Word: halle
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Hall laughed weakly, but didn't stir. Quickly, someone in camp patched a satellite call to New Zealand, where Hall's wife, pregnant with their first child, was waiting. "I'm looking forward to making you completely better when you come home," she called to her husband when the connection was made. On top of his mountain, Hall may have smiled. "I love you," he said. "Sleep well, my sweetheart. Please don't worry too much." No one ever heard from Rob Hall again...
...when Hall spoke his last, and he was not the only one the mountain claimed that day. Just 36 hours earlier, 33 people had set out for Everest's peak. When the storm at last subsided, eight had perished. The story of that disaster, one of the worst in climbing history, became the subject of magazine articles, television specials and a growing collection of books, notably the best seller Into Thin Air, by journalist Jon Krakauer, who was a survivor of the murderous climb...
...walked to the top. In the spring of 1996, 14 groups from 11 countries swarmed Everest's lower campsite, digging in 17,600 ft. above sea level in preparation for an attempt on the summit. Among the expeditions was a 26-member New Zealand team, headed by Hall, that included Krakauer, Dallas pathologist Beck Weathers and Doug Hansen, a U.S. postal worker who had failed in a previous climb. Also on hand was an American group led by guide Scott Fischer and teams from Japan, South Africa and Taiwan...
...Though the established route up the mountain's south flank is precarious--barely wide enough to accommodate one climber at a time--no fewer than three expeditions had announced plans to begin their trek to the top that evening. Making things worse, two of the teams--Fisher's and Hall's--were the two largest on the mountain. All together, 33 people would be tramping the upward trail at the same time. For Breashears, this was reason enough to stay put. "We didn't like the way the weather looked," he says, "and now we were going to be crowded...
...clouds continued to rise, the situation got worse still. According to radio traffic, Doug Hansen had collapsed, and Hall--who knew better than to linger near the top of the mountain in weather so ominous--was staying to help him. Five of Hall's other clients, including Weathers, had turned back. Where they were now no one knew. Guides Fischer and Harris were unaccounted for too. In all, 19 of the 33 people who had set out for Everest's top 16 hours earlier were stuck outside...