From human triumph to human greed, from inspiration to sensationalism – this has been the recent path of descent (in the media anyway) for the ‘Mother of the Universe’. This years Everest season saw Nepalese climber Usha Bista at the centre of the controversy. 22 year old Bista had made her way to around 2000ft below the summit when she fell ill and could not continue her ascent. She claims to have then been abandoned by her team members who supposedly continued without leaving her any food or water. Luckily for Bista, Canadian climber Meagan McGrath came upon her as she made her descent from the summit. 29 year McGrath took it upon herself to get Bista back down the mountain to safety, which after enlisting the help of several other passers by (some of whom gave up their summit attempts to join the rescue) she did in fact manage to do.

Sources: www.cbsnews.com