Remained on top: What happens to those who died on Everest. Cemetery on Everest (not recommended viewing for the impressionable) Climbing Everest corpses

Mira keeps not only piles of garbage, but also the remains of its conquerors. For many decades, the corpses of losers have been decorating the highest point on the planet, and no one intends to remove them from there. Most likely, the number of unburied bodies will only increase.

Attention, impressionable pass by!

The media in 2013 got hold of a photo from the very top of Everest. Dean Carrere, a famous climber from Canada, took a selfie against the background of the sky, rocks and a pile of garbage brought earlier by his predecessors.

At the same time, on the slopes of the mountain you can see not only various garbage, but also the unburied bodies of people who have remained there forever. The summit of Everest is known for its extreme conditions, which literally turn it into a mountain of death. Everyone to conquer the Chomolungma must understand that the conquest of this peak may be the last.

Night temperatures here drop to minus 60 degrees! Closer to the top, hurricane-force winds blow at speeds up to 50 m/s: at such moments, frost is felt by the human body as minus 100! Plus, the extremely rarefied atmosphere at such a height contains very little oxygen, literally on the border of deadly limits. Under such loads, even the most enduring heart suddenly stops, equipment often fails - for example, the valve of an oxygen cylinder may freeze. The slightest mistake is enough to lose consciousness and, having fallen, no longer get up ...

At the same time, it is almost impossible to expect that someone will come to your rescue. The ascent to the legendary peak is fantastically difficult, and only real fanatics meet here. As one of the participants of the Russian Himalayan expedition, Alexander Abramov, master of sports of the USSR in mountaineering, put it:

“The corpses on the route are a good example and a reminder to be more careful on the mountain. But every year there are more and more climbers, and according to the statistics of corpses, it will increase every year. What is unacceptable in normal life is regarded as the norm at high altitudes.”

Among those who have been there, there are terrible stories ...

Local residents - Sherpas, naturally adapted to life in these harsh conditions, are hired as guides and porters for climbers. Their services are simply indispensable - they provide both ropes, equipment delivery, and, of course, rescue. But for them to come to
help need money...

Sherpas at work.

These people risk themselves every day so that even moneybags unprepared for difficulties can get their portion of the impressions that they want to get for their money.

Climbing Everest is a very expensive pleasure, costing between $ 25,000 and $ 60,000. Those who are trying to save money sometimes have to pay extra on this bill with their very lives ... There are no official statistics, but according to those who returned, no one is buried forever on the slopes of Everest less than 150 people, and possibly all 200 ...

Groups of climbers pass the frozen bodies of their predecessors: at least eight unburied corpses lie near the common paths on the northern route, ten more on the southern route, reminding of the serious danger that afflicts a person in these places. Some of the unfortunates rushed to the top in the same way, but fell off and crashed, someone froze to death, someone lost consciousness from a lack of oxygen ... And it is highly not recommended to deviate from the beaten routes - you stumble, and no one will come to your rescue risking his own life. The mountain of death does not forgive mistakes, and people here are as indifferent to misfortune as rocks.

Below is the alleged corpse of the very first climber to summit Everest, George Mallory, who died on the descent.

"Why are you going to Everest?" Mallory was asked. “Because he is!”

In 1924, the Mallory-Irving team launched an assault on the great mountain. The last time they were seen only 150 meters from the top, they were seen through binoculars in a break in the clouds ... They did not return back, and the fate of the first Europeans who climbed so high remained a mystery for many decades.

One of the climbers in 1975 claimed that he saw someone's frozen body on the side, but did not have the strength to reach him. And only in 1999, one of the expeditions came across on the slope to the west of the main path to the accumulation of the bodies of dead climbers. Mallory was also found there, lying on his stomach, as if hugging a mountain, his head and hands were frozen into the slope.

His partner Irving was never found, although the harness on Mallory's body suggests that the couple were with each other until the very end. The rope was cut with a knife. Probably, Irving could move longer and, leaving a comrade, died somewhere down the slope.

The bodies of the dead climbers remain here forever, no one is going to evacuate them. Helicopters cannot reach such a height, and few people are capable of carrying the solid weight of a dead body ...

The unfortunate are left to lie unburied on the slopes. An icy wind gnaws at the bodies to the bone, leaving a completely eerie sight ...

As the history of recent decades has shown, thrill-seekers obsessed with records will calmly pass by not only past corpses, the real “law of the jungle” operates on the icy slope: those who are still alive are left without help.

So in 1996, a group of climbers from a Japanese university did not interrupt their climb to Everest because of Indian colleagues who were injured in a snow storm. No matter how they begged for help, the Japanese passed by. On the descent, they found those Indians already frozen to death ...

In May 2006, another amazing event occurred: 42 climbers, including the Discovery channel film crew, passed by the freezing Briton one after another ... and no one helped him, everyone was in a hurry to accomplish their own “feat” of conquering Everest!

Briton David Sharp, climbing the mountain on his own, died due to the fact that his oxygen tank failed at an altitude of 8500 meters. Sharpe was not new to the mountains, but abruptly left without oxygen, he felt ill and fell on the rocks in the middle of the northern ridge. Some of those who passed by say that it seemed to them that he was just resting.

But the media around the world glorified the New Zealander Mark Inglis, who climbed that day to the roof of the world on carbon fiber prostheses. He was one of the few who admitted that Sharpe was indeed left to die on the slope:

“At least our expedition was the only one that did anything for him: our Sherpas gave him oxygen. On that day, about 40 climbers passed by him, and no one did anything.

David Sharp did not have much money, so he went to the summit without the help of the Sherpas, and he had no one to call for help. Probably, had he been richer, this story would have had a happier ending.

Climbing Everest.

