Decades after he almost died, a mountain climber's near brush with death on Mount Everest is going viral. And it's all thanks to his daughter and social media.
Dave Carter is now 61 years old, but he almost died while attempting to scale Mount Everest in 1997. This came after two unsuccessful attempts to reach the mountain top. Fast forward to now, and his daughter Vyla Carter is sharing his story on TikTok through a series called, "My Dad Climbed Everest and I Have Questions."
Speaking with People, she said she wanted to share the mountain climber's story as part of an attempt to get to know her father more. "Growing up it was always a part of my life and it seemed normal to me," Vyla said.
When attempting to climb back down Mount Everest, Dave said he almost died. He experienced near-suffocation and would have perished if not for his fellow climbers. "The big story is how everybody pulled together the team and basically saved my life," he said. "If it wasn't for [mountaineer] Ed Viesturs down with me to camp three and giving me the Heimlich maneuver throughout the evening on and off and also for the other teammates ... it was a team effort for my survival."
Mount Everest Near Death Experience
He was thankful for his fellow climbers. He completed the trip with Viesturs, David Breashears, Pete Athans and Guy Cotter. "Those guys were professional, they were at top of their game," he said. "It was very intimidating to be with those guys and all I could think about was, 'Hey Dave, learn from these guys as much as you can, but don't screw up and don't make a mistake.'"
However, he said he learned a lot on the Mount Everest climb as well.
"But man, the group of guys was wonderful to be with," Dave continues. "I would always listen to what they were saying about the mountain, just observed and learned from their past climbing history. They were great teachers."
Following his climb to Mount Everest, Dave ended up returning to Nepal a lot over the years.
"I would go to Nepal quite a bit, usually about every other year when Vyla was growing up," Dave said. "I would usually take people, friends and people from Indiana especially because I wanted them to experience the mountains, but especially the culture of Nepal."
