Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

In 1999, Steve Ball, Antony Hollinshead and Nigel Vardy set out to climb Alaska's Mt Mckinley. This is a mountain that is not for the faint hearted. But the trio were all experienced climbers in search of a challenge, so they chose to take the toughest route up.

All went well until day 18. Nearing the summit, they encountered a bad storm. They fell behind schedule whilst battling wind speeds of 70mph and temperatures dropping to -50°C. Steve began to slow down 'I could feel myself going down, I'm shivering, my teeth are chattering, my thought process is slowing down…'.

Antony and Nigel decided to find a place to shelter from the freezing winds and the three huddled together in a crevasse for the night. In the morning, Steve had recovered. Nigel made an attempt to radio for help but accidentally dropped and damaged the only radio. Now they had no contact with the outside world.

Up the Mountain | Team Splits | Found Alive

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