On top of the world, you'd think you'd be jubilant, but at the peak of Mount Everest, there's little energy to celebrate.

You've got about 20 minutes to enjoy the view, to take in your enormous accomplishment before it's time to go.

You're dying.

You're at high risk of cerebral edema.

Brain swelling.

It's a grand achievement, but you must go back down.

You can't let it get to your head.

Or you will die.

In the death zone.

Welcome to Maroon, stories of the catastrophically lost. I'm Jack Luna.

This is Aaron Hable. Lincoln Hall's fascination with Everest began in the 1980s when he became obsessed with climbing and mountaineering. In 1984, 29-year-old Lincoln and his friend Greg Mortimer

organized the first Australian expedition

to climb Everest with the goal of finding a new route up the North Face. With no fixed ropes,

no Sherpa support, and no supplemental oxygen, this would prove to be a monumental endeavor. Braving

freezing temperatures, avalanches, and the unknown, Greg would go on to summit the

mountain. However, at 27,000 feet, Lincoln was having trouble warming his hands and feet and decided

to turn around for fear of frostbite. The disappointment of his decision would haunt him for the next

22 years. In 2006, at 50 years old, Lincoln received an invitation to join a Russian expedition

led by Everest Veteran Alex Abramoff.

Despite his age, Lincoln cannot turn down the opportunity and decides to give it another shot.

Lincoln's wife and two teenage boys are

supportive, but keenly aware of the risks involved. Climers over 50 years old are two times more

...