ChileMass
Active member
Saw this on Boston TV last night. What a story! How the disabled hiker managed to keep it together and emerge from the cravasse and crawl to base camp is just beyond belief.
Quick summary: 2 British hikers climbed a 20,000' peak in the Peruvian Andes by a never-before-ascended route, and on the way down one of the hikers fell off a cornice and badly broke his leg. His partner tried lowering him down the mountain (several thousand feet) using only his body weight as the anchor. It looked like they might pull it off, but in the middle of the night, the injured hiker became suspended above a large crevasse and they ran out of rope to lower him further. The hiker above could not see his partner's predicament, and after a couple of hours was in danger of falling himself. So he made the decision to cut the rope and save himself. He made his way down to base camp alive but full of guilt.
The injured hiker fell an estimated 150 feet (!!) into the crevasse, but somehow managed to survive the fall. Despite the broken leg, blood loss, lack of food or water and freezing temps, he descended to the bottom of the crevasse and found a way to crawl out to the surface. Over the next 3 days, he crawled and stumbled several more miles to base camp, where he was found by the base camp team.
And the fact that the 2 hikers remained friends is even more unbelievable. An incredible story of endurance. Check it out if you get a chance.....
Quick summary: 2 British hikers climbed a 20,000' peak in the Peruvian Andes by a never-before-ascended route, and on the way down one of the hikers fell off a cornice and badly broke his leg. His partner tried lowering him down the mountain (several thousand feet) using only his body weight as the anchor. It looked like they might pull it off, but in the middle of the night, the injured hiker became suspended above a large crevasse and they ran out of rope to lower him further. The hiker above could not see his partner's predicament, and after a couple of hours was in danger of falling himself. So he made the decision to cut the rope and save himself. He made his way down to base camp alive but full of guilt.
The injured hiker fell an estimated 150 feet (!!) into the crevasse, but somehow managed to survive the fall. Despite the broken leg, blood loss, lack of food or water and freezing temps, he descended to the bottom of the crevasse and found a way to crawl out to the surface. Over the next 3 days, he crawled and stumbled several more miles to base camp, where he was found by the base camp team.
And the fact that the 2 hikers remained friends is even more unbelievable. An incredible story of endurance. Check it out if you get a chance.....