Revived Aussie Lincoln Hall reaches Everest base camp
Australian mountaineer Lincoln Hall, from the NSW Blue Mountains, is exhausted and suffering pneumonia, but has safely reached Mt Everest base camp, a friend says.
The 50-year-old Hall was also suffering from frostbite but was in good spirits.
“He’s still in a fragile physical state, but every day the news gets better obviously and the bottom line is that he is alive and not too seriously injured,” a family friend and fellow mountaineer, Simon Balderstone, said.
Mr Hall was rescued on Mount Everest last week after being presumed dead. He was descending from the summit when he became disoriented from the effects of an acute form of altitude sickness called cerebral oedema.
While still on the mountain at around 8000m Mr Hall was pronounced dead on Thursday but was discovered alive by an American mountaineer the next day.
Suffering from a chest infection and frostbite, as well as the oedema, Mr Hall walked into advanced base camp at 6,400 metres, where he received medical treatment and spoke briefly on the phone to his wife.
He then made the 22km journey down the mountain on the back of a yak to reach Everest base camp at about 5,200 metres above sea level.
From base camp, Mr Hall is expected to travel to Kathmandu, and once given a clean bill of health, will be able to return to Australia.
Everest: At least 186 dead in 35 years
Sunday May 28, 2006
Climbers attempting to reach the summit of Mt Everest have always faced the risk of death in the process. As attempts on the summit have become more frequent, so have instances of people encountering dangerous situations.
At the same time, advances in climbing technology, as well as increased knowledge of Everest and the dangers it poses, have enabled climbers to reduce their likelihood of dying while attempting to climb to the highest point on earth.
Below is a list of successful attempts on the summit of Everest by year, compared with deaths suffered on the mountain.
1969 — SUMMITS: 0, DEATHS: 1
1970 — SUMMITS: 4, DEATHS: 8
1971 — SUMMITS: 0, DEATHS: 1
1972 — SUMMITS: 0, DEATHS: 1
1973 — SUMMITS: 10, DEATHS: 1
1974 — SUMMITS: 0, DEATHS: 6
1975 — SUMMITS: 15, DEATHS: 2
1976 — SUMMITS: 4, DEATHS: 1
1977 — SUMMITS: 2, DEATHS: 0
1978 — SUMMITS: 25, DEATHS: 2
1979 — SUMMITS: 18, DEATHS: 6
1980 — SUMMITS: 10, DEATHS: 3
1981 — SUMMITS: 5, DEATHS: 1
1982 — SUMMITS: 18, DEATHS: 11
1983 — SUMMITS: 23, DEATHS: 3
1984 — SUMMITS: 17, DEATHS: 8
1985 — SUMMITS: 30, DEATHS: 7
1986 — SUMMITS: 4, DEATHS: 4
1987 — SUMMITS: 2, DEATHS: 4
1988 — SUMMITS: 50, DEATHS: 10
1989 — SUMMITS: 24, DEATHS: 8
1990 — SUMMITS: 72, DEATHS: 4
1991 — SUMMITS: 38, DEATHS: 2
1992 — SUMMITS: 90, DEATHS: 5
1993 — SUMMITS: 129, DEATHS: 8
1994 — SUMMITS: 51, DEATHS: 5
1995 — SUMMITS: 83, DEATHS: 3
1996 — SUMMITS: 98, DEATHS: 15
1997 — SUMMITS: 85, DEATHS: 9
1998 — SUMMITS: 120, DEATHS: 4
1999 — SUMMITS: 117, DEATHS: 4
2000 — SUMMITS: 146, DEATHS: 2
2001 — SUMMITS: 182, DEATHS: 5
2002 — SUMMITS: 159, DEATHS: 3
2003 — SUMMITS: 264, DEATHS: 4
2004 — SUMMITS: 330*, DEATHS: 7*
2005 — SUMMITS: Being calculated, DEATHS: Being calculated
Total — SUMMITS: 2249 and counting, DEATHS: 186
* Not confirmed
Data from www.everesthistory.com