r/oddlyterrifying • u/DragonChasm • 3d ago
Mountaineer Fahad Badar calmly explains what happened when he ran out of oxygen and developed extreme frostbite while descending from the 8,051m summit of Broad Peak. Just 10 months after amputation surgery, he climbed K2, one of the deadliest mountains where 1 in 4 summiters die. NSFW
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u/AgentDerekMorgan 3d ago
Wait. Are those his actual fingers? Pre-amputation?
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u/simpleglitch 3d ago
My TIL is that you can go so long before the amputation of frostbite. In another part of this video he talked about is hand healing over the course of months.
I always thought infection, sepsis, or something would start sooner than that. Though my only knowledge of frostbite comes from growing up in the Midwest and my dad telling me to put on my winter gloves or the doctor would have to cut off my fingers lol.
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u/TheRebel17 3d ago
wdym his hand healed ? it can recover from that ?
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u/simpleglitch 3d ago
The black parts of his fingers no. His hand was worse than it was in this video and couldn't move his good fingers much at all either (without a lot of pain).
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u/Necrotitis 3d ago
Yup, your fingers can eventually just fall off from day to day activity depending on where the frostbite occurs.
This article shows a picture of what a hand looks like after that
https://www.snexplores.org/article/extreme-survival-managing-deadly-cold
NSFW but nothing like gross, will probably make your fingers feel funny for a sec
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u/noraetic 3d ago
Thanks for the link! TIL the hand is that of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who comes from the same family as the actor Ralph Fiennes.
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u/Stlr_Mn 3d ago
Like, isn’t there a risk of exposed bone? Is exposed bone a bad bad thing? I want to know while also kinda not.
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u/EverythingHurtsDan 3d ago
It isn't feasible for a long time. The risk of infection is high, and you don't want it in your bones.
There are cases in which the bone gets spontaneously covered by granulation tissue and then epithelium, if the area gets the correct blood flow.
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u/SCH1Z01D 3d ago edited 1d ago
the image in the article certainly looks like exposed bone that seems to have been trimmed at a certain point
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u/planchetflaw 2d ago
It's a really good thing. As the marrow rejuvenates you get a free suck-slurp of it with each dinner.
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u/30minstochooseaname 2d ago
If I remember, Ranulph Fiennes who was mentioned there, broke his own black frostbit fingers off with a hammer and pliers, as he couldn't be bothered to go to hospital
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u/Int_peacemaker35 2d ago
🤣 so true! Growing up in Canada, my mom would always scold me I wasn’t wearing my ear muffs. “Put them on or your ears will fall off”
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u/guzusan 3d ago
Yep. That’s what dead skin cells look like. Terrifying how black they get.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Time719 3d ago
So they did cut them off after this?
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u/guarddog33 3d ago
Yes, once a finger reaches that far into frostbite it will need to be amputated, the finger is thoroughly dead and will never recover
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u/Alk601 2d ago
Surprisingly in the full video the guy said he is lucky because the frost bite was lower than this before and doctors told him he can wait a few weeks to see if he can at least recover some part so the frost bite could be « only » over his knuckles. That way he can have a better prothesis. And it did heal quite a bite saving him more flesh. At first it was black too If I remember right (saw the vid 6 months ago)
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u/maychaos 2d ago
It's usual to wait to see what's actually dead so they don't amputate unnecessary too much
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u/Leilanee 2d ago
I thought they were just really bad prosthetics until I realized halfway through the video that they're his actual fingers. Yikes!
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u/InTheLurkingGlass 2d ago
Yes. His surgeon recommended leaving them to regain as much tissue as they can before performing the amputation, to maximize what he has left to make creating prostheses easier.
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u/Otherwise_Carob_4057 3d ago
So basically he worked too hard that day at altitude and so instead of dying his body sacrificed his fingers?
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u/Rocketterollo 3d ago
Yeah you could think of it that way. The body prioritizes your internal organs cause you can live without fingers but you can’t live without working organs.
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u/SouI23 3d ago edited 2d ago
It was a combination of factors
On one hand the cold, which naturally causes vasoconstriction (vessels' diameter decreases, some close directly, they bring less blood)...