David Sharp shouldn't have died. It would be enough for the commercial and non-commercial expeditions that went to the summit to agree to save the Englishman. If this did not happen, it was only because there was neither money nor equipment. If he had had someone left in the base camp who could order and pay for the evacuation, the Briton would have survived. But his funds were only enough to hire a cook and a tent at the base camp.

At the same time, commercial expeditions are regularly organized on Everest, allowing completely unprepared "tourists", very old people, the blind, people with severe injuries and other owners of thick wallets to be noted at the top.

Still alive, David Sharp spent a terrible night at an altitude of 8500 meters in the company of "Mr. yellow boots" ... This is the corpse of an Indian climber in bright boots, lying on a ridge in the middle of the road to the top for many years.

A little later, guide Harry Kikstra was assigned to lead a group that included visually impaired Thomas Weber, a second client, Lincoln Hall, and five Sherpas. They left the third camp at night under good climatic conditions. Swallowing oxygen, two hours later they stumbled upon the corpse of David Sharpe, walked around him with disgust and continued on their way to the top.

Everything went according to plan, Weber climbed on his own using the railing, Lincoln Hall with two Sherpas moved forward. Suddenly, Weber's eyesight fell sharply, and just 50 meters from the summit, the guide decided to end the climb and headed back with his Sherpa and Weber. They slowly descended ... and suddenly Weber collapsed, lost his coordination, and died, falling into the hands of a guide in the middle of the ridge.

Hall, returning from the top, also radioed Kikstra that he was not feeling well, and Sherpas were sent to help him. However, Hall collapsed at a height, and within nine hours he could not be brought to his senses. It began to get dark, and the Sherpas were ordered to take care of their own salvation and descend.

Rescue operation.

Seven hours later, another guide, Dan Mazur, who was following with clients to the top, stumbled upon Hall, who, surprisingly, was alive. After he was given tea, oxygen and medicine, the climber found enough strength to talk on the radio with his group at the base.

Rescue work on Everest.

Since Lincoln Hall is one of the most famous "Himalayans" of Australia, a member of the expedition that opened one of the paths on the north side of Everest in 1984, he was not left without help. All the expeditions that were on the north side agreed among themselves and sent ten Sherpas behind him. He escaped with frostbitten hands - the minimum loss in such a situation. But David Sharp, abandoned on the trail, did not have a big name or a support group.

Transportation.

But the Dutch expedition left to die - just five meters from their tent - a climber from India, leaving him when he whispered something else and waved his hand ...

But often many of those who died are to blame themselves. A well-known tragedy that shocked many occurred in 1998. Then a married couple died - Russian Sergey Arsentiev and American Francis Distefano.

They summited on May 22, completely without the use of oxygen. Thus, Francis became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to conquer Everest without oxygen. During the descent, the couple lost each other. For the sake of this record, Francis, already on the descent, lay exhausted for two days on the southern slope of Everest. Climbers from different countries passed by a frozen, but still alive woman. Some offered her oxygen, which she refused at first, not wanting to spoil her record, others poured a few sips of hot tea.

Sergei Arsentiev, without waiting for Francis in the camp, went in search. The next day, five Uzbek climbers went to the top past Francis - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but for this they refused to climb. Although one of their comrades has already climbed the peak, in this case the expedition is already considered successful.

On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Francis. He took oxygen tanks and did not return, most likely, he was blown away by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.

The next day, there are three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa, a total of 8 people! They approach the lying one - she has already spent the second cold night, but she is still alive! And again, everyone passes by, to the top.

British climber Ian Woodhall recalls:

“My heart sank when I realized that this man in a red and black suit was alive, but completely alone at an altitude of 8.5 km, only 350 meters from the summit. Cathy and I, without thinking, turned off the route and tried to do everything possible to save the dying woman. Thus ended our expedition, which we had been preparing for years, begging for money from sponsors ... We did not immediately manage to get to it, although it lay close. Moving at such a height is the same as running under water ...

We found her, tried to dress the woman, but her muscles atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and muttered all the time: “I am an American. Please don't leave me… We dressed her for two hours,” Woodhall continues his story. “I realized that Katie was about to freeze to death herself. We had to get out of there as soon as possible. I tried to lift Frances and carry her, but it was useless. My futile attempts to save her put Kathy at risk. We couldn't do anything.

Not a day went by that I didn't think of Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to get to the top. We succeeded, but on the way back, we were horrified to notice the body of Francis, she lay exactly as we left her, perfectly preserved under the influence of low temperatures.
No one deserves such an ending. Cathy and I promised each other to return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare a new expedition. I wrapped Francis in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into a cliff, away from the eyes of other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally I was able to do something for her."

A year later, the body of Sergei Arsenyev was also found:

“We definitely saw him - I remember the purple puffy suit. He was in a kind of bowing position, lying ... in the Mallory area at about 27150 feet (8254 m). I think it is him,” writes Jake Norton, a member of the 1999 expedition.

But in the same 1999 there was a case when people remained people. A member of the Ukrainian expedition spent a cold night almost in the same place as the American. His own people lowered him to the base camp, and then more than 40 people from other expeditions helped. As a result, he easily escaped with the loss of four fingers.

Japanese Miko Imai, veteran of Himalayan expeditions:

“In such extreme situations, everyone has the right to decide: to save or not to save a partner ... Above 8000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself and it is quite natural that you do not help another, since you have no extra strength.”

Alexander Abramov, master of sports of the USSR in mountaineering:

"You can't keep climbing between corpses and pretend it's okay!"

The question immediately arises, did this remind anyone of Varanasi - the city of the dead? Well, if you return all the same from horror to beauty, then look at the Lonely Peak of Mont Aiguille ...

