On May 26, 2006, high on the north slope of Mount Everest, Daniel Mazur, Olympia, Washington climbing guide was faced with a life or death decision. He was climbing the summit of Everest when he and his party encountered a most unusual sight. "Mazur, his two clients and a Sherpa guide were just two hours from the 29,035-foot peak… when they came across 50-year-old Lincoln Hall, who was left a day earlier when his own guides believed he was dead. 'I was shocked to see a guy without gloves, hat, oxygen bottles or sleeping bag at sunrise at 28,200 feet height, just sitting up there,' said Mazur… Mazur said Hall's first words to him were: 'I imagine you are surprised to see me here.'" ("Man Gives up Everest Climb for Rescue," New York Times, June 8, 2006)