Australian explorer who collapsed and nearly died up Mount Everest reveals his horror injuries

‘My body is wrecked’: Australian explorer who collapsed and nearly died up Mount Everest reveals his horror injuries as he recovers in hospital

  • Gilian Lee, a Canberra public servant, was climbing Everest when he collapsed
  • He fell unconscious after having suffering from intense chest and throat pains
  • His rescue details are unknown but it included a yak and Tibetan repair workers 
  • Mr Lee revealed on Twitter that he is recovering but has severe liver problems 

An Australian climber who collapsed while climbing Mount Everest has revealed the horrible injuries that almost cost him his life. 

Gilian Lee, a Canberra public servant, was 7500m up Mount Everest when he suddenly collapsed and fell unconscious after complaining about chest pains.

There is little information surrounding how he was rescued, but it did involve a yak and a team of Tibetan alpine specialists who were doing repair work on the mountain.

Mr Lee has revealed on Twitter that he’s suffering from liver problems as he recovers in a Kathmandu hospital. 

Gilian Lee (pictured), a Canberra public servant, climbed 7500 metres up Mount Everest when he suddenly collapsed and fell unconscious after complaining about chest pains

Mr Lee is an IT specialist who describes himself as an ‘average person chasing a long-term dream’ of climbing the 14 highest peaks in the world without the help of oxygen or drugs. 

He said on his personal blog that it has been a goal of his since leaving university.  

‘Rather than sitting around dreaming about it, I have started trying to achieve this mountaineering challenge,’ Mr Lee wrote on his blog.

‘Maybe I will succeed, maybe not, but it’ll be fun, and painful, to try to pursue this.’

Mr Lee went to Twitter on May 21 and said he had severe chest pains after climbing 7016 metres up Mount Everest. He went silent for 10 days until he made a post stating 'I am alive.' He is currently recovering in a Kathmandu hospital

Mr Lee went to Twitter on May 21 and said he had severe chest pains after climbing 7016 metres up Mount Everest. He went silent for 10 days until he made a post stating ‘I am alive.’ He is currently recovering in a Kathmandu hospital

Mr Lee posted on Twitter on May 18 that his health had gone from ‘good to bad’ while he was 7016 metres up the mountain. 

‘Chest hacking phlegm cough will killer back throat. Salt gargle and ginger tea,’ Mr Lee said on Twitter. 

Three days later, Mr Lee said his condition was getting worse. 

‘Rough night at C1 due to persistent chest infection.’

His Twitter account went silent for 10 days until he updated his followers about his condition on Thursday night. 

‘I am alive. Something went amiss on the summit push after C2.’

‘In hospital. Surprisingly mum is here, which is good to get medical advice.

‘No phone and vision damage, Piecing what happened. Rest.’ 

On average five climbers die each year on the icy, narrow, oxygen-starved paths to the 8848 metre (29,029-feet) peak (picture of the extent of crowding near the summit of Everest. This season, 11 people died on the treacherous slopes where mountaineers queued sometimes for hours for their turn at the top

On average five climbers die each year on the icy, narrow, oxygen-starved paths to the 8848 metre (29,029-feet) peak (picture of the extent of crowding near the summit of Everest. This season, 11 people died on the treacherous slopes where mountaineers queued sometimes for hours for their turn at the top

On average five climbers die each year on the icy, narrow, oxygen-starved paths to the 8848 metre (29,029-feet) peak. 

This season, 11 people died on the treacherous slopes where mountaineers queued sometimes for hours for their turn at the top. 

Nine climbers died on the Nepal side of Everest and two on the Tibet side.

The ridge to the Everest summit was clogged by more than 200 climbers on May 22 when it reopened after bad weather.

Teams waited for hours in freezing temperatures to reach the top and then descend. 

The wait increased the risk of frostbite, deadly altitude sickness and simple exhaustion from depleted oxygen levels.

Some veterans say too many of the new wave of mountaineer tourists are ill-prepared for what remains a major test of body and soul. Others have called for a cut in the number of climbing permits, or tougher standards for guides (pictured, climbers walking past a dead body on Everest)

Some veterans say too many of the new wave of mountaineer tourists are ill-prepared for what remains a major test of body and soul. Others have called for a cut in the number of climbing permits, or tougher standards for guides (pictured, climbers walking past a dead body on Everest)

The traffic jam in the Everest ‘death zone’ has been blamed for at least four deaths this year.

Some veterans say too many of the new wave of mountaineer tourists are ill-prepared for what remains a major test of body and soul. 

Others have called for a cut in the number of climbing permits, or tougher standards for guides. 

The 11 climbers who have died on Everest in the past nine days

May 16: Irish professor Séamus Lawless went missing on May 16 after reportedly falling.   

The search operation has since been called off and he is presumed dead. 

May 22:  Dedicated amateur Donald Lynn Cash, 55, from Sandy, Utah, collapsed and died  

May 24: Irishman Kevin Hynes, 56, passed away on the northern Tibet part of the mountain.

The father-of-two died in his tent at 23,000ft on the descent after turning back before reaching the top.

May 25: Robin Haynes Fisher, 44, collapsed and died only 150m from the peak.

May 27: American patent lawyer Christopher John Kulish, 61, dies after descending 

Last weekFour Indians, one Austrian and one person from Nepal died on Everest.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk