Dead Lucky

In 2006, Australian mountain climber Lincoln Hall was left for dead on Mount Everest. Twelve hours later, he was found by a fellow climber ... alive and sitting cross-legged on the ridge of the mountain. This week's Word for Word features Lincoln Hall as he recounts this remarkable tale in his book, "Dead Lucky," in a speech at the Commonwealth Club of California.

Hall recounts the moment he was found:

"It was quite an interesting exchange because the first thing I said to them was, I stuttered a bit, and then I said, 'I imagine you're surprised to see me here,' and they were. They'd been told I'd been dead--I'd been left for dead the previous night. How could I be eloquent enough to say that?"

We'd like to hear from you. Listen to this week's episode and join in the discussion below.

What do you think of the ethics on the mountaintop? Should the Sherpas accompanying Lincoln Hall have stayed with him when they thought he wouldn't survive, even though they were running out of oxygen? Should people even engage in such risky activities as climbing Mt. Everest? Is Mt. Everest's tourism industry damaging to the local community that sustains it?

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Suzanne Pekow
Word for Word
APM|MPR

Comments: 3

Donna Tinus Aug 2, 2008, 4:12pm UTC

It's every man for himself up there.

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Leah A. Aug 9, 2008, 11:16pm UTC

That's a tough call, because you don't really know what you would do until you are faced with the situation yourself. You can speculate what you think you would do or what you would like to do, but you can't really say for sure.

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Cheryl R. Sep 20, 2008, 1:44pm UTC

We all have different goals, most of us don't challenge ourselves to physically climb Everest. It takes all kinds.

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Dead Lucky

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