Located in the Mahalangur Himal area of Himalayas, Asia, Mount Everest stands as the highest mountain on Earth above sea level. With its official snow height marked at 29,031+ ft by the Chinese and Nepali government in 2020, the mountain region spans through five countries: Bhutan, India, Nepal, China, and Pakistan.
The mountain offers two primary climbing routes, one from the southeast in Nepal, described as the standard route by Wiki, and the other from the north in Tibet. Everest presents a host of dangers that climbers must contend with that include risks like altitude sickness, unpredictable weather conditions, fierce winds, and the hazards of avalanches (an avalanche is a quick descent of snow down a slope) and Icefalls.
This report was released in 2015 by CNN and it’s shocking.
Mount Everest holds within its icy embrace a haunting secret. More than 200 bodies, including climbers and Sherpas, remain scattered across its trails. Some lie hidden or buried under avalanche snow, while others are exposed on catchment basin slopes.
Among the climbers that met their unfortunate demise is Tsewang Paljor, an Indian climber who died in an infamous 1996 blizzard, his neon green boots earning him the nickname “Green Boots.” For nearly two decades, Tsewang’s body has become a fixture near the summit of Everest’s north side, where climbers must go over his outstretched legs.
The bodies on the mountain have not been removed due to bad weather conditions at that height, making it close to impossible to retrieve all the waste. The report further mentions people having to pay lots of money for Sherpas to climb the mountain for the sole purpose of retrieving the body of a friend or loved one.
The Sherpa people are an indigenous Tibetan ethnic group with a deep connection to the most rugged regions of Nepal, Tingri County, and the surrounding Himalayan area. The term “Sherpa” has expanded beyond its original ethnic meaning and today, it is often used by foreigners to refer to any guide or support staff hired for mountaineering ventures in the Himalayas, irrespective of their ethnic background.
The story of Mount Everest, with all its complexities, underscores the eternal tug-of-war between mankind’s insatiable desire for conquest and the haunting consequences that can ensue.
