this attempt). He continued climbing through the years but then settled in with his family in Australia living a nice life. However, when he was approached to be a photographer for a climb involving the youngest climber to attempt the summit he decided it was something he had to do.
He makes the summit but on the way down, just below the summit things began to go very wrong. He started hallucinating and when he fell down in the snow to “rest” he could not be revived by his team so he was left for dead not far below the summit. News traveled fast. His family was notified, the media were notified and people in Australia and around the world mourned Lincoln Hall’s death.
The next morning another team of climbers were attempting the summit and saw someone sitting up and moving around. They went over to him and the man said, “I bet your are surprised to see me here.” The men asked what his name was and he said, “I’m Lincoln Hall.” Unbelievably, Hall survived a night at the top of Mt. Everest. This has never happened before. Even more unbelievably, Hall walked down most of the mountain! He was confused, but he did it. His walk down the mountain is even more unbelievable. I won’t give you the details because I want you to read the book. The story is absolutely jaw dropping.
The book is very well written. He puts his reader on the mountain with him as he his sitting through the night. You are going through the hallucinations with him and you are there with him when he suddenly realizes where he is and that he has to survive this. Amazing stuff.
January 6, 2013
Unbelievable story about Everest climb. Memoir of Lincoln Hall, about his climb to Everest. Already an accomplished high-altitude climber, he took part mostly to help along a teenage boy (Christopher Harris) attempting to become the youngest person to climb Everest. Really well written and amazing read about what it's like climbing Everest. Even though I had already read Into Thin Air, I was still amazed at the descriptions of what it's like to climb Everest.
Although Hall made it to the top, he got a case of cerebral edema (I think?) on the descent, and started trying to do lots of crazy stuff. The sherpas said he was completely uncooperative, and kept trying to do crazy things. They tried getting him back down, but because he was so uncooperative they eventually had to leave him up there (to die) when he sat down and refused to keep moving. Had several hallucinations, and was still alive when another expedition ran into him on their way up. Some controversy about whether they purposely ignored him in order to complete their ascent (versus helping him), but did try helping him on their way down.
The amazing part was that despite still being at a very dangerous altitude for probably a day or so (in sub-zero temperatures) somehow he recovered and became lucid again. By this point he had severe frostbite, and could not possibly make it down on his own. Another expedition ended up sending a few of their sherpas to rescue him. Author explicitly remembers sherpas being assholes and continually threatening him on the way down, as well as stealing from him. However, sherpas claim he was hallucinating. Anyway, it's just amazing that he essentially came back from the dead. I believe he was at a much higher altitude than the Beck guy from Into Thin Air, and for much longer.
Although Hall made it to the top, he got a case of cerebral edema (I think?) on the descent, and started trying to do lots of crazy stuff. The sherpas said he was completely uncooperative, and kept trying to do crazy things. They tried getting him back down, but because he was so uncooperative they eventually had to leave him up there (to die) when he sat down and refused to keep moving. Had several hallucinations, and was still alive when another expedition ran into him on their way up. Some controversy about whether they purposely ignored him in order to complete their ascent (versus helping him), but did try helping him on their way down.
The amazing part was that despite still being at a very dangerous altitude for probably a day or so (in sub-zero temperatures) somehow he recovered and became lucid again. By this point he had severe frostbite, and could not possibly make it down on his own. Another expedition ended up sending a few of their sherpas to rescue him. Author explicitly remembers sherpas being assholes and continually threatening him on the way down, as well as stealing from him. However, sherpas claim he was hallucinating. Anyway, it's just amazing that he essentially came back from the dead. I believe he was at a much higher altitude than the Beck guy from Into Thin Air, and for much longer.
March 12, 2014
This edgy, first-person account of climbing Mount Everest will give you a personal glimpse into the mind of one man who scaled the world’s tallest peak. The book is explicit, factual, and comprehensive–and with occasional gruesome details, not for the faint-of-heart.
