Crazy Survival Stories pt 2

Crazy Survival Stories pt 2

8km with a broken leg:

Who: Joe Simpson
When: 1985

What happened: Two British climbers; Joe Simpson and David Yates, was trying to be the first ever to reach the summit of the 6344 meter high mountain Siula Grande, Peru. They succeeded. But on the way down the northern side of the mountain, Simpson fell and broke his right leg. As if that wasn't bad enough, their trip had taken longer than they've calculated, which meant they had run out of fuel to melt snow for drinking water.

They tied two ropes together and the plan was that Yates had to lower Simpson down, the rope got stuck and suddenly they were both hanging in rope, stuck on a mountainside. It was pitch black and storming, which made it impossible for any kind of communication. Yates started thinking that they'd either both get pulled to their death, or he could survive - so he cut the rope. Simpson plummeted 45 meters and ended up in a crevice. But he was alive.

   Incredibly, with no food or water, Simpson crawled 8km back to the camp they'd stayed at. He found Yates, who thought he had lost a friend, packing and getting ready to return to civilization. He has had several surgeries and was told he'd never be able to climb mountains again, let alone walk. Two years later, he reached the summit of yet another mountain.

War Prisoner For 5,5 Years

Who: John McCain (Oh yes, THAT John McCain)

When: 1967-1973

What happened: USA's former republican presidential candidate John McCain has a story that beats 99% of other grandfathers stories. McCain was a fighter pilot during the Vietnam war and in 1967 he was shot down over Hanoi. He shattered both of his arms and one of his leg when using the catapult seat, he then landed in a river and almost drowned. He was fished from the river by Vietnamese soldiers, who broke his shoulder and stabbed him with a bayonet, just for the heck of it.

After several days of non-stop torture, the Vietnamese soldiers found out, that McCain's father was an admiral in the American army, therefore they loosely patched McCain back together, he had now lost 25kg and his black hair had turned completely white.

   In 1968 McCain's father was the first in command of the American forces in Vietnam and the Vietnamese soldiers offered to release McCain with propaganda in mind. John refused, unless they'd release the other prisoners in his camp. The following four days consisted of non-stop torture, but McCain still refused to be released alone. The torture stopped, but he was still a prisoner.

   Not until March 1973, five and a half years later, he was released and could go home. He had a lot of treatment and rehabilitation to go through when he got home. He is still plagued by his injuries and, if he was elected president, wouldn't have been able to raise his hands above his head.