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Israeli Everest Climber Saves Turkish "Brother"

(Jerusalem Post) Sharon Udasin - After training for two years, Nadav Ben-Yehuda, 24, was maneuvering through the final 1,000 meters from Mount Everest's Camp IV to its summit - the highest in the world at an altitude of 8,848 meters - when he suddenly came to a stop some 250 m. away from the summit. He saw the body of his friend from the base camp, Aydin Irmak, 46, sprawled lifelessly on the icy ridges. "When we saw my friend Aydin there was no question," Ben-Yehuda said. Had he chosen to continue climbing, Ben-Yehuda would have been the youngest Israeli ever to make it to Everest's summit. "It really changed my plans," he said. Lifting Irmak over his shoulders, Ben-Yehuda carried his Turkish-New Yorker friend for about eight hours back down to Camp IV - without gloves and without oxygen, as his mask had already broken. The negative 40-degree Celsius temperatures left both men with severe burns all over their faces, and Ben-Yehuda's ungloved hand is blackened to a crisp, some of which may need to be amputated. But eventually, the men made it back to Camp IV, where a helicopter came to their rescue - allowing both of them to live.
2012-05-25 00:00:00
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