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Os alpinistas pararam por sentirem muito frio, ou seja, por estarem congelados.

Os alpinistas pararam por sentirem muito frio, ou seja, por estarem congelados.
The climbers stopped due to feeling very cold, in other words, due to being frozen.
From Lesson 293:Clarification connectors (ou seja, isto é)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Os alpinistas pararam por sentirem muito frio, ou seja, por estarem congelados.

Why is ou seja used here instead of a simple ou?
The connector ou seja translates to 'in other words' or 'that is to say'. It does not introduce an alternative choice like a simple ou would. Instead, it introduces a clarification, equating their feeling of being very cold with being practically frozen.
Why do the verbs sentirem and estarem have an -em ending?
These are personal infinitives. When a verb follows a preposition like por (used here to mean 'due to'), we use the infinitive. Because the action was done by the climbers (eles), we add the -em ending to the base verbs sentir and estar so they agree with the plural subject.
Could I just say porque sentiram instead of por sentirem?
Yes, you could say porque sentiram (because they felt). Using por followed by the personal infinitive is simply another very common way to express the cause or reason for an action in Portuguese, translating directly to 'due to feeling'.
Why does the sentence end with congelados in the plural?
The word congelados (frozen) acts as an adjective here, describing the climbers (Os alpinistas). Since the subject is masculine and plural, the adjective must also take the masculine and plural form.

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