A former US Navy Air Rescue swimmer has spoken about the terrifying moment he lost his sight while summiting Mount Everest.
Brian Dickinson appeared on Mark Leiter's YouTube channel, Soft White Underbelly, to recount his experience climbing the world's tallest mountain.
Accustomed to tough terrain, Brian decided to climb to the top of Everest, the place where so many people had lost their lives.
He described what the icy conditions were like and the crucial moment when the Sherpa suddenly fell ill about 1,000 feet from the summit.
The Sherpas made sure to bury extra oxygen bottles in case he wanted to continue climbing alone.
At that point, Brian was faced with a difficult choice: Should he also descend the mountain, or should he decide to climb on his own, without the Sherpa's expertise?
Brian Dickinson talks about his plight (Youtube/Soft White Underbelly)
However, he was trapped in an area known as the “death zone,” an area known for having extremely low oxygen levels.
At this point, climbers must don oxygen masks to survive the harsh conditions.
Time was of the essence as being trapped there would be a nightmare and something you would want to get out of quickly.
It was then that Brian hoped to reach the summit of Everest and decided to climb alone.
Thankfully, he was able to complete the mission within four hours, but his joy didn't last long.
Brian explained that he had called the campground to let other climbers know where he was.
He said, “'This is Brian, calling from the top of Everest.'”
Everyone on the other end of the phone was congratulating him on his achievement, but then someone mentioned the missing sherpa.
Brian said the moment he reached the top of the mountain, “I realized no one knew I was alone.”
After he told them he was alone, they told him he was safe and the call ended.
Shortly after Brian took a few photos, his eyes began to heat up and his vision began to blur.
Within seconds, his goggles malfunctioned, leaving him almost completely blind.
He lost his eyesight due to his environment (Getty Stock Image)
“I must have taken about 10 or 15 steps and then everything went white, so I just remember dropping down, grabbing the rope I was attached to and assessing the situation,” Brian said.
He added: “I had total snow blindness.”
Alone at 29,035 feet, with little oxygen and nearly blind, Bryan had to rely only on the support he had from his Navy training to make the descent.
In his book, Blind Descent, Blaine details the painful, step-by-step process he had to take to ensure he could descend safely.
In a YouTube video, he said: “Your vision doesn't usually come back in 24 hours. Mine came back in almost two months. So when I say blind, I mean totally blind. Totally blind.”
Brian believed he was “protected” despite falling several times during the descent.
He assumed someone was watching over him to ensure his safe return with the help of spare oxygen packs that a Sherpa had buried a few hours earlier.
Brian explained that he prayed for help from a higher power and that help was given to him, helping him survive.