Be interesting with

Many people know that conquering peaks is deadly and those who climb do not always descend. Both beginners and experienced climbers die on the Mountain. But to my surprise, not many people know that the dead remain where fate has caught them. It is at least strange for us, people of civilization, the Internet and the city, to hear that the same Everest has long turned into a cemetery. There are countless corpses on it and no one is in a hurry to lower them down - it is too dangerous to take on additional burden.

Everest is the modern Golgotha. Anyone who goes there knows that he has a chance not to return. Roulette with the Mountain, lucky - no luck. Not everything depends on you: a hurricane wind, a frozen valve on an oxygen tank, incorrect timing, an avalanche, exhaustion, etc. Everest often proves to people that they are mortal. At least the fact that when you go up you see the bodies of those who are never destined to go down again.

According to statistics, about 1500 people climbed the mountain. Remained there (according to various sources) from 120 to 200. Can you imagine? Here is a very revealing statistics until 2002 about the people who died on the mountain (name, nationality, date of death, place of death, cause of death, whether he reached the top).

Among these 200 people there are those who will always meet new conquerors. According to various sources, there are eight openly lying bodies on the northern route. Among them are two Russians. From the south is about ten. And if you move left or right...

I will tell only about the most famous losses:

"Why are you going to Everest?" asked George Mallory.

"Because he is!"

I am among those who believe that Mallory was the first to conquer the summit and died already on the descent. In 1924, the Mallory-Irving team launched an assault. They were last seen with binoculars in a break in the clouds just 150 meters from the summit. Then the clouds converged and the climbers disappeared.

The mystery of their disappearance, the first Europeans who remained on Sagarmatha, worried many. But it took many years to find out what happened to the climber.

In 1975, one of the conquerors assured that he saw some body off the main path, but did not approach, so as not to lose strength. It took another twenty years for in 1999, when traversing the slope from the 6th high-altitude camp (8290 m) to the west, the expedition stumbled upon many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. Mallory was found among them. He was lying on his stomach, sprawled, as if hugging a mountain, his head and hands were frozen into the slope.

On video it is clearly seen that the climber's tibia and fibula are broken. With such an injury, he was no longer able to continue the journey.

“Turned over - eyes closed. This means that he did not die suddenly: when they break, for many they remain open. They didn’t lower it - they buried it there. ”

Irving was never found, although the harness on Mallory's body suggests that the couple were with each other until the very end. The rope was cut with a knife and perhaps Irving could move around and left his comrade, died somewhere down the slope.

In 1934, the Englishman Wilson made his way to Everest, disguised as a Tibetan monk, who decided to prayerfully cultivate the willpower in himself sufficient to climb to the top. After unsuccessful attempts to reach the North Col, abandoned by the Sherpas accompanying him, Wilson died of cold and exhaustion. His body, as well as the diary he wrote, were found by an expedition in 1935.

A well-known tragedy that shocked many occurred in May 1998. Then a married couple died - Sergey Arsentiev and Francis Distefano.

Sergey Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsentiev, having spent three nights (!) at 8,200 m, climbed and reached the summit on 05/22/1998 at 18:15. The ascent was made without the use of oxygen. Thus, Francis became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to climb without oxygen.

During the descent, the couple lost each other. He went down to the camp. She is not.

The next day, five Uzbek climbers went to the top past Francis - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but for this they refused to climb. Although one of their comrades has already ascended, in this case the expedition is already considered successful.

On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Francis. He took oxygen tanks and went. But he disappeared. Probably blown away by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.

The next day there are three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa - 8 people! They approach her - she has already spent the second cold night, but she is still alive! Again, everyone passes by - to the top.

“My heart sank when I realized that this man in a red and black suit was alive, but completely alone at an altitude of 8.5 km, just 350 meters from the summit,” recalls the British climber. “Kathy and I, without thinking, turned off the route and tried to do everything possible to save the dying woman. Thus ended our expedition, which we had been preparing for years, begging for money from sponsors ... We did not immediately manage to get to it, although it lay close. Moving at such a height is the same as running underwater...

When we found her, we tried to dress the woman, but her muscles atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and muttered all the time: “I am an American. Please, do not leave me"...

We dressed her for two hours. My concentration was lost due to a bone-piercing rattling sound that broke the ominous silence, Woodhall continues his story. “I realized that Katie was about to freeze to death herself. We had to get out of there as soon as possible. I tried to lift Frances and carry her, but it was useless. My futile attempts to save her put Kathy at risk. We couldn't do anything."

Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to get to the top. We succeeded, but on the way back we were horrified to notice the body of Francis, she lay exactly as we left it, perfectly preserved under the influence of low temperatures.

Nobody deserves such an end. Cathy and I promised each other to return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare a new expedition. I wrapped Francis in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into a cliff, away from the eyes of other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally, I was able to do something for her." Ian Woodhall.

A year later, the body of Sergei Arsenyev was found: “I apologize for the delay with photos of Sergei. We definitely saw him - I remember the purple puffy suit. He was in a sort of bowing position, lying just behind the Jochenovsky (Jochen Hemmleb - expedition historian - S.K.) "implicit rib" in the Mallory area at about 27150 feet (8254 m). I think it's him." Jake Norton, member of the 1999 expedition.

But in the same year there was a case when people remained people. On the Ukrainian expedition, the guy spent almost the same place as the American, a cold night. His own people lowered him to the base camp, and then more than 40 people from other expeditions helped. He got off lightly - four fingers were removed.

“In such extreme situations, everyone has the right to decide: to save or not to save a partner ... Above 8000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself and it is quite natural that you do not help another, since you have no extra strength”. Miko Imai.

