Snapchatting Everest climbers reach summit--together this time

Two Snapchatting climbers have reached the top of Mount Everest together. Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards attempted the climb last year, but only Richards was able to finish.

After a final push that took nearly 12 hours, they both made it to the summit over the weekend. Everest is the highest point on earth at an elevation of more than 29,000 feet.

Ballinger was able to match a special achievement that his friend recorded in last year's climb by making it without supplemental oxygen--a grueling task they documented on social media every step of the way.

Their bodies pushed to the limit, the pair spent less than 15 minutes on top of Mount Everest, taking in a view few others have ever seen, reports CBS News' Dana Jacobson, who has followed them as they shared their journey on Snapchat.  

"Ladies and gentlemen not only is my phone not dead, but that is Adrian Ballinger with no oxygen on the top of the world," Richards Snapchatted from his Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone at the summit.

While both climbers made it to the top, only Ballinger did so without supplemental oxygen. During the final push, Richards said he lacked the mental capacity to move forward. 

On his way down, Richards met a group of climbers who supplied him with supplemental oxygen. The oxygen gave Richards the energy to reach the summit first. From there, he cheered on his friend.

In 37 days, Ballinger logged nearly 140 miles while acclimating to the high altitude. He consumed just under 23,000 calories on a special diet that enabled him to breathe air comprised of less than eight percent oxygen. 

Safely back at advanced base camp, Ballinger reflected on the experience.

"I feel super emotional I cried so hard yesterday on the summit, in the last ten meters to the summit and in the 20 meters off the summit," he said. "I will never climb Mount Everest without oxygen again and I'm so proud and happy."

He said Richards' support in the final minutes of his ascent gave him the energy he needed.

"It was just so amazing to be up there with Cory," Ballinger said. "We did it together - that was always the plan so it's a fitting ending," Richards said.

Ballinger now joins Richards and a select group of about 200 others who have scaled Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. 

The Eddie Bauer alpinists whose climbs were monitored by Strava, are now off the mountain and are making their way back to the United States.

They'll join "CBS This Morning" early next week to discuss their experience.