This hair-raising footage shows a queue of people snaking along Mount Everest’s Southeast Ridge in the so-called Death Zone.
It was filmed by Taylor Adams of Salt Lake City, Utah, a type 1 diabetic aiming to raise money to help fund a cure for the illness.
Taylor describes himself as the “first type 1 diabetic to climb the Seven Summits with an insulin pump”.
Taylor, 33, told Newsflash in an interview that he recorded the video on his mobile phone “between Mount Everest’s South Summit at 8,749 metres and the true summit at 8,848 metres, along the Cornice Traverse and Hillary Step”.
The paediatric critical care nurse added: “The last clip is on top. It was taken the morning of 23rd May 2019.”
Taylor told Newsflash: “I’ve climbed tons of mountains. I have completed the Seven Summits, or the tallest mountains on all seven continents.
“These include, in the order I climbed them, Denali, Aconcagua, Elbrus, Vinson Massif, Kilimanjaro, Everest, and Kosciuszko. I’ve also climbed in Mexico, Ecuador, and more in the US.
“The tallest mountain I’ve climbed is Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world at 8,848 metres (29,032 feet).”
Taylor paid credit to his good fortune while completing the challenge, telling Newsflash: “I’ve been very lucky and never injured myself on a climb.
“I have gotten sick from respiratory and gastrointestinal issues high on mountains before though, which is never fun.”
Taylor also spoke of how his passion for mountain climbing developed, telling Newsflash: “I grew up participating in many outdoor activities, such as hiking and camping.
“I never did anything as extreme as high altitude mountaineering until college, where I fell in love with it.
“I love the physical and mental challenge of it, getting to see phenomenal places few people get to see, and the camaraderie of putting yourself in stressful and difficult situations with other people.”
Taylor also opened up about his condition, telling Newsflash: “I’m one of only four type 1 diabetics who have climbed Mount Everest, and three who have climbed all the Seven Summits.”
He has a GoFundMe page called ‘Climb To Cure Diabetes’, which has raised USD 7,460 of its USD-10,000 goal and can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/climb-to-cure-diabetes.
Taylor said: “I work with lots of type 1 diabetic children and their families in my line of work.
“I think my story is interesting and important because I am a concrete example for these people, hearing about a life changing diagnosis, that diabetes does not have to define you or limit what you can do.”