“It is impossible to afford the luxury of morality at an altitude of more than 8000 meters”

In 1996, a group of climbers from the Japanese University of Fukuoka climbed Mount Everest. Very close to their route were three distressed climbers from India - emaciated, ill people got into a high-altitude storm. The Japanese passed by. A few hours later, all three were dead.

I highly recommend reading the article by the member of the expedition to Everest from the GEO magazine "Nadine with death". About the greatest catastrophe of the decade on Gor. About how, due to a bunch of circumstances, 8 people died, including two group commanders. Later, the film "Death on Everest" was filmed based on the author's book.

Scary footage of the Discovery channel in the TV series Everest - Beyond the Possible. When the group finds a freezing person, they shoot him on camera, but only are interested in the name, leaving him to die alone in an ice cave ( excerpt).

“The corpses on the route are a good example and a reminder to be more careful on the mountain. But every year there are more and more climbers, and according to the statistics of corpses, it will increase every year. What is unacceptable in normal life is regarded as the norm at high altitudes.” Alexander Abramov.

Too Much Human Excrement on Everest, Nepal Says

The waste products of the 700 climbers and guides who attempt to summit each year are becoming a health hazard

Sherpa collects garbage left by climbers on Everest. Officials in Nepal say human waste left on the mountain is now a major problem. Photographer: Namgyal Sherpa/AFP/Getty Images

Human waste left behind by climbers on Everest has become a problem, polluting the world's highest mountain and threatening to spread diseases, the head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said Tuesday.

More than 700 climbers and guides, who spend almost two months on the slopes of Everest every season, leave a huge amount of feces and urine there and this problem is not given enough attention, Eng Chering told reporters.

He also stated that the Nepalese government should force climbers to dispose of waste properly to keep the mountain clean.

Hundreds of foreign climbers will attempt to summit Everest during the current climbing season, which began in Nepal this week and will run until the end of May. Last year's season was canceled after 16 local guides died in an avalanche in April.

Climbers spend several weeks acclimatizing at four camps located between Base Camp (at 5,300m - 17,380ft) and Upper Camp (8,850m - 29,035ft). The camps have tents, some vital equipment and supplies, but no toilets.

“As toilets, climbers usually dig holes in the snow, use them, and leave excrement there,” Tschering said, adding that “waste” has been accumulating around the four camps “for years.”

In the base camp, where porters, cooks and technical staff stay during the season, there are toilet tents with barrels for storing faeces. Once filled, the barrels are taken to the foot of the mountain, where the waste is properly disposed of.

Doa Stephen Sherpa, who has been leading Everest cleanup expeditions since 2008, said some climbers carry disposable travel toilet bags with them to use at higher camps.

“This is a health hazard and the problem needs to be addressed,” he said.

The government of Nepal has not yet come up with a plan to deal with the problem of human excrement. But starting this season, officials at the base camp will strictly monitor the mountain's trash situation, said Paspa Raj Katuwol, head of the government's mountaineering department.

Last year, the government introduced new rules that require each climber to bring 8kg (18 pounds) of rubbish down to base camp, the amount of rubbish that a climber is estimated to normally leave along the route.

Climbing groups must leave a $4,000 deposit, which they lose if they don't follow instructions, Katuwol said.

Over 4,000 climbers have climbed the summit since 1953, when New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay were the first to climb it.

Hundreds of climbers died trying to reach the summit, while others were only able to get there with the help of porters and Sherpa guides and using oxygen tanks.

Corpses on Everest

December 25th, 2012

It is estimated that more than 200 people have died trying to reach the summit of Everest. The reasons for their deaths are as diverse as the weather at the top. Climbers face various hazards - falling off a cliff, falling into a crevice, suffocation due to low oxygen at high altitude, avalanches, rockfalls and weather that can change dramatically in a matter of minutes. The winds at the top can reach hurricane force, literally blowing the climber off the mountain. Low oxygen levels make climbers suffocate, while oxygen-deprived brains render them unable to make rational decisions. Some climbers who stop for a short rest fall into a deep sleep, never to wake up again. But ask any climber who has scaled the mountain and reached the 29,000-foot summit, and he will tell you that apart from all these dangers, the most memorable and most disturbing part of the climb was the many perfectly preserved bodies of those people who died on the way to the summit. .

Except for the seven-day transition to the Base Camp and the two-week acclimatization period in it, then the ascent to Everest itself lasts 4 days. Climbers begin their four-day climb to Everest at the Base Camp, located at the foot of the mountain. Climbers leave Base Camp (located at 17,700 feet) that separates Tibet and Nadas and ascend to Camp No. 1 at 20,000 feet. After a night of rest at Camp 1, they then proceed to Camp 2, also known as Advanced Base Camp (ABC). From Advance Base Camp, they ascend to Camp 3, where, at 24,500 feet, oxygen levels are so low that they must wear oxygen masks while they sleep. From Camp #3 climbers #3 try to reach either the South Col or Camp #4. Having reached Camp 4, climbers reach the border of the “death zone” and must decide whether to continue climbing, then they need to stop and rest a little longer, or return back. Those who choose to continue climbing face the most difficult part of the journey. At 26,000 feet, in the "death zone", necrosis begins and their bodies begin to die. During the ascent, climbers are literally in a "death race", they must reach the summit and return before their bodies "switch off" and they die. If they fail, their bodies will become part of the mountain landscape.

Corpses in such a low-temperature environment are perfectly preserved. Considering that a person can literally die in two counts, many of the dead are not recognized as such for some time after death. In an environment where every climber's step is a struggle, rescuing the dead or dying is practically impossible, as is the evacuation of corpses. The bodies become part of the landscape, and many of them become "landmarks", later climbers use them as "markers" during their ascent. There are approximately 200 bodies at the summit of Everest.

