From fires to earthquakes, wrecked vehicles and stranded hikers, the people who end up making life saving moves are the ones who truly define what it means to persevere no matter what environment or climate. Perseverance is one of the most under-rated traits for humans, and when it comes to defying the rules of our environment, those who persevere through anything are the ones that make the most impact. Here's some of the most inspiring stories we could find taken from extreme snowy peaks, freezing water, and the driest desert.
A mind-bending rescue mission for an injured climber on Mount Rainer at 27,000
Dave Hahn is one of the most famous mountaineers the world has ever seen; conquered Everest 15 times. In 2007, Hahn was in a helicopter on its way to rescue an injured climber that crashed. Hahn and Chris Olsen (Ranger) were able to exit the vehicle and continue the treacherous climb to then carry the injured climber to safety after two days.
Unexpected Tide Shifts to Stranded In the Arctic Ocean
Arctic resident Karatak and his son set out on a calm and mild weather afternoon in the arctic as their boat is pulled miles away from the coastline out of nowhere. Ice-cold waves drenched the two though they remained in the boat shivering as the temperature dropped. Their clothing froze.
Through the grace of God, a sighting of their supplies left on the main ice cap prompted a mission to search and rescue. As the temperature dropped, the boat froze, and they were able to exit and start pulling it back towards the main land- this turned out to be a bad move as the mysterious arctic waters ended up splashing and pulling them yet further away from safety.
A helicopter spotted the two and as it came within 20 feet, a blade crashed into a chunk of ice, bringing down the entire chopper. The pilot and team was able to climb to safety with the two originally stranded - whereby a second helicopter arrived and rescued everyone involved.
A double amputee stranded at 23,000 feet (Everest)
The height limit for the helicopter was 7,000 meters (23k feet); fly above this and crash - insurance covers nothing. Simone Moro is a seasoned rescue helicopter pilot, for this rescue, he removed every door, seat, and items that were not necessary for treatment of the survivor - plus filled up with the least amount of fuel required for flight. Once the chopper was atop the mountain and above the injured victim, Moro was going to be able to hover above the head of the victim for 30 seconds - the team hooked the climber and headed back to camp.
Stranded In The Tanami Desert For 71 Days
Ricky Megee was an Australian man drugged and left for dead in 2006. Once conscious amidst the extreme heat and in a land barren and food less, he started by relying on nothing more than primal instincts to eat or drink anything he could.
As infections spread through his body, his body fought to survive by building a make-shift shelter and keeping his brain active by visualizing TV shows. Once he was rescued, he had lost over half his body weight (60 kilos).
The Most Famous Belay K2 - 1953
Pete Schoening and six American climbers got stranded at around 25,000 feet - one team member collapsed from a pulmonary embolism. The team wrapped Gilkey in a sleeping bag, attached him with a climbing rope and began lowering him down the mountain face despite the dangers associated with moving someone in that state.
The entire team entered a free fall at one point when one of the team members (Schoening) used his ice ax to stop the entire team from falling tens of thousands of feet. On the way to base camp, the injured team member passed away due to the conditions, but the rest of the team was thankful to make it back alive.
