The past week has been especially bleak for those scaling Mount Everest. Four climbers - a Malaysian, a Chinese, an Indian and a Moldovan – and a Sherpa guide are confirmed to have died, and at least two – a Singaporean and another Malaysian – have been reported missing.

A 50-year-old Spanish extreme athlete who spent 500 days living 70-metres (230 feet) deep in a cave outside Granada except for a week due to "technical reasons" says the time without contact with the outside world flew by and she did not want to come out.