Chutian Metropolis Daily News, report from Everest Base Camp (Special Correspondent Chen Bolei
Correspondent Cao Zhikai) This might be the simplest cemetery in the world: no offerings, no tombstones, only piles of stones and rocks engraved with names, most of which were carved with ice axes used for climbing. Each stone represents a life— their remains still lie on Everest. Above 8,000 meters, no one has the ability to bring them down for burial.
Yesterday, as snowflakes began to fall, the team’s head climber, Ciluo, led everyone to the Everest Cemetery to mourn their heroic predecessors and offer khata scarves to the brave. The Everest Cemetery is located not far west of the base camp where the Great Earth Mountaineering Team is stationed, facing the pyramid-like Everest in the distance.
Three connected stones caught the attention of the team members. These stones bear the names of three individuals engraved in Korean. This is a joint grave for three South Korean climbers who died in different years and may not have even known each other, yet they rest together, united by a shared dream.
“That is the tombstone of the famous extreme sports enthusiast Yan Genghua. In 2000, he successfully climbed Everest alone but tragically lost his life on the descent.” Head Ciluo pointed to one of the stones and explained that so far, around 300 climbers have died on Everest, but only about 30 names are engraved here in this cemetery at the foot of the mountain, as eternal records. Most of them died during the descent after reaching the summit.
It is understood that the fatality rate for Everest climbers is 8%. In recent years, the mortality rate has decreased, especially since the establishment of the Tibet High-Altitude Rescue Team last year, which has further ensured the safety of climbers. However, within China, helicopter rescue on Everest is not yet available. Rescue operations above 8,300 meters on Everest remain unavailable, but between 8,300 meters and 6,500 meters, human-powered rescue is possible, and below 6,500 meters, yaks can be used.