Some of them

Body of David Sharp

David Sharpe's body still sits near the summit of Everest, in a cave known as the "Green Shoes Cave". David climbed in 2005 and near the top he stopped in this cave to rest. Ultimately, he was so cold that he could no longer get out of it. More than 30 climbers passed him freezing to death. Some heard his faint moans and realized that he was still alive. They stopped and talked to him. He was able to name himself, but was unable to move. Brave climbers, trying to warm him up, moved him to the sun, but finally realizing that David was unable to move, they were forced to leave him to die. His body still sits in the cave and is used as a guide for other climbers on their way to the top.

The body of David Sharp is still near the summit of Everest.

“Green Shoes”

The body of the "Green Shoes" (an Indian climber who died in 1996) is located near the cave, which all climbers pass by climbing the peak. "Green Boots" now serves as a marker that climbers use to determine the distance to the summit. In 1996, the Green Shoes broke away from his group and found this rocky peak (actually a small, open cave) to use as protection from the elements. He sat there, shivering with cold, until he died. The wind has since blown his body out of the cave.

Corpses at the Advanced Base Camp.

The bodies of those who died at the Advanced Base Camp are also left where they froze to death.

The perfectly preserved body of the Everest victim (1924) by George Malory

George Malory died in 1924, he was the first to attempt to reach the top of the highest mountain in the world. His corpse, still perfectly preserved, was identified in 1999.

An attempt to protect the body from destruction

Climbers often place rock debris and packed snow around bodies to protect them from the elements. No one knows why this body was skeletonized.

Corpse frozen in time

The bodies lie on the mountain, frozen in the position in which death found them. Here a man fell off the path and, not having the strength to get up, died where he fell.

It is assumed that this man died sitting, leaning on a snowdrift, which has since disappeared, leaving the body in this strange elevated position.

Bodies rolling down the mountain

Some die when they fall off cliffs, their bodies left in places where they can be seen but not reached. Bodies resting on small ledges often roll down, out of sight of other climbers, only to be later buried under the fallen snow.

Wind and snow often turn clothing to tatters, as can be seen in this "collection" of bodies lying at the base of a dangerous cliff.

The sun and wind dried this body, leaving a "mummified" corpse.

The body of climber Francis Arsenieva

American Francis Arsenyeva, who was descending with a group (which included her husband), fell and begged climbers passing by to save her. Descending the steep slope, her husband noticed her absence. Knowing that he did not have enough oxygen to reach her and return to base camp, he nevertheless made the decision to return to find a wife. He broke and died while trying to go down and get to his dying wife. Two other climbers successfully descended to her, but they knew that they could not take her down the mountain. They consoled her for a while before leaving her to die.

Feeling great remorse, they returned eight years later, vowing to find her body and cover it with the American flag (which they and they succeeded in doing).

After the details of the dramatic ascent became known, it became clear that Francis Arsenyeva was the first American to climb Everest without oxygen tanks.

The bodies of other people who gave their souls to God on Everest.

Climbers keep dying on Everest

Unfortunately, even with the use of modern climbing technologies, the list of climbers who died on Everest is growing. In 2012, the following climbers died while attempting to climb Everest: Doa Tenzing (failure due to thin air), Karsang Namgyal (failure), Ramesh Gulve (failure), Namgyal Tshering (fell into a crevice in the glacier), Shah -Klorfine Shriya (failure), Eberhard Schaaf (cerebral edema), Song Won-bin (fall), Ha Wenyi (failure), Juan José Polo Carbayo (failure) and Ralph D. Arnold (broken leg led to weakness ).

Deaths continued in 2013; The following climbers met their tragic end: Mingma Sherp (fell into a crevasse in a glacier), DaRita Sherp (failure), Sergey Ponomarev (failure), Lobsang Sherp (fall), Alexei Bolotov (fall), Namgyal Sherpa (cause of death unknown) , Seo Sung-Ho (cause of death unknown), Mohammed Hossain (cause of death unknown), and one unknown person (died on the descent).

In 2014, a group of approximately 50 pre-season climbers were hit by an avalanche at over 20,000 feet (just above base camp at Mount Khumbu Ice Cascade). 16 people died (three of them were never found).

There is a place on Earth where people walk past dead bodies without emotion. This is Everest, the highest point in the world...

Photo: Bradley Jackson #128939 Flickr Vision, 2010

As a rule, after another tragedy on the slopes of Everest, the public has a logical question: is it possible to remove the bodies of dead climbers from the slopes of the highest mountain? The debate is spurred on by the press, talking about the "highest cemetery in the world" and "death in the clouds."

How many?

From 1922 to 2018, almost 300 people died on the slopes of Everest, and perhaps the very first known death was the disappearance of English climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irwin in 1924. Mallory's body was discovered only in 1999 due to an accident, Irwin has not been found so far.

Andrew Irvine and George Mallory (right).

Chomolungma, or Mother Mountain, basically takes her sons. More than a third of the dead are Sherpas, the countdown of their deaths began in 1922. According to statistics, the probability of death of a Sherpa on Everest is 3.5 times higher than the probability of death of an infantryman during the first four years of the war in Iraq.

The main cause of death on Everest is avalanches and disruptions, which become fatal in high altitude conditions. In 2017, 292 people died on the slopes, and this number, unfortunately, will grow. So, in the same 2017 season (which cannot be considered fatal), 6 people became victims of Chomolungma, including professional climbers with many years of experience.

Why?

The area above 8000 meters is called the “red zone” or “death zone” by climbers among themselves. Any person who got there is aware that if he becomes ill, if trouble happens, then no one will come to the rescue. The term was first coined by Edouard Wyss-Dunant, leader of the 1952 Swiss expedition.

