Beck Weathers was 50 years old and a pathologist in Texas when he set out to climb Everest. For him, it wasn’t just a physical challenge: it was also an escape from the depression that had been with him since he was young.
On May 10, 1996, as two expeditions were attempting to reach the summit, a wind and snowstorm came in early and trapped the climbers in the highest part of the mountain. Weathers, blinded by the altitude, was at the mercy of the storm. Those who found him saw him almost buried in the snow, with frozen hands and face, and no longer expected a miracle. They left him there.
But hours later, he opened his eyes. Without eating or drinking for three days, he got up and made his way blindly forward until his companions saw him appear and couldn’t believe it. He lost his nose, left hand, and right arm, but made it home to his family.