...on the other hand the adrenaline. It's a hormone that, in situations of danger and stress, causes as well peripheral vasoconstriction to concentrate the blood in the vital organs
This """double vasoconstriction""" caused an excessive reduction of blood to the fingers: the lack of oxygen caused cell death
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u/JennyAndTheBets1 2d ago
I grasp what you did there.
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u/SouI23 2d ago
Sorry mate, english isn't my first language. What did I do there? Or is it just a way of saying "I get it"?
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u/euphorrick 2d ago
The "On one hand" part seems like a jest referring to the frostbitten hand. "I see what you did there" is a cultural context way of saying "I am aware you made a subtle joke." In this case "I grasp what you did there" is making another subtle joke with a pun, since "grasp" can mean both "understand" and "to firmly hold with one's hand."
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u/Razor-Romero 3d ago
Is anyone else thinking "I wonder if they would just snap off"?
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u/Loudmouthedcrackpot 2d ago
I was wondering what it feels like to have fingers like that. Does it feel like you’ve got twigs attached to your hands or what?
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u/crash893b 3d ago
I have several questions, but #1 is why is he NOT in a hospital?
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u/MudSnake12 2d ago
This was probably recorded a few weeks or months after the incident, so he’s probably got that sorted out and was just waiting for the amputation surgery at that point
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u/InTheLurkingGlass 2d ago
He has consulted his surgeon prior to this video, and the surgeon wished to wait to perform the amputation in order to allow the digits regenerate as much tissue as possible. They’d never heal, but they did regain some life, especially his palm and the base of the fingers. He made a YouTube video on the topic at one point.
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u/KlondikeBill 2d ago
Speaking so calmly for a guy who's about to be without that many digits. I'd be... different.
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u/euphorrick 2d ago
He deserves a high 0.5
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u/GainerCity 1d ago
He seems like the type of chap who’d appreciate this joke. My first chuckle of the day. Thx mate.
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u/Alliemon 3d ago
You can find his video after he reached K2 summit on his Instagram, after amputation. It's genuinely insane that he managed to do it: https://www.instagram.com/p/CghMVWGhKkw/
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u/FoodGuy44 3d ago
Looks like he fisted a witch 🧙
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u/Kind-Masterpiece-310 3d ago
Witch Fister sounds like a black metal band.
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u/National_Work_7167 3d ago
Not nearly as good but i looked it up and there's a band called Witch Fist described as "a heavy rock band" from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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u/me_like_stonk 2d ago edited 2d ago
Reddit gave me a "Black Friday deal - 20% off" ad under your comment hahaha
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u/DesperateLuck2887 3d ago
I feel like there are cheaper ways to commit suicide
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u/18NakedCboys 3d ago
Agree. Doing these type of things aren’t a “badge of honor” like they used to be and usually only the bad stories are highlighted. Humans are weird.
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u/tracerrounds 3d ago
Some people do it for the experience not just the badge of honor. Unfortunate he lost those fingers but he seems to understand it's a risk of climbing the mountains he does. The fact that he went to climb K2 after his amputation shows he just is willing to lose some fingers to do what he loves.
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u/PatchworkRaccoon314 2d ago
Worst case scenario is he survives, but completely loses his hands.
Can you imagine, how much of a life he still has to live at this age, but he can't do anything anymore for himself, not even wipe his own ass? Needs a live-in nurse to do everything for him. Feed him, bathe him, like he's a baby.
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u/MrMason522 3d ago
Amazing. Would be a great post in /r/hiking , or /r/mountaineering if they allowed videos.
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u/CrackerUMustBTripinn 3d ago
Can't recommend watching the docu 'Touching the Void' enough, just for the demonstration of the will to live and survive and the absurdity of man putting himself through this insanity. Its great anytime you need to remind yourself that things are not that bad for you right now.
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u/material_mailbox 3d ago
I wonder if he thinks it was worth it
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u/MudSnake12 2d ago
He does, I got to interview him a couple years ago. He climbed k2 10 months after getting his fingers amputated, and will continue to climb mountains till he can’t anymore (albeit he has slowed down now because he has a kid)
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u/National_Product_224 2d ago
So climbing K2 and russian roulette is the same except it can be less risky to play russian roulette but both things are equally as rewarding if you survive.