Altitudes above 8 thousand are characterized by an atmospheric pressure below 35.6 kPa (267 mm Hg) and an oxygen level in the air that is insufficient to sustain life (for example, on the Central European Plain at altitudes from 50 to 100 m, the pressure is 760 mm Hg. St. ., or 101 kPa).

Imagine yourself on the wing of a flying plane or try to breathe three times less often - this will help you at least a little to imagine what climbers feel at the top of the world. Which in such conditions need to go up the difficult terrain, sometimes overcoming vertical rocky areas, and all this at temperatures from -20 ° to - 40 ° C ...

Sergey Kofanov, twice Everest climber, mountain guide, member of the Everest rescue operation

At an altitude above 8 thousand meters, a person can hardly carry himself. A trained athlete or a guide in a backpack has oxygen cylinders and additional things, which in total is about 10 kilograms. With this gear, you can move at an average speed of one to two steps per minute. To imagine that at the same time someone can lift and drag a person on themselves seems unlikely (if we are talking about a spontaneous rescue operation). Moreover, the total weight of the climber in full gear is from 70 to 100 kg.

Winds on Everest can reach 78 m/s (175 mph). For comparison: the threshold of the hurricane of the last, 5th category of complexity, is set at 70 m / s (156 miles per hour). Its destructive power is hard to describe: in 2006, Category 5 Hurricane Matthew, which hit Florida, demolished 3,500 buildings and claimed the lives of almost 900 people.

Today, thanks in part to modern weather forecasts, the organizers build the program in such a way that people do not go upstairs in hurricanes: client expeditions pay increased attention to forecasts. But it's not just the wind and cold: in addition to this, there are also earthquakes, failures in the work of various body systems due to extreme conditions; failure of oxygen equipment, rope breakage, mistake in choosing equipment. As a result, mega-professional climbers, Sherpas, and those who wanted to look beyond human capabilities and stand on the Roof of the World lose their lives.

right-of-way

In such inhuman conditions, human laws do not work either. However, people who have never visited the highlands often do not understand the rules of the "Death Zone" and are ready in absentia to condemn a climber who passes by a dying man at eight thousand meters.

One of the clearest examples that stirred up the mountain community was the death of Englishman David Sharpe in 2006, a solo climber, with almost 40 people passing by. At an altitude of 8500 meters, David became exhausted and could no longer move, crouching next to the infamous deceased, known as the "Green Shoes" (they are believed to be the Indian climber Tsewang Paljor, who died on Everest in 1996).

Some simply couldn't see Sharpe in the dark. Others claimed that they mistook Sharpe for Tsevang's body, because he ... also had green shoes on, and Sharpe did not move at all. Be that as it may, the Englishman died of hypothermia (and became the 199th victim of Chomolungma). A year later, at the request of the family, his body was moved from the path and hidden from the eyes of the climbers.

Sergey Kofanov

The question of salvation on Everest is multifaceted. David Sharp went to the top alone: without guides, without Sherpas. And, thus, he put himself in a situation where, in case of an emergency, he could be alone on the mountain without help - unfortunately, this happened.

It is impossible to condemn commercial tourists that dozens passed by Sharpe. For the first time, people walk a route in extreme conditions that their bodies have never encountered (and will never encounter again); they do not understand the situation around. Perhaps it is normal for a person to sit, sit and rest? All climbers have heard stories that hundreds of bodies lie on Everest, perhaps this is one of them?

In addition, Sharpe was unconscious most of the time and did not react, even when spoken to and shone a flashlight into his eyes. Unfortunately, his fate was sealed.

Open air cemetery

Everest has repeatedly witnessed the highest manifestation of the spirit, and the depths of human fall. But, it is worth noting that in recent years the situation with corpses on the routes of Everest is gradually changing. Moved away from the Sleeping Beauty trail (Francis Distefano-Arsentieva), the first American climber to make an oxygen-free ascent and fail to descend from 8,200 meters in 1998.

Francis Distefano-Arsentieva.

Heavy winds carried away the Green Shoes (the body was found again in 2017, but at a distance from the route). The same story happened to the corpse of the German (Hannelore Schmatz died on the descent in 1979). In 1984, they tried to move it - but two Nepalese died during the attempts. And then the wind blew down the slope for many years, frozen in a sitting position, a woman with flying hair, and finally did its job: today Hannelore is not visible from the trail.

What now?

Despite the grim statistics, the number of Everest climbs is not decreasing. From time to time, both in the mountaineering community and in the “civilian” press, there are waves of publications calling for the bodies of the dead, which climbers pass by, to be lowered.

As we already wrote, some of the bodies were moved - sometimes due to the forces of nature, sometimes - the efforts of people. This became possible, among other things, due to the fact that the number of climbers and Sherpas serving them is growing every year (648 people climbed Everest in 2017; 140 climbers did it in one day on May 16, 2018).

Sergey Kofanov

There is a lot of talk that Everest is “littered with corpses” and that climbers go up, literally “stepping over” bodies - and this does not climb into any moral gates. The phrases “we will clear Everest of corpses” and “they should lie in the ground” are pronounced.

This information is not true. From a technical point of view, there are indeed more than 200 bodies on the slopes of Everest, but today, on the way up, a person meets maybe two or three. The bodies are on the sidelines, and to see them - you have to try. As a rule, people run into the dead during the descent, because at night, when everyone goes to storm the summit, it is still dark. So the thought “they walk stepping over the corpses” cannot serve as a moral justification for the fact that the dead should be lowered.

If a climber dies above 8 thousand meters at a temperature of -35 ° C, after a while his body turns into ice. In addition, after several days at a height, it, as a rule, can freeze tightly into the slope: in such conditions it is almost impossible to separate the deceased from the surface unchanged. In this regard, the problem of "lowering the body" down is practically unsolvable.

