Brian Dickinson: Navy Rescue Swimmer Who Summited Mt. Everest Solo—Goes Blind & Survives the Death Zone Alone

Solo in the Death Zone: Brian Dickinson’s Blind Descent from Everest

This week’s Team Never Quit guest is no stranger to adversity. Brian Dickinson, a former U.S. Navy Special Operations Aviation Rescue Swimmer and elite mountaineer, joins us to share the harrowing true story of his solo summit and descent of Mount Everest after being left without a guide—and without sight. After his Sherpa fell ill near the South Col, Brian pushed onward alone to the top of the world, only to be struck by sudden snow blindness on the way down. What followed was a seven-hour descent with no vision, no oxygen, and no margin for error.
Brian holds the record for the highest solo blind descent and has completed the Seven Summits, conquering the tallest peaks on each continent. Before his mountaineering feats, Brian served six years in the U.S. Navy with the elite NSO (Naval Special Operations) community, deploying on high-risk rescue and combat missions in the Persian Gulf.
Now the host of Calm in the Chaos, a podcast that highlights raw, untold rescue stories from America’s unsung heroes, Brian brings the same courage, insight, and humility to this conversation. Whether you're a fan of extreme adventure, military resilience, or human endurance—you won’t want to miss this one.

In This Episode You Will Hear:
• {Marcus] I’m a Charlie Sheen SEAL. (8:19)
• It’s weird when you go from jumping put of helicopters to something less interesting. (14:11)
• You can’t really plan for giving up in the death zone – 26,00 feet. But you can train for the things in your control. (18:07)
• You can’t acclimate to 26 [thousand feet]. You’re slowly dying. Like if you cut your finger, it won’t heal. There’s not enough air. (23:23)
• At Camp 3, this is where you see a straight up ice wall. If you fall, you’re falling for a mile. (24:32)
• When I got about a thousand feet above Camp 3, I had to anchor off to get some water. I had an oxygen mask and goggles, and I took my goggles off to put them around my wrist, and as I was getting my mask off to drink water, my foot slipped, I went to grab the rope, and my goggles slid off and 4they’re just like… down. And you don’t bring extra gear. (25:35)
• There’re over 300 bodies still on the mountain. (30:38)
• You live and die by the decisions you make in life. (31:34)
• When you climb any mountain at night, the sun is your first indication of hope. (37:33)
• According to the Himalayan Database, I’m one of two people to ever have the summit to myself on a given day. (39:07)
• Everything just went completely white. I went Snowblind. And I remember at that moment, dropping down, grabbing the rope, and assessing the situation thinking: I’m at the highest point in the world, I’m completely blind; no one’s coming to get me. (41:07)
• I just witnessed a miracle. It was like someone reached down and picked me up. An unexplained energy. The first thing I did was try the extra oxygen bottle and it started working, and I got 5 full beaths – reeling it in – and it burned. It felt like fire going through my veins. (48:02)
• Everyone loves a survival story. They could care less about the survivor. (53:43)
• That whole time, Jesus was walking alongside me. I felt that presence. (47:05)

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