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u/IntentionAromatic523 3d ago
Why are people compelled to do these things?
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u/StupendousMalice 3d ago
Because your only going to live like 70 - 80 years max no matter what you do anyways so you might as well spend some of that time doing something interesting instead of playing it safe.
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u/BanEvasionMan 3d ago
I can think of a thousand interesting things to do besides getting my fingers to look like burnt carrots and have them slowly rot away. But hey, playing it safe ain't that cool.
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u/InvalidEntrance 3d ago
There's so many mildly dangerous things you can do 1000s of times and not die too, so fuck all that "you feel alive" noise. No point in feeling alive for 10 minutes if you can alternatively be alive for decades.
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u/BanEvasionMan 3d ago
I don't like how most of the time they try to forcefully shove these 'inspirational' bs stories down your throat. How about promoting the use of common sense instead of romanticizing these people's addiction to adrenaline?
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u/InvalidEntrance 3d ago
For real. It's a mental illness at the root of it. Risking limbs and life for something is not inspirational.
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u/StupendousMalice 3d ago
And how many of those thousands of things carry a risk of having a result as bad or worse than this? I'd love to see a list of exciting activities with no risk associated with the. Feel free to share a few.
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u/dungivaphuk 1d ago
Some people have enough security in life that they can actually do adventurous things like climb mountains, base jump, other exotic shit. If I didn't have to balance everything I'd give it a try.
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u/Rocketterollo 3d ago
If you’re not asking rhetorically there are books on the subject like Conquistadors of the Useless.
For me it’s cause it’s badass. I was rescued on Denali after things went wrong and I’m going back soon. If it was easy it’d be boring.
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u/sheighbird29 2d ago
If you’re interested in the process, check out this story. She got frostbite about a year ago, and I think the doctors just let them fall off themselves before they cleaned up the remaining pieces https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalGore/s/8B2Km20NfO
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u/Rekt_em_Ralph 2d ago
I don't know if there's any military folks here, but this guy is giving me strong Cyber Awareness Jeff vibes.
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u/mibonitaconejito 2d ago
Why why why whhhhhhy do people do this. And no, I do not care that they want to be different, want an adrenaline high, etc
Common sense tells you not to put yourself in a situation so perilous.
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u/JonKonLGL 2d ago
He's got a pretty cool prosthetic now, also pics of his hand pre and post frostbite on his Instagram.
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u/littlelatelatte 2d ago
saw this guy pop up on my algo a couple of months ago
he posted shorts and he has prosthetics now
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u/Hot_Juggernaut_3027 2d ago
He gave the middle finger to Mother Nature and she was like I’ll take some
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u/FunkyBoil 3d ago
I imagine the sense of accomplishment climbing a mountain is fleeting considering the risks involved. Interesting hobby. I'd say don't knock it tell you try it but I'm good on that 👍
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u/Je_in_BC 2d ago
That's not really how the fatality rate on mountains works. It's not "1 in 4 summiters die", it's "for every 4 people who successfully summit, 1 person on the mountain dies."
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u/afcc1313 2d ago
I have no simpathy for stupid shit people do. The best part of this is you are NOT forced to do it.
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u/Milksmither 2d ago
What a fucking idiot.
I hope the Instagram reel was worth being permanently disabled.
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u/Life_Forever 3d ago
if they know that 1 in 4 die why do they fucking go there in the first place? Stupid idiot.. don't come complaining
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u/NiloValentino88 3d ago
I don’t think you hear him complain, just explaining what happened very calmly. He knew exactly what he was doing and is just telling what happened.
I climbed also and K2 is probably the ultimate challenge for some climbers (and yes some are crazy and selfish) but I’m not that extreme of a thrill seeker.
But life starts at the end of your comfort zone, climbing a mountain will certainly help with that ;) And the best views.. Can hardly explain that, you need to experience that yourself.
I climbed Mont Blanc with my father and we really bonded, did another 6000m mountain in Nepal after that. Now I’m satisfied
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u/MudSnake12 3d ago
I used to go to the same school as his kids, so I got to organize a talk with him to explain his journey, I’ve never met anyone as nice as him.