Survivor: I yelled, 'I'm not going to die on this mountain!'
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SEATTLE -- Brian Dickinson set out to conquer the tallest mountain on every continent.
"I'm just a huge goal setter," he said.
But after what he encountered atop Mount Everest, it's a wonder the Snoqualmie dad made it down alive.
Dickerson's climbing partner fell ill at Camp 2, leaving him heading into the death zone with only his sherpa.
"And I dropped my goggles half way up," he said.
The cracked goggles clouded Dickerson's vision with fog and ice.
"I had dime-size hole in (my) left eye (lens)," he said.
When Dickinson's sherpa became too sick to continue, the father of two decided to power ahead to the summit alone.
"I wasn't just soloing; I was the only person up there," he said. "So no one to really share it with."
Completely alone, Dickinson managed to push his way all the way to the top.
But when he turned to head back down, he ran into trouble.
"When I decided to finally head back down, I turned and everything went white," Dickinson.
The intense light banking off the ice scorched his corneas, causing snow blindness in both eyes.
"I was on the highest mountain in the world. I'm blind. No one else is coming to get me, and I have to get down," he said. "It wasn't a choice."
Battered by winds blowing at 50 mph, Dickinson fell, but was saved by his rope shock loads.
Then came the avalanche.
"I was getting frustrated and angry, and yelled, 'I'm not going to die on this mountain!'" he said.
Out of oxygen, Dickinson started suffocating.
"I just dropped to my knees and prayed, 'God, help me. I can't do this alone,'" he said.
That's when Dickinson says a miracle washed over him.
"At that moment, I felt a miracle. I had this energy," he said. "I tried oxygen again, and the indicator goes to positive."
Fighting off hallucinations, Dickinson forged ahead. He eventually found his sherpa, who helped him down the mountain.
Now, safely back home, Dickinson, when asked whether he summited, says what's most important is that he survived.
Dickinson says his eyesight returned to full strength just this month, nearly four weeks after he summited Mount Everest.
And despite the harrowing experience, he plans to continue toward his goal of climbing the tallest mountain on each continent. He has three left to go.
"I'm just a huge goal setter," he said.
But after what he encountered atop Mount Everest, it's a wonder the Snoqualmie dad made it down alive.
Dickerson's climbing partner fell ill at Camp 2, leaving him heading into the death zone with only his sherpa.
"And I dropped my goggles half way up," he said.
The cracked goggles clouded Dickerson's vision with fog and ice.
"I had dime-size hole in (my) left eye (lens)," he said.
When Dickinson's sherpa became too sick to continue, the father of two decided to power ahead to the summit alone.
"I wasn't just soloing; I was the only person up there," he said. "So no one to really share it with."
Completely alone, Dickinson managed to push his way all the way to the top.
But when he turned to head back down, he ran into trouble.
"When I decided to finally head back down, I turned and everything went white," Dickinson.
The intense light banking off the ice scorched his corneas, causing snow blindness in both eyes.
"I was on the highest mountain in the world. I'm blind. No one else is coming to get me, and I have to get down," he said. "It wasn't a choice."
Battered by winds blowing at 50 mph, Dickinson fell, but was saved by his rope shock loads.
Then came the avalanche.
"I was getting frustrated and angry, and yelled, 'I'm not going to die on this mountain!'" he said.
Out of oxygen, Dickinson started suffocating.
"I just dropped to my knees and prayed, 'God, help me. I can't do this alone,'" he said.
That's when Dickinson says a miracle washed over him.
"At that moment, I felt a miracle. I had this energy," he said. "I tried oxygen again, and the indicator goes to positive."
Fighting off hallucinations, Dickinson forged ahead. He eventually found his sherpa, who helped him down the mountain.
Now, safely back home, Dickinson, when asked whether he summited, says what's most important is that he survived.
Dickinson says his eyesight returned to full strength just this month, nearly four weeks after he summited Mount Everest.
And despite the harrowing experience, he plans to continue toward his goal of climbing the tallest mountain on each continent. He has three left to go.