Lincoln Hall was an experienced mountaineer, having conquered many of the world’s most difficult peaks. Still, Everest eluded him. After a failed attempt in 1984, he continued to climb elsewhere; but, with a wife and children, his safe return to family was always of paramount concern. Everest, often, does not give that option.
In 2006 Lincoln was asked to join an expedition to help document the climb of Christopher Harris who–had he not been overcome early on with altitude sickness–would have been the youngest person to summit Mount Everest. After much soul searching and a now-or-never conversation with his loving and supportive wife, Lincoln makes the pivotal decision to continue with his personal quest.
After the elation of a successful summit, Lincoln’s thoughts turn to the complex climb down which must occur swiftly before nightfall. Within a few hundred feet of the descent, his luck changes and he is overtaken by cerebral edema (swelling of the brain with fluid due to high altitude). Lincoln’s impaired mental state causes him to scream obscenities at his sherpas and lash out with overwhelming physical force; but they continue to pull, push, and drag him as far as the mountain allows. The events that follow can only be chronicled as unexplainable.
So ready yourself with a warm blanket and a hot beverage to ward off the shivers as this skillful writer takes you on a life-and-death adventure at the highest point on the earth.
Lincoln Hall was an experienced mountaineer, having conquered many of the world’s most difficult peaks. Still, Everest eluded him. After a failed attempt in 1984, he continued to climb elsewhere; but, with a wife and children, his safe return to family was always of paramount concern. Everest, often, does not give that option.
In 2006 Lincoln was asked to join an expedition to help document the climb of Christopher Harris who–had he not been overcome early on with altitude sickness–would have been the youngest person to summit Mount Everest. After much soul searching and a now-or-never conversation with his loving and supportive wife, Lincoln makes the pivotal decision to continue with his personal quest.
After the elation of a successful summit, Lincoln’s thoughts turn to the complex climb down which must occur swiftly before nightfall. Within a few hundred feet of the descent, his luck changes and he is overtaken by cerebral edema (swelling of the brain with fluid due to high altitude). Lincoln’s impaired mental state causes him to scream obscenities at his sherpas and lash out with overwhelming physical force; but they continue to pull, push, and drag him as far as the mountain allows. The events that follow can only be chronicled as unexplainable.
So ready yourself with a warm blanket and a hot beverage to ward off the shivers as this skillful writer takes you on a life-and-death adventure at the highest point on the earth.
September 8, 2017
Survival in “The Dead Zone”
In 2006, Lincoln Hall summated Mount Everest. It was almost the last thing he did. Descending from the summit, Hall suffered a bout with altitude sickness. Cerebral Edema is very deadly, and many die from its effects. At that altitude, it is difficult to rescue someone who is dead weight. Unable to continue down the mountain, he was left for dead above 8000 meters.
During that night efforts were made to recue Hall, but rescuers were forced to turn back due to darkness, lack of bottled oxygen, and snow-blindness. However, the next morning he was found alive and lucid. Still in danger, he was taken down the mountain, being able to move on his own. Later he would make a full recovery.
The controversial death of David Sharp not long before Hall’s rescue is a dark shadow over the 2006 Everest climbing season. It has been pointed out that while Hall was able to assist with his own rescue, Sharp was conscious, but largely unresponsive. The controversy is over the fact that almost forty people passed by David Sharp and no one abandoned their summit quest to help the stricken climber. After all, the people who ended up rescuing Lincoln Hall abandoned their summit bid to help him down the mountain. Had someone done that for Sharp, would it have saved him? Nobody will ever know.
The story is told by the one person who knew what it was like to be left for dead and have to survive above 8000 meters for 12 hours, Lincoln Hall himself. He details his thoughts, his suffering, and his gratitude at surviving. He tells his readers what drives a man to climb, risking everything to stand atop the highest mountains. Through it all, he holds the reader spellbound.
I give this book five stars!
