WEBVTT 00:00:06.889 --> 00:00:10.490 Hi, my name is Tania and this is day seven of 00:00:10.490 --> 00:00:14.330 my 100 days of growth for my podcast Bloom Talks. 00:00:14.330 --> 00:00:17.309 So we are a week in. I started this challenge 00:00:17.309 --> 00:00:20.350 to step out of my comfort zone, learn how to 00:00:20.350 --> 00:00:22.989 create content and show up even when anxiety 00:00:22.989 --> 00:00:26.210 makes it hard. Podcast is a place where we're 00:00:26.210 --> 00:00:29.579 going to explore. powerful real -life stories. 00:00:29.859 --> 00:00:33.939 Each episode dives into true inspirational journeys 00:00:33.939 --> 00:00:37.299 of people who endure extraordinary circumstances 00:00:37.299 --> 00:00:41.159 and come out stronger. The story of survival 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:47.579 against all odds is Left 4 Dead, the true story 00:00:47.579 --> 00:00:51.859 of Beck Weathers. Now imagine this, you're standing 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:56.439 at 29 ,000 feet above sea level higher than any 00:00:56.439 --> 00:00:59.560 place on earth where humans can survive without 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.820 oxygen. The wind is screaming, the temperature 00:01:03.820 --> 00:01:07.620 is minus 40 Celsius, the body is shutting down. 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:13.260 You can't see, you can barely think and people 00:01:13.260 --> 00:01:16.480 around you believe you are already dead. Now 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:19.000 imagine waking up, you're alone and you're on 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:23.840 the side of Mount Everest. A man who was left 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:28.599 for dead twice. Beck Weathers on the most dangerous 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:31.359 mountain in the world and somehow lived to tell 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:35.659 the story. Before Everest, Beck Weathers was 00:01:35.659 --> 00:01:39.540 not a professional mountaineering. He was a pathologist 00:01:39.540 --> 00:01:42.700 from Texas, a medical doctor with a stable career, 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:45.560 a wife and two children, but Beck was also searching 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:49.620 for something. In the early 90s he was struggling 00:01:49.620 --> 00:01:52.920 severely with depression. something he later 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:57.019 described as a deep emotional numbness. Mountaineering 00:01:57.019 --> 00:02:01.159 became his escape, a place where pain felt purposeful, 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:05.719 where life felt sharp and real. Climbing gave 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:09.979 him clarity, seriously and steadily, eventually 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:12.719 setting his sights on the ultimate challenge, 00:02:13.099 --> 00:02:17.419 Mount Everest. In 1996 he joined a guided expedition 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:21.520 led by Rob Hall. He was one of the most respected 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:25.199 Everest guides in the world, founded by adventure 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:29.379 consultants. Sorry, he was the founder of adventure 00:02:29.379 --> 00:02:33.879 consultants. This was not reckless tourism. This 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:37.580 was a highly organized professional exhibition, 00:02:38.099 --> 00:02:41.719 but Everest does not care about experience, preparation 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:46.879 or reputation. Before the summit attempt even 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:51.300 began, Beck faced a dangerous complication, undergone 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:56.500 eye surgery, corrected vision by making incisions 00:02:56.500 --> 00:03:03.000 in the cornea. At high altitude the surgery became 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:06.400 a serious risk. The extreme cold could cause 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.539 temporary blindness. Beck informed Rob Hall of 00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:11.659 this issue and together they made a decision. 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:14.449 Beck would attempt the summit But if his vision 00:03:14.449 --> 00:03:17.030 failed, he would stop and wait for assistance. 00:03:17.530 --> 00:03:21.689 On May 10, 1996, Beck began the summit push with 00:03:21.689 --> 00:03:25.310 his team. The weather appeared manageable, but 00:03:25.310 --> 00:03:30.909 Everest weather can turn without warning. They 00:03:30.909 --> 00:03:34.729 barely slept. Oxygen mask was hissing with each 00:03:34.729 --> 00:03:37.810 breath, and every step felt like lifting concrete 00:03:37.810 --> 00:03:42.270 blocks. As Beck climbed higher, his vision began 00:03:42.270 --> 00:03:47.289 to blur. Then it went dark, completely. Blind 00:03:47.289 --> 00:03:51.569 at nearly 28 ,000 feet, Beck was forced to stop. 00:03:51.889 --> 00:03:55.330 He waited near the south, sitting down in the 00:03:55.330 --> 00:03:58.150 snow, oxygen running low, surrounded by climbers 00:03:58.150 --> 00:04:01.310 pushing upwards and downwards. Eventually, guide 00:04:01.310 --> 00:04:05.250 Mike Groom escorted him down slightly and told 00:04:05.250 --> 00:04:09.870 him to wait while help was arranged. Then a storm 00:04:09.870 --> 00:04:13.669 arrived. and suddenly a violent blizzard engulfed 00:04:13.669 --> 00:04:20.689 the mountain. Temperature plummeted and winds 00:04:20.689 --> 00:04:25.509 reached hurricane force. Climbers became disorientated, 00:04:25.810 --> 00:04:30.069 lost and separated. Some never returned. Beckweathers 00:04:30.069 --> 00:04:34.370 was now alone, blind, out of oxygen and exposed. 