Everest Climber’s Tough Decision: To Skip Summit or Rescue Friend

Everest Climber’s Tough Decision: To Skip Summit or Rescue Friend

An Israeli rescued a distressed climber, an American of Turkish origin, on Mount Everest instead of pushing onward to reach the summit.

Nadav Ben-Yehuda came across Aydin Irmak near the summit last weekend. In that chaotic time, four climbers died on their way down from the summit amid a traffic jam of more than 200 people rushing to reach the world's highest peak as the weather deteriorated.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Ben-Yehuda, 24, appeared proud that Irmak, 46, had made it to the summit, noting that he is one of a small number of "Turkish" climbers to reach the top.  Irmak left Turkey for New York more than two decades ago, but remains proud of his Turkish heritage.  The show of friendship stands in contrast to the political tension between Israel and Turkey, which were once firm allies.

The American, Ben-Yehuda said, had been returning from the summit but collapsed in the extreme conditions, without an oxygen supply, a flashlight and a rucksack. Ben-Yehuda, who developed a friendship with Irmak before the climb, had delayed his own ascent by a day hoping to avoid the rush of climbers heading for the summit.

There have been stories of people bypassing stricken climbers as they seek to fulfill a lifelong dream of reaching the summit of Everest, but Ben-Yehuda said his decision to abandon his goal of reaching the top and help Irmak was "automatic," though it took him several minutes to recognize his pale, gaunt friend.

The Israeli carried Irmak for hours to a lower camp. Both climbers suffered frostbite and some of their fingers were at risk of amputation. Ben-Yehuda lost 44 pounds in his time on the mountain, and Irmak lost 26 pounds, said Hanan Goder, Israel's ambassador in Nepal.

The ambassador, who had dinner with the pair after their ordeal, said the rescue was a "humanitarian" tale that highlights the friendship between Israelis and Turks at a personal level, despite the deteriorating relationship between their governments.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Saturday May 26 2012, 3:12 AM EST. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0