To be completely impartial and cynical, we will formulate it this way: the deceased will literally have to be cut into pieces, tearing them off the rocks - and this is also far from human ideas about a “worthy funeral” and “last shelter”.

In order to do this, it must first be separated from the slope, which is not always possible without destroying the body itself.

Israfil Ashurly, mountaineer, judge of the international ice climbing category, president of the youth commission of the UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, 2010-2017), ex-president of the Azerbaijan Mountaineering Federation, completed the 7 Summits program in 2007

There are many things in human power. The question is desire and will. First of all, everything depends on financing - this is a very expensive operation. Which requires human (first of all) resources - since at such heights at which the bodies are located, the use of helicopter technology is limited. Therefore, first of all, the labor of people will be used. It will hardly be a volunteer operation: Sherpas will participate in it, for whom it will be a job for which serious money will have to be paid.

But somehow it is necessary to solve the problem - not everyone is on the trail, but everyone who died on Everest - almost 300 people - is basically where they lost their lives (except when the bodies were removed from the trail somewhere to the side.

What if?

In recent years, the Sherpas, on the instructions of expedition leaders, have been moving bodies away from the trail - and even this is an extremely difficult process.

Today, most of those who died on the classic route from the North (from Tibet) lie in the so-called "Couloir of Death". It is located below the Second Step, above 8 thousand meters: approximately there they found the body of George Mallory. Those. if a person died on the ridge during the ascent or descent, his body will find its shelter in this couloir, or on the vertical plumb lines of the South Wall. Routes do not run there, people do not go there.

When climbing from Nepal, climbers may die elsewhere; Until 2015, the Hillary step was a particular danger. Just then, a vertical ridge of snow and ice 13 meters high, surrounded by sheer cliffs, was destroyed by an earthquake. In May 2017, English climber Tim Mosedale confirmed that the step was no longer there, and, in his opinion, now the ascent and descent will be even more dangerous. Because before the path went along well-fixed ropes, and now the slope is unstable.

Returning to the conversation about the full-fledged "descent" of the deceased down - this is not just difficult, but extremely difficult. As we already wrote, we are talking about a body frozen “in ice” weighing 100 kg. If it is possible to separate it from the slope, it will be necessary not only to drag the climber down with the forces of 10-15 Sherpas, but also to lower him along sheer cliffs, which are many on the route. This will require a whole system of fixed ropes and at least a dozen experienced climbers. Which, alas, can also suffer - as happened with the Nepalese who were going to evacuate the body of Hannelore Schmatz.

You can make an approximate calculation of the cost of the expedition for the descent of the deceased, taking into account the fact that the cost of climbing one participant ranges from 40 to 100 thousand dollars. Do not forget to add the price of helicopter rental: from $5,000 to $20,000 (the maximum they go to is Everest Base Camp, 5364 m). And flights from the Tibetan side are completely prohibited by the Chinese government (with the exception of isolated cases).

Of course, the facts are known when one helicopter rose to 12,000 meters, and the other landed on the top of the Chomolungma - but these are isolated cases that fall under the category of "feat" (or "marketing" - whoever thinks), repeating them on an ongoing basis will not work .

Israfil Ashurly

When I was going to Everest MP: Israfil Ashurly climbed in 2007 along the route from the North), there was quite a lot of information that “you will step over bodies”, “people will die and you will walk through them” - and you will definitely see those who have already died: and those who have long gone, for example, the Indian climber Tsevang Paljor, who died in 1996, better known as Mr. Green Shoes, and those who died recently - Marco Lichteneker from Slovenia, who died in 2005. Also in 1999, the body of George Mallory, who died in 1924, was discovered on Everest.

The prospect that I would have to see the abandoned bodies, in a certain sense, overshadowed the upcoming expedition. I still don't feel very comfortable when I think about it. But, by a happy coincidence, snow fell on the night of my assault. And when I went up and down, I didn't see a single body. The group that went the next day found better weather, the snow melted, and its members saw the bodies of the dead. Perhaps, regarding me, the higher powers ordered it this way because I was so worried ...

Of course, it would be good to remove the bodies or, perhaps, lay them with stones? In my understanding, the dead should be interred. I come from the traditions of the old school: people must be saved, and bodies must be lowered. If you can't lower it, then you must bury it. Leaving it on public display, I think, is wrong: if a person has left, his body should not be so reminiscent of the tragedy.

And in a different way?

In 2017, a project was undertaken to cover some of the bodies permanently on Everest with a special non-woven material. The question remains: how long can this tissue survive?

Covered body Marco Lichtenecker. Photo: 7vershin.ru

Because the wind and snow above 8 thousand meters are so strong that they can easily cope with any matter. It is also impossible to wrap a body frozen into a slope. Secure the fabric with ice screws or snow stakes?

Throw rocks? Small ones will also be blown away by the wind, and how many stones can one person move at a speed of movement of one or two steps per minute and a complete lack of strength?

Israfil Ashurly

I thought about how to solve this problem when I worked at the UIAA, brought the issue up for discussion; and several times I thought about how to return to it correctly. And in the process of reflection, I came to the conclusion that all this would depend on some kind of funds, which, perhaps, would have to be received as grants. At that time, I did not understand which organization or fund we should appeal to - who will allocate money to the UIAA for these purposes? Where is the right place to go?

Unfortunately, during the period of my work at the UIAA, we have not made any progress on this issue. My idea did not have time to form a specific agenda. Perhaps in the future I will return to the UIAA and promote this issue again. And it is possible that someone else will do it in the near future.

Total

Therefore, the question of "descent" or "burial" of bodies on Everest, in all respects, most likely, will not be resolved in the near future. Why? Let's try to draw the following parallel: over the long centuries of navigation, many people have died in the abyss, but no one is raising their remains from the depths (including, for example, from the Titanic). Occasionally, divers encounter bodies while diving - but they don't call for their recovery and burial.

At the same time, the mountaineering community is heterogeneous in the question - what to do with those who died on Everest? Some vote to try to remove all the bodies, others to keep everything as it is. However, it is worth remembering that even if the death statistics remain at the level of 2017 (which is not at all necessary), and will add six dead bodies a year, then after a while there will literally be nowhere to turn around on the highest peak in the world. So sooner or later the problem will have to be solved. And if specialists from the UIAA or other international mining structures do this, then honor and praise be to them.

In any case, it is worth remembering that climbers who go to the highest peaks of the world have chosen their own path, so we will treat it with respect. And try to make the mountains closer and safer for those who are just starting their journey to the peaks.

Some of them:

David Sharpe's body still sits near the summit of Everest, in a cave known as the "Green Shoes Cave". David climbed in 2006 and near the top he stopped in this cave to rest. Ultimately, he was so cold that he could no longer get out of it.

Sharpe was no stranger to the mountains. At the age of 34, he had already climbed the eight-thousand-meter Cho Oyu, passing the most difficult sections without the use of railings, which may not be a heroic deed, but at least shows his character. Suddenly left without oxygen, Sharp immediately felt ill and immediately collapsed on the rocks at an altitude of 8500 meters in the middle of the northern ridge. Some of those who preceded him claim that they thought he was resting. Several Sherpas inquired about his condition, asking who he was and with whom he traveled. He replied: "My name is David Sharp, I'm here with Asia Trekking and I just want to sleep."

A group of about forty climbers left the Englishman David Sharp alone to die in the middle of the northern slope; faced with a choice, to help or continue climbing to the top, they chose the second, since reaching the highest peak in the world meant for them to accomplish a feat.

On the very day that David Sharp was dying surrounded by this pretty company and in utter contempt, the media around the world sang the praises of Mark Inglis, the New Zealand guide who, lacking legs to be amputated after an occupational injury, climbed to the top of Everest on prosthetics made of hydrocarbon artificial fiber with cats attached to them.

His body still sits in the cave and is used as a guide for other climbers on their way to the top.

The bodies of those who died at the Advanced Base Camp are also left where they froze to death.

George Malory died in 1924, he was the first to attempt to reach the top of the highest mountain in the world. His corpse, still perfectly preserved, was identified in 1999.

Details: Mallory was the first to conquer the summit and died already on the descent. In 1924, the Mallory-Irving team launched an assault. They were last seen with binoculars in a break in the clouds just 150 meters from the summit. Then the clouds converged and the climbers disappeared.
The mystery of their disappearance, the first Europeans who remained on Sagarmatha, worried many. But it took many years to find out what happened to the climber.
In 1975, one of the conquerors assured that he saw some body off the main path, but did not approach, so as not to lose strength. It took another twenty years for in 1999, when traversing the slope from the 6th high-altitude camp (8290 m) to the west, the expedition stumbled upon many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. Mallory was found among them. He was lying on his stomach, sprawled, as if hugging a mountain, his head and hands were frozen into the slope.

Climbers often place rock debris and packed snow around bodies to protect them from the elements. No one knows why this body was skeletonized.

The bodies lie on the mountain, frozen in the position in which death found them. Here a man fell off the path and, not having the strength to get up, died where he fell.

It is assumed that this man died sitting, leaning on a snowdrift, which has since disappeared, leaving the body in this strange elevated position.

Details: Sergei Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsentiev, having spent three nights on 8,200 m (!), climbed and reached the summit on 05/22/1998 at 18:15. The ascent was made without the use of oxygen. Thus, Francis became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to climb without oxygen.
During the descent, the couple lost each other. He went down to the camp. She is not.
The next day, five Uzbek climbers went to the top past Francis - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but for this they refused to climb. Although one of their comrades has already ascended, in this case the expedition is already considered successful.
On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Francis. He took oxygen tanks and went. But he disappeared. Probably blown away by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.
The next day there are three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa - 8 people! They approach her - she has already spent the second cold night, but she is still alive! Again, everyone passes by - to the top.
“My heart sank when I realized that this man in a red and black suit was alive, but completely alone at an altitude of 8.5 km, just 350 meters from the summit,” recalls the British climber. - Katie and I, without thinking, turned off the route and tried to do everything possible to save the dying. Thus ended our expedition, which we had been preparing for years, begging for money from sponsors ... We did not immediately manage to get to it, although it lay close. Moving at such a height is the same as running under water ...
When we found her, we tried to dress the woman, but her muscles atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and muttered all the time: “I am an American. Please, do not leave me"…
We dressed her for two hours. My concentration was lost due to a bone-piercing rattling sound that broke the ominous silence, Woodhall continues his story. - I understood: Katie is about to freeze to death herself. We had to get out of there as soon as possible. I tried to lift Frances and carry her, but it was useless. My futile attempts to save her put Kathy at risk. We couldn't do anything."
Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to get to the top. We succeeded, but on the way back, we were horrified to notice the body of Francis, she lay exactly as we left her, perfectly preserved under the influence of low temperatures.

"No one deserves such an end. Katie and I promised each other to return to Everest again to bury Francis. It took 8 years to prepare a new expedition. I wrapped Francis in an American flag and put a note from my son. We pushed her body into a cliff, away from eyes of other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally, I was able to do something for her." - Ian Woodhall.

Scary footage of the Discovery channel in the TV series Everest - Beyond the Possible. When the group finds a person freezing, they film him, but only ask for his name, leaving him to die alone in an ice cave:

The question immediately arises, how is it?:

based on the article.