Quoth the Raven…
In 2006, Lincoln Hall summated Mount Everest. It was almost the last thing he did. Descending from the summit, Hall suffered a bout with altitude sickness. Cerebral Edema is very deadly, and many die from its effects. At that altitude, it is difficult to rescue someone who is dead weight. Unable to continue down the mountain, he was left for dead above 8000 meters.
During that night efforts were made to recue Hall, but rescuers were forced to turn back due to darkness, lack of bottled oxygen, and snow-blindness. However, the next morning he was found alive and lucid. Still in danger, he was taken down the mountain, being able to move on his own. Later he would make a full recovery.
The controversial death of David Sharp not long before Hall’s rescue is a dark shadow over the 2006 Everest climbing season. It has been pointed out that while Hall was able to assist with his own rescue, Sharp was conscious, but largely unresponsive. The controversy is over the fact that almost forty people passed by David Sharp and no one abandoned their summit quest to help the stricken climber. After all, the people who ended up rescuing Lincoln Hall abandoned their summit bid to help him down the mountain. Had someone done that for Sharp, would it have saved him? Nobody will ever know.
The story is told by the one person who knew what it was like to be left for dead and have to survive above 8000 meters for 12 hours, Lincoln Hall himself. He details his thoughts, his suffering, and his gratitude at surviving. He tells his readers what drives a man to climb, risking everything to stand atop the highest mountains. Through it all, he holds the reader spellbound.
I give this book five stars!
Quoth the Raven…
August 17, 2008
This is a heard it on NPR book.
I've always enjoyed the mountain climbing genre. Humans that stretch living to its furthest edge. Lincoln Hall stepped over the line, then returned. A remarkable journey in one sentence. The book tells how and why.
"The Sherpas were sadly familiar with altitude-induced deaths on the mountain, and they saw the only difference between my body and those of ... others listed ... was that mine was not yet frozen."
How did Lincoln live when others had died? He shouldn't have, he knows that himself. His rationalization is based on his study of, and adherence to, Tibettan Buddhism and the levels of death/consciousness. This reason dovetails nicely into some of the Dalai Lama's own writing in my recently read book of his, The Universe in a Single Adam. Both readings reinforced the need to remain in the moment, this moment. Lincoln reinforced this towards the end of the book when describing some of the Sherpa aggression towards him during his rescue, along with the fact that he denied his rescuing party the chance to summit. He acknowledges these transgressions, as "water under the bridge."
"In his poem 'First Things First,' W. H. Audin wrote 'Thousands have lived without love, not one without water." The water needs to pass under the bridge and then be gone. That's my lesson learned.
This was a personal book. Next in the rotation is a professional book, Tom Rath's Strengths Finder 2.0. A follow-up book to Marcus Buckingham's Now Discover Your Strength.
I've always enjoyed the mountain climbing genre. Humans that stretch living to its furthest edge. Lincoln Hall stepped over the line, then returned. A remarkable journey in one sentence. The book tells how and why.
"The Sherpas were sadly familiar with altitude-induced deaths on the mountain, and they saw the only difference between my body and those of ... others listed ... was that mine was not yet frozen."
How did Lincoln live when others had died? He shouldn't have, he knows that himself. His rationalization is based on his study of, and adherence to, Tibettan Buddhism and the levels of death/consciousness. This reason dovetails nicely into some of the Dalai Lama's own writing in my recently read book of his, The Universe in a Single Adam. Both readings reinforced the need to remain in the moment, this moment. Lincoln reinforced this towards the end of the book when describing some of the Sherpa aggression towards him during his rescue, along with the fact that he denied his rescuing party the chance to summit. He acknowledges these transgressions, as "water under the bridge."
"In his poem 'First Things First,' W. H. Audin wrote 'Thousands have lived without love, not one without water." The water needs to pass under the bridge and then be gone. That's my lesson learned.
This was a personal book. Next in the rotation is a professional book, Tom Rath's Strengths Finder 2.0. A follow-up book to Marcus Buckingham's Now Discover Your Strength.
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