Everest, rescue of Lincoln Hall, Alex Abramov response. The leader of Lincoln Hall’s expedition was the Russian, Alex Abramov, who in a reply to Dan Mazur’s report above noted that Lincoln Hall began to have problems at around 10 a.m. on May 25 after having reached the summit. From that time until 7 p.m. four Sherpas who had accompanied Hall tried to help him down the mountain, descending from the “Rock Triangle” at 8,800m to the “Mushroom Rock” at 8,550m. Bringing him down the Second Step alone took four hours. During the day as the news reached Abramov, he sent two more Sherpas, carrying oxygen, from advanced base to the top camp at 8,300m. Eleven more Sherpas were sent to the North Col (7,000m) to further assist in the rescue of the stricken climber, should it become necessary. With each hour Hall’s condition became worse; he didn’t move and finally stopped speaking. His breathing was reported to be very bad. It came as little surprise to Abramov when his Sherpas radioed down at 7:30 p.m. to say that Hall had died. That evening the two Sherpas reached the top camp and organized rescue of their four compatriots higher on the mountain, who were now extremely tired (and two were already snow blind).

At 7 a.m. next day, when Abramov was radioed by Mazur to say that Hall was still alive, the Russian asked the six Sherpas, who were still at the top camp, if they could climb up and help with the rescue. Only two were fit enough to go. He then asked the 11 Sherpas at the North Col to climb to the Second Step, using expedition oxygen so they could move as fast as possible.

At 9 p.m. Hall arrived at the North Col, where he was met by expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov, who attended to the casualty through the night. The following day the Sherpas brought Hall down to advanced base, where he spent two more nights under doctor’s supervision, before being carried by yak to base camp. Abramov admits there was a wrong diagnosis by his Sherpas but feels that at the time Hall must have been close to death. Fortunately, the night was unusually warm, the Australian got some rest and a bit of sleep, and by the following morning had improved slightly. It was lucky that Mazur found him in time.

From notes provided by Alex Abramov, Russia