A Scientist Fell 70 Feet Into A Mountain Crevasse... And Lived

May 23, 2014

A scientist from Western Kentucky University fell into a 70-foot crevasse on Mount Himlung in the Himalayas, and he lived to tell the tale.

scientist falls 70 feet
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John All was conducting climate research in Nepal when he suddenly fell.

The fall broke one of his arms, multiple ribs and dislocated his shoulder. Once he realized he may be stuck for a long time, if not forever, he turned on his camera.

sccientist falls in mountain
YouTube

He knew the only chance of survival was to climb straight back up the 70 foot hole he fell down.

"It probably took me four or five hours to climb out. I kept moving sideways, slightly up, sideways, slightly up, until I found an area where there was enough hard snow that I could get an ax in and pull myself up and over," he told HLN's RightThisMinute.

"I knew that if I fell at any time in that entire four or five hours, I, of course, was going to fall all the way to the bottom of the crevasse. Any mistake, or any sort of rest or anything, I was going to die."

John describes the five hour climb as, "one of life's hardest moments."