Mountain hero from Israel

detailed description of the conditions and action
another link with the story

I used to climb, many years ago, nothing so extreme as Himalayas,but it was passion for few years and I knew lots of Himalaists at the time. The passion for mountains, respect for them and apprecietion of true human values high above the earth stayed with me for all consecutive years.

Thus I really read with passion and understanding the story of young Israeli climber. It happened in May this year. He is just 24 and had a chance to become the youngest Israeli to climb Mt. Everest but 300 meters below summit, with all chances of making it, he encountered Turkish climber, unconscious, lying in the snow without some parts of the gear and without oxygen supply. He hesitated not! He abandoned his climbing attempt and risking his life helped this man to get out of the "death zone" (above 8.000 meters above sea level) to the camp. It took him some 9 hours of hardship but he never gave up. On his way he had an occasion - not lost - to help one more climber in trouble.

It should be natural for people in extreme conditions to help each other, but for a long time it is not (was it ever?). Climbing Mt. Everest takes months of preparation, years of previous climbing, lots of money and days of torture in extreme conditions. When the summit is reachable most climbers dream about nothing but "making it and going home". Yes, there are those who always come back, who love it and depend on it but even they (and I used to know a few of them) talk about suffering. People put their lives in danger, the wellbeing of their near and dear to satisfy this "fever of summit". It is hard to resign (even when one should do so for one own's sake, let alone for somebody else's).

A famous, long gone (and perished in mountain rescue action) Polish climber once said: "you don't leave a friend in the mountains even if he is just a frozen burden". He lived up to it but most climbers nowadays don't.
Many of you have probably read "Into thin air" and remember that even saving lives of the members of the same team was sometimes not undertaken (even when there was NO risk - like leaving dying man, who to everybody's surprise made it, alone in the tent as nobody wanted to share it with him, keep giving him fluids, steroids and take care that he stays covered). South African (though led by British hoax) team refused allowing use of their radio batteries for rescue purposes, a month after 1996 tragedy 2 Japanese climbers just passed on their way up 2 dying men from Indian team - they had altitud sickness but no water, no help was given, no questions asked, the men perished.

So in my view everybody trying to rescue somebody (specially unknown) up there is a hero. In the death zone some claim the rescue attempts are just gestures endangering rescuers and not changing the outcome, but that is not true. There were many ocasions when rescue was succesful and human live saved but it was always done with extreme danger to the rescuers. Just let me remind the attempt to climb K@ by Americans in 1953 and efforts (unsuccesful but heroic) to save Arthur Gilkey; a rescue of Polish climber on Mt Everest after 5 perished in avalanche carried by his tem members or a help given in 1996 Everest tragedy by IMAX team).

The young Israeli was alone (and rascue action is so much easier and sensible when there are more rescuers), it was not a member of his team, attempting rescue he had absolutely no guarantee of success and guarantee of abandoning summit and risking his own life. Yet he did not hesitate!

He is a hero!!!!!