Description of book
AWARDED SPECIAL JURY MENTION AT THE BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM AND BOOK FESTIVAL 2007
“The day I summitted Mount Everest was the day I died”
Lincoln Hall set off for Everest in early May 2006. Five weeks after reaching Base Camp in Tibet, he began his push for the summit.
After three days of climbing higher into the oxygenless air, he was blessed with a perfect summit day. For a few minutes, Hall was the highest man on the planet. His Sherpa companions arrived, photos were taken, and the climbers commenced their long descent.
Then things began to go horribly wrong. Hall was struck by cerebral oedema - highaltitude sickness - in the aptly named 'death zone'. Drowsiness quickly became overpowering lethargy, and he collapsed in the snow. Two Sherpas spent hours trying to revive him, but as darkness fell he was pronounced dead. The expedition's leader ordered the Sherpas to descend to save themselves. The news of Hall's death travelled rapidly from mountaineering websites to news media around the world, and by satellite phone to Hall's family in Australia.
Early the next day, Dan Mazur, an American mountaineering guide with two clients and a Sherpa, was startled to find Hall sitting cross-legged on the knife-edged crest of the summit ridge. Hall's first words - 'I imagine you are surprised to see me here' - were a massive understatement.
Much was reported in the press about Hall's resurrection, but only he has real insight into what happened, and how he survived that longest night.
DEAD LUCKY is Lincoln Hall's own account of climbing Everest during a deadly season in which eleven people perished on the world's highest mountain.
Reviews
“A gripping, almost unbelievable story of survival that offers insight into a largely misunderstood domain” - The Sun Herald
“A page-turning story of survival” - The Weekend Australian
“A compelling story that explores the outer reaches of human strength, endurance and endeavour” - Sunday Telegraph
“A fine adventure story...Dead Lucky is deserving of a prominent place in the libraries of adventure lovers” - Canberra Times
“A powerful account” - Illawarra Mercury
“A vivid chronicle of a dramatic event...an incredible, educational spiritual and entertaining book” - Independent Weekly
“An inspirational tale” - Outdoor Australia Magazine
Praise for WHITE LIMBO by Lincoln Hall:
‘The best book about mountaineering ever… It should be read by everyone who still understands the spirit of human endeavour, courage and sacrifice and who holds adventure in their heart. Hall has captured the essence of the climb, its preparations, exhilirations and heartbreaks, and set it all poetically against the backdrop of the world’s most beautiful and inhospitable scenery’ - Sunday Telegraph
‘An irresistible story of adventure’ - Publishers Weekly, USA
‘The account reaches new heights in the stark telling of a tale of courage, pain and endurance’ - The Sunday Observer
‘Few climbing books have the power to move the reader emotionally, to transport them to the heart of the struggle to climb a mountain, but this is one of them’ - Ed Webster, Rock and Ice
‘What Lincoln Hall has done is describe with honesty and perception the personal engines of adventure... It will surely be turned to as an adventure classic in the centuries to come’ - Sydney Morning Herald
‘Beautifully written, Lincoln Hall’s personal account of this great undertaking, in which he was a key figure, immediately ensnared me with its honesty, humanity and realism. He deals unselfconsciously with things normally glossed over in climbing books, indeed in life - fear and the whole gamut of emotions and responses of people under extreme stress. The ascent is a spectacular achievement which pushed the climbers to the limit of their resources; in some cases perilously close. I cannot recall having read a better mountaineering book’ - Chris Baxter, Wild
‘Hall’s book is more satisfying than simply another recounting of a successful climb, mainly because of the strong message one draws from the pages of WHITE LIMBO: it is possible to climb an Everest with a small group of friends who have an experience imbued with happiness and mutual respect’ - James Wickwire - American Alpine Journal