Scott Fischer, Rob Hall stranded on Everest

After a freak storm hit the mountain, at least five climbers who reached the top of Mount Everest Friday remained stranded or missing on the mountain as of early Sunday morning (Nepal time). In all, 22 climbers from several expeditions are reportedly awaiting rescue.

Although details are sketchy, it is believed that U.S. expedition leader Scott Fischer is likely dead after spending more than 36 hours out on the South Col.

Rob Hall, leader of the New Zealand expedition, remains trapped near the summit with severe frostbite that has made it impossible for him to climb down through the technically difficult Hillary Step and on to Camp IV (26,000 feet).

According to reports from base camp, a severe weather system that had swept over the peak was starting to break at dawn Sunday, allowing search parties to venture back up the mountain and begin bringing climbers--many suffering from severe frostbite and other maladies--down the mountain.

The other climbers in Fischer's expedition--Klev Schoening, Sandy Pittman, Lene Gammelgaard, Tim Madsen, Charlotte Fox, Anatoli Boukreev, Martin Adams, and Neal Beidleman--are confirmed to be in good condition and heading from Camp II to base camp Sunday.

Additionally, reports relayed from Hall's office in New Zealand indicate that Jon Krakauer of the United States and Michael Groom of Australia were in good condition and were climbing down to Camp II.

Still reported missing from Hall's expedition were Yasuko Namba, 47, who on Friday became the second Japanese woman to summit Everest; Andrew Harris of New Zealand; and Americans Seaborn Beck Weathers and Douglas Hansen.

Members of Weathers' family say they received reports that he was found dead on the South Col, revived, and then carried down to a lower camp. These reports have not been verified.

"Right now we just don't know who's still up there. They are conducting search and rescue efforts now on the South Col. They are rescuing people off the mountain now," said Liz Cohen from Ed Viesturs' team at Everest base camp on Sunday morning.

"The weather has been very windy up high and yesterday was probably the worst night they spent on the Col. It's improving, but it's still pretty tough up high," she said.

Late Friday night, a group of climbers went back up from Camp IV after Fischer and Hall's expedition failed to arrive at camp. Whiteouts were reported at the upper camps. The search party reportedly found Fischer unconscious and barely alive.

He and Makalu Gao, leader of the Taiwanese expedition, were discovered about two hours above Camp IV at about 27,000 feet clipped to a fixed rope. Rescuers managed to revive Gao, but Fischer remained in a deep coma, barely breathing.

The rescue party concluded that Fischer's chances of survival were slim and decided to concentrate their flagging strength on getting another climber to a lower camp as quickly as possible. They bundled Fischer up and left him on the mountain with oxygen before descending to a lower camp.

For the next day, weather conditions hampered efforts to move back above Camp IV to locate Fischer and the other missing climbers, according to reports from the expedition headquarters.

It's highly unlikely Fischer survived the overnight ordeal given the weather and his physical condition.

According to the last report from base camp, Hall was still alive, but was suffering from very severe frostbite on his hands and feet. Krakauer and other climbers reportedly talked with Hall through Saturday night, trying to keep him awake and alive until conditions improved for a rescue attempt.

Expedition leaders were concerned that he lacked the strength or shelter needed to survive long at that extreme altitude (in excess of 28,000 feet), and the outlook Sunday morning was grim--no rescue parties were able to approach his position.

The disaster followed a period of great celebration Friday afternoon when both Hall and Fischer successfully led their groups to the summit and back down to Camp IV at 26,000 feet.

It's unclear what caused Fischer to remain above high camp, although there is some speculation that he may have gone out to assist another expedition. Or it is possible that a member of his team was stricken on the way down and Fischer remained on the mountain to assist.

"We just don't know," said Karen Dickinson, Fischer's business partner at Mountain Madness, a Seattle-based climbing firm.

Prior to leaving on this expedition, Fischer described the importance of returning from the summit to Camp IV before dark. (486K .wav file)

Fischer's team spent 31 hours climbing from Camp III to the summit--including a six-hour break in Camp IV--pushing through extremely deep snow that had turned back other climbers.

The success of the two teams on Friday followed the death on Thursday of a climber from Gao's 13-member Taiwanese team.

Chen Yu-Nan, a 36-year-old steelworker from Taipei, died after losing his footing and falling 80 feet.

This story compiled by Outside Online staff.