Everest 2012: The Rescue Of Corey Richards

The big news from Everest this past weekend was the rescue of photographer/filmmaker Corey Richards, who seemed to have developed altitude sickness and had to be evacuated from the mountain. Corey was climbing as part of the National Geographic/North Face team that is preparing to take on the West Ridge and earlier today an update on his status, as well as a video of his rescue, was posted to the On Everest blog on the Nat Geo site.

According to the update, Corey has now returned to Kathmandu where he is being examined by health experts and is deciding his next move. He is said to be feeling much better but it remains unclear if he'll re-join the team in Base Camp. As you'll see in the video he was having extreme difficulty in breathing and had to be assisted down the mountain by his teammates. He was able to cross through the Khumbu Icefall under his own power, but for much of the trek back to BC he was dragged along in a sled.

This was a scary situation to say the least. Lets hope he only goes back up to Everest if he is completely recovered and feeling strong. I'd hate to see the symptoms return when he's back in the Khumbu.