Rob Hall
| Rob Hall | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Robert Edwin Hall 14 January 1961 Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Died | 11 May 1996 (aged 35) Mount Everest, Nepal |
| Cause of death | Hypothermia |
| Resting place | South Summit of Everest |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Occupation | Mountain guide |
| Employer | Adventure Consultants |
| Known for | 1996 Everest disaster |
| Spouse(s) | Jan Arnold |
| Children | Sarah Arnold-Hall |
Robert Edwin "Rob" Hall MBE (14 January 1961 – 11 May 1996) was a New Zealand mountaineer best known for being the head guide of a 1996 Mount Everest expedition in which he, a fellow guide, and two clients perished. A best-selling account of the expedition was given in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, and the expedition has been dramatised in the 2015 film Everest.
At the time of his death, Hall had just completed his fifth summit of Everest, more at that time than any other non-Sherpa mountaineer.
Hall met his future wife, Jan Arnold, a New Zealand physician, during his Everest summit attempt in 1990. Hall and Arnold climbed Denali for their first date and later married. In 1993, Rob Hall summited Everest along with Arnold. In the catastrophic 1996 season, Arnold would have accompanied Hall on his Everest expedition, but she was pregnant. Two months after Hall died on the descent from Everest, she gave birth to their daughter Sarah Arnold-Hall. In 2002, Jan Arnold married German cabinet-maker Andreas Niemann and currently resides in Nelson, New Zealand.
Hall grew up in New Zealand where he climbed extensively in the Southern Alps. In 1988, Rob Hall met Gary Ball, who would become his climbing partner and close friend. As with most other mountain climbers, Hall and Gary Ball sought corporate sponsorships to fund their expeditions. The partners decided to climb the Seven Summits, but upped the ante by summiting all seven in seven months. Starting with Everest in May, they climbed the last mountain, Antarctica's Vinson Massif, on 12 December 1990, hours before the deadline. After this success, they realised that, to retain their sponsorships, each successive climb would have to be ever riskier and more spectacular, increasing the chances of an accident. Therefore, Hall and Ball decided to quit professional climbing and form a high-altitude guiding business.
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Wikipedia