00:04:34.949 --> 00:04:37.860 He eventually collapsed into the snow. Later 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:41.779 fellow climbers, including Stuart Upton, found 00:04:41.779 --> 00:04:45.079 Beck lying face down, his skin frozen solid. 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:48.060 They checked for signs of life, but there was 00:04:48.060 --> 00:04:53.920 none. And he showed no response. They made an 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:57.379 impossible decision. At that altitude, staying 00:04:57.379 --> 00:05:00.199 meant death for everyone, so they had to leave 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:03.480 him. Beck Weathers was officially considered 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:09.689 dead on Everest. Now imagine this, you regain 00:05:09.689 --> 00:05:13.290 consciousness but you cannot feel your hands, 00:05:13.569 --> 00:05:16.550 your face is frozen, you cannot see clearly and 00:05:16.550 --> 00:05:20.310 you're lying alone on Mount Everest. Somehow 00:05:20.310 --> 00:05:23.730 Beck woke up despite having no oxygen, no shelter 00:05:23.730 --> 00:05:29.310 and severe hypothermia, his body slowly reactivated. 00:05:29.769 --> 00:05:35.189 Your survival instincts took over. Partially 00:05:35.189 --> 00:05:38.769 blind, Beck began stumbling towards camp, guided 00:05:38.769 --> 00:05:41.750 only by memory and instinct. When he finally 00:05:41.750 --> 00:05:45.649 emerged at camp, climbers stared in disbelief. 00:05:45.930 --> 00:05:48.129 They were looking at a man they believed was 00:05:48.129 --> 00:05:51.290 a corpse. One climber later described him as 00:05:51.290 --> 00:05:56.170 looking like a walking dead man, but Beck wasn't 00:05:56.170 --> 00:06:01.829 safe yet. Rescue attempts were made, but conditions 00:06:01.829 --> 00:06:05.430 were still deadly. Beck's hands, feet and face 00:06:05.430 --> 00:06:08.649 were severely frostbitten. Doctors on the mountain 00:06:08.649 --> 00:06:12.990 determined he could not survive a descent. Once 00:06:12.990 --> 00:06:18.129 again, a decision was made. Beck Weathers was 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:22.550 left behind for a second time. But once again, 00:06:22.629 --> 00:06:25.170 he did not die. He survived another freezing 00:06:25.170 --> 00:06:28.970 night alone in extreme altitude. Eventually, 00:06:29.250 --> 00:06:33.269 against all odds, a helicopter Evacuation was 00:06:33.269 --> 00:06:36.850 organised. One of the highest altitude helicopter 00:06:36.850 --> 00:06:40.290 rescues ever performed at the time. Beck was 00:06:40.290 --> 00:06:44.589 flown off Everest alive. Beck survived but the 00:06:44.589 --> 00:06:50.490 damage was catastrophic. He lost his right arm, 00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:55.410 most fingers on his left hand, parts of both 00:06:55.410 --> 00:07:00.000 feet and his nose. He underwent multiple surgeries 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.379 and months of recovery. It was emotional. During 00:07:04.379 --> 00:07:07.000 his time on Everest, especially when he believed 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:10.319 he was dying, Beck realised something devastating. 00:07:10.899 --> 00:07:13.439 He had emotionally checked out of his life long 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:16.319 before the climb, and now given a second chance, 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:20.680 he knew he had to live differently. Beck returned 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:23.959 home. He rebuilt his relationship with his wife 00:07:23.959 --> 00:07:34.540 and his children. of heroism, but as a confession, 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:40.500 a reckoning and a lesson. He became a motivational 00:07:40.500 --> 00:07:45.639 speaker speaking openly about depression, purpose, 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:49.000 responsibility, and the danger of emotional withdrawal. 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.379 He never climbed Everest again, but he climbed 00:07:52.379 --> 00:07:55.680 something far more difficult, a return to life. 00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:59.949 So why does Beckweather's story matter? because 00:07:59.949 --> 00:08:02.110 survival wasn't just about endurance, it was 00:08:02.110 --> 00:08:07.170 about awakening. Beck survived hypothermia, oxygen 00:08:07.170 --> 00:08:13.389 deprivation, blindness, frostbite and abandonment 00:08:13.389 --> 00:08:17.529 on Everest twice, but most importantly he survived 00:08:17.529 --> 00:08:21.389 himself. This story reminds us you can be alive 00:08:21.389 --> 00:08:24.949 and still be absent, you can lose everything 00:08:24.949 --> 00:08:27.649 and still begin again and sometimes it takes 00:08:27.649 --> 00:08:30.569 standing at the edge of death to understand the 00:08:30.569 --> 00:08:34.289 value of life. Beckweathers didn't just survive 00:08:34.289 --> 00:08:37.889 Everest, he came back changed. Imagine being 00:08:37.889 --> 00:08:42.789 written off as dead twice. Imagine waking up 00:08:42.789 --> 00:08:47.029 when survival is no longer expected for you and 00:08:47.029 --> 00:08:50.250 choosing again and again to keep moving. That 00:08:50.250 --> 00:08:53.629 is the story of Beckweathers. A reminder that 00:08:53.629 --> 00:08:56.809 as long as you are breathing, it is never too 00:08:56.809 --> 00:09:00.799 late to come back to life. Thank you for listening 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.279 to Bloom Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:06.820 be sure to subscribe and join us next time for 00:09:06.820 --> 00:09:09.600 another incredible journey of resilience. Until 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:12.559 then, stay safe, keep growing and take care.