Adler reached 8,450 metres just 400 metres short of the summit before being forced to turn back. In the clip, recorded shortly after returning to base camp, she struggles to catch her breath, her face red and windburned. “I just got back from camp 2,” she says, gasping. “I’m at base camp. I feel horrible. My throat and lungs… I am so out of breath even though yesterday I was at 8,000 metres.”
The video gives viewers a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the physical challenges climbers face in the extreme altitude, where oxygen is severely limited and conditions are unforgiving.
Adler revealed she had to abandon her summit attempt after she began losing feeling in her fingers and toes, a warning sign of potential frostbite. “I felt strong and confident, but it was getting extremely dangerous,” she said, noting that sudden gusts made conditions far worse than predicted.
The teenager spent nearly four days in the Death Zone during multiple summit attempts with her Sherpa guides. The prolonged high-altitude exposure led to high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), a serious form of mountain sickness in which fluid accumulates in the lungs, making breathing difficult, reportedly.
“Just being that high up takes a huge toll on your body,” Adler explained, adding that it took her a full month to recover after descending. “There’s so little oxygen… that’s why I look so terrible in the videos,” she told the outlet.
Social Media Reactions
The video has left social media users stunned, with many expressing surprise at the extreme physical strain climbers endure in Everest’s Death Zone.
“Ultimate strength. You deserve all the respect for what you’ve achieved in mountaineering,” one user wrote.
Another commented, “Any 8,000-meter climb where you make it back alive with all your fingers and toes is a success, even if you don’t reach the summit. Congrats on getting this far and having the sense to turn back safely.”
Fans praised Adler’s courage, highlighting the importance of respecting one’s limits at such deadly altitudes.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
