Climbing Mount Everest, man saves a life

Ever since Scott Mortensen lived in the wild hills of New Zealand, the same land in which Mount Everest pioneer Sir Edmund Hillary grew up and honed his skills, Mortensen dreamed of trying to climb the world's tallest peak.As Mortensen went about his life, studying film at the University of California-San Diego, surfing big waves at Hawaii's fabled breaks, putting out blazes with the Oxnard, Calif., Fire Department, the idea of climbing to 29,035 feet was always in the back of his mind.Last month, Mortensen not only lived his dream to stand on the top of the world, but the 31-year-old also helped rescue someone who could have become another casualty on the mountain that has claimed more than 210 lives."It's a leap of faith that you hope you get to the top of the world," Mortensen said recently, still battling the jet lag from flying around the globe. When you are climbing, "every step has a purpose, and that's sort of a metaphor for life," he said.Mortensen flew to Kathmandu, Nepal, and met the eight other climbers with whom he would climb. One man, from Oman, had never before seen snow.As Mortensen and other climbers prepared for the ascent on the world's highest mountain, the man from Oman snapped and refused help from other climbers. Mortensen soon dismissed him."He didn't have any respect for the mountains," he said.After more than a month of preparing, Mortensen, his fellow climbers, 14 Sherpas and the company's owner, Tim Rippel, set out for the top on May 20. Everest's reputation is not for being the most difficult technical climb in the world."It's a marathon of endurance more than skill," Mortensen said.More than 24 hours after he started for the summit, Mortensen was standing on top of the world on a day of no wind and blue skies. It was awe-inspiring.His view of the horizon was a Caribbean blue sky on top, the blinding white clouds beneath him. He thought he could see the curvature of the Earth. Rows of jagged peaks looked like shark's teeth."I felt like I was complete," he said, fully realizing how corny that may sound.Seventy-seven others made it to the top that day. The Omani was not one of them.On Mortensen's way down, he saw the Omani in what is commonly called the Death Zone, an area above 26,250 feet where accidents often lead to death because of the complications of high altitude and low oxygen.Mortensen thinks the man, who had been climbing slowly all day, was suffering from a combination of dehydration and altitude sickness.Rippel and a few Sherpas tried to get the Omani down the mountain using ropes, but he was delirious and fought the rescue efforts. At one point he threw a rock at Rippel, nearly knocking him off the mountain.That the man wasn't left for dead is somewhat unusual. Stories of climbers trying to get to the top and leaving the sick and wounded behind to die are not uncommon, as they fear for their own safety."I think if you get rescued, you are lucky," Mortensen said.Mortensen's own air supply began running low. Rippel told him to go and get help, which was at the base camp about 3,000 vertical feet below. Once he reached Base Camp 3, he asked other climbers for a spare sleeping bag or a tent that someone could take up to the Omani. Nobody was interested.He offered anyone $1,000 to take the gear back up the mountain, and still nobody was willing to help. They all had their own goals and safety to worry about.Finally, a climber volunteered his sleeping bag and a Sherpa who was on his way up the mountain took Mortensen up on the $1,000 offer.The next day, after spending a night in the sleeping bag, the Omani walked back into camp after a group of Sherpas helped him down the mountain.With the drama over, what Mortensen wanted to do was get home, and fast. He went to the traditional restaurant in Kathmandu where those who climb Everest are treated to a free meal, signed his name on the wall and caught the first flight home.Mortensen said he'll try another big mountain one day, but for now he's just trying to fatten up his lean frame after he shed 20 pounds on the trip.(Contact Zeke Barlow of the Ventura County Star in California at zbarlow(at)venturacountystar.com.)