HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Dr. Beck Weathers will be the first speaker for the 2016 Ray and Stella Dillon Lecture Series at Hutchinson Community College on Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 10:30 a.m. in the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Cost to attend the lecture is only $10, with students admitted free.
Inspirational speaker, Dr. Beck Weathers miraculously survived one of the deadliest days in the history of Mount Everest. An amateur climber, he lay unconscious during a violent 1996 storm that killed eight other climbers. He was presumed dead, but awoke the next morning nearly snow-blind, and managed to stagger back to safety, spurred on by visions of his family. The storm ultimately caused the death of eight climbers within 24 hours.
Dr. Weathers’ experiences were the inspiration behind the No.1 bestselling book by Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air, and the feature film Everest, staring Josh Brolin as Weathers.
An accomplished pathologist, Weathers’ adventure on Everest caused him to lose his nose, right hand, and part of his left hand to frostbite; he managed to resume his career with the help of a physician’s assistant.
In May 2000, Villard Books published Weathers’ story of his experiences on Mt. Everest, Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest. In 2001, he was honored by Toastmasters International as one of the “Top Five Speakers of 2001.”
Sharing the story of his Mount Everest adventure, the second chance he got, and his new outlook on his life, in which his family and loved ones are paramount over all else — motivational speaker Dr. Beck Weathers enlightens listeners with the invaluable lessons he learned, having faced his own death and lived to tell about it.
2016 is the 35th season for the Dillon Lecture Series on the Hutch CC Campus. For more information on the Dillon Lecture Series, or to become a patron, call Laurie Sawyer at 620-665-3505 or visit the college website at www.hutchcc.edu/dls.