Mountain climber reveals challenges he faced using frostbite hand after hike almost cost him his life
A mountain climber who had to have several fingers amputated due to frostbite showed people what his hands looked like before his surgery.
Fahad Badar told Newsweek that he had been climbing the Broad Peak mountain in Pakistan in July 2021 when he almost died.
One climber on the expedition did die, while two others turned around due to altitude sickness before the group reached the mountain's peak.
Badar's expedition guide also turned back, leaving the man alone in his attempt to ascend the 8,047 metre high summit before he became stranded.
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He said: "After climbing non-stop for almost 27 hours I was stranded overnight at almost 8,000 meters.
"I was almost dead but I survived the night without oxygen, alone in the cold. I had hallucinations due to low oxygen and was lost."
Fortunately for Fahad he did end up being rescued from what would be certain death, though not all of him survived the harrowing experience.
Four fingers on his left hand and one on his right had become affected by frostbite, meaning they'd have to be amputated.
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He had severe pain in the fingers before they eventually went completely numb, leading him to seek treatment but it was already too late to save his digits.
In the end his frostbitten fingers were 'totally dead' and there was 'no pain at all', though his fingers had turned black and felt 'like rock'.
The mountain climber showed the extent of the damage online, creating videos which showed what his frostbite affected fingers looked like in the run up to them being amputated.
He showed that his fingers had become 'fully mummified' and while he could still use them to grab things he couldn't move them properly.
Fahad said that amputating the dead, necrotic flesh of his fingers was necessary as otherwise they could result in him developing an infection.
The mountain climber added that his fingers 'may fall off' by themselves if they were left, but it could take some time during which there would be a risk of infection so it was safer to amputate.
He told Newsweek further: "I was already over it as it was almost two months after the incident so I had already been through the five stages of grief and was planning for my life afterwards.
"There is no use for just being sad or depressed, life goes on and I am alive."
He has since gone on to climb more mountains.
Joe Harker