Climate change is melting layers of snow and ice on the slopes of Mount Everest, and every time it takes off part of its white robe, the bodies of hundreds of climbers who met their dark fate while trying to reach the surface of the world are revealed among its rocks.
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 rather to search for forgotten bodies.
Despite risking the lives of its members, the group succeeded in recovering five frozen bodies, including a skeleton, which were returned to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.
Two bodies have been identified and are awaiting results of “detailed tests” to confirm their identities, said Rakesh Gurung of Nepal’s tourism ