AGI – On the slopes of Everest the Climate change is melting layers of snow and ice, causing the bodies of hundreds of climbers who died trying to reach the roof of the world to resurface. Among those who climbed the highest peak in the Himalayas this year was a team whose goal was not to reach the 8,849-meter peak, but to recover the remnants of forgotten existences.
Among many risks, the team has already recovered five frozen bodies, then taken back to Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital. Two have been pre-identified pending “detailed testing” to confirm their identity, according to Rakesh Gurung of Nepal’s tourism ministry. This Nepalese countryside between Everest and the nearby peaks Lhotse and Nuptse is difficult and dangerous.
“Due to the effects of global warming, bodies and waste become more and more visible as snow cover decreases,” says Aditya Karki, a major in the Nepalese army leading a team of 12 soldiers and 18 climbers. More than 300 people have died on the summit since expeditions began in the 1920s, including eight in the latest season alone. Many bodies remained behind, some hidden by snow or in deep crevasses. Others, still dressed in their colorful climbing gear, became landmarks to the summit for climbers, carrying nicknames such as “Green Boots” or “Sleeping Beauty”.
Many bodies are found in the “death zone”, where low oxygen levels increase the risk of acute mountain sickness and ultimately become fatal beyond a certain duration. It took 11 hours to free one of the corpses stuck in ice up to the torso, and to free it with hot water and extract it with an axe. “It’s extremely difficult,” insists Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa, who led the expedition. According to the guide, some bodies are still almost as they were at the time of death, dressed in full equipment, with crampons and harness.
Dangerous and very expensive recovery
Recovery at high altitude remains a controversial topic in the mountaineering community. It’s an undertaking that costs thousands of dollars and requires up to eight rescue workers for each body. At high altitudes it is difficult to carry heavy loads, but a corpse can weigh more than 100 kilos. For Aditya Karki, however, the effort is necessary. “We need to bring them back as much as possible,” he says, “if we continue to leave them behind, our mountains will turn into cemeteries.” During missions, bodies are often wrapped in a sack and then transported by sled. A body found near the summit of Lhotse, the fourth highest in the world at 8,516 meters, was one of the most difficult to descend, says Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa.
“The body was frozen, the hands and legs open.” “We had to transport him as he was to Camp 3, and only then was it possible to transfer him onto a sled.”
If the body of George Mallory, a British mountaineer who disappeared in 1924, was finally found in 1999, that of his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, was never found. And not even their camera, which could provide proof of a successful climb that could potentially rewrite the history of mountaineering.
The entire campaign, with a budget of over 600 thousand dollars, mobilized 171 Nepalese guides and porters to bring back 11 tons of waste. Fluorescent tents, disused climbing equipment, empty gas cylinders clutter the road to the summit. “The mountains have given us many opportunities”, observes Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa, “we must give them back”.
