A former US Navy Aviation Rescue swimmer opened up about the harrowing moment he climbed Mount Everest and lost his eyesight.
Brian Dickinson appeared on Mark Laita’s YouTube channel, the Soft White Underbelly, to detail his time up on the world’s highest mountain.
Brian, who is no stranger to tough terrain, decided to scale the summit of Everest, a location that has proved fatal for a number of people.
He explained what it was like to be in the icy conditions, and also a pivotal moment where his Sherpa suddenly became ill at around 1,000 feet from the summit.
Advert
The Sherpa made sure to bury a spare oxygen tank for him if he wanted to continue alone.
It was then that Brian had to make the tough choice - does he head back down the mountain too? Or does he decide to climb up on his own, without the expertise of his Sherpa?
Though he was stuck in the ‘death zone’ - an area known for its incredibly low oxygen levels.
At this point, climbers need to wear an oxygen mask just to survive the tough conditions.
Being trapped there is a nightmare, and one you’d want to get out of quickly, so time was of the essence.
It was then that Brian made the choice to climb up solo, hoping to reach the top of Everest.
Thankfully, he managed to complete his mission within four hours but his enjoyment was short-lived.
Brian explained that he called down to camp to allow other climbers to know where he was.
He said: “‘This is Brian, I'm checking in from the summit of Everest’.”
Everyone on the other line was congratulating him on his feat, when someone mentioned his missing Sherpa.
Brian said it was at ‘that moment I realised that no one knew I was alone’ at the top of the mountain.
After informing them he was solo, they told him to be safe and the call ended.
Just moments after Brian took a couple of pictures his eyes began to burn, and his vision became blurry.
Within seconds, he was almost completely blind due to his goggles failing.
Brian shared: “I took about - I don't know - 10, 15 steps and everything just went completely white, and I remember just dropping down, grabbing the rope I was attached to and assessing the situation.”
He added: “I was completely snow blind.”
As he was alone at 29,035 feet, and low on oxygen, on top of being almost sightless, Brian had to make the descent with only his Navy training for support.
In his book, Blind Descent, Brain details the agonising inching he had to do just to ensure that he was able to safely climb back down.
In the YouTube video, he said: “You don't regain your sight usually for 24 hours I wouldn't regain mine for almost two months, so you say blind you're totally blind, totally blind.”
Even though Brian fell a few times during his descent, he believed that he was being ‘protected’.
He thought someone was watching over him to ensure he made it back to safety with the help of the spare oxygen pack his Sherpa had buried hours earlier.
Brian explained how he had prayed that he needed help from a higher power, and it was granted to allow him to survive.
Topics: Travel, Mount Everest
Britt Jones