Mount Everest (also known as Qomolangma or Holy Mother Peak), located on the border between China and Nepal, is the world’s highest peak at 8,848 meters. It is a challenging destination beloved by many mountaineers. However, over the years, numerous climbers from around the world have lost their lives on this beloved mountain. Due to the harsh local climate, bodies are extremely difficult to retrieve, so for over a decade “they” have remained where they fell, leading to a situation where later climbers use “corpses as landmarks.”
Those who have seen the movie *Everest* will know that during the climb, one must contend with extremely thin oxygen, brutal weather, and the constant risk of brain hypoxia. When the body “shuts down,” climbers can collapse on the mountain and become one of the many “mummified bodies” along the route. Therefore, saying that every ascent is like playing Russian roulette is no exaggeration.
Mount Everest was closed for two years due to natural disasters and has only recently reopened. However, in May, it was reported that four people died within four consecutive days, three of them from altitude sickness. Many legendary climbers rest eternally on the mountain. Among them, legendary climber David Sharp, nicknamed "Green Boots" and known as the “climber with long legs and lungs,” and his friend Andrew Irvine, whose bodies had been missing for 16 years, were finally discovered in May in a melting glacier in Tibet, China. In addition to them, there are at least a hundred bodies on Everest.
There are many famous corpses on the mountain that have become “landmarks” for passing climbers. Most victims succumb to the thin air and harsh conditions, eventually freezing in place after being unable to walk. Many of the deceased still have ropes around their waists.
For example, “Green Boots” (nicknamed for the color of the boots he was wearing) is one of the most well-known remains. Dressed in climbing gear, the body lies motionless in the snow. Many climbers pass by but are powerless to help.
The frigid temperatures on Everest prevent bodies from decomposing, so climbers often encounter many corpses. The reason these bodies cannot be removed is that it is too dangerous and too difficult. Reaching the summit of Everest is already one of the hardest challenges in the world, and retrieving a dead or lost climber would take a long time, possibly forcing the entire team to spend the night on the mountain. As a result, most teams simply give up.
Most of the bodies are scattered across the “death zone,” around 8,000 meters above sea level. No one has studied the true causes of death for these individuals, but physical exhaustion and extreme weather are definitely among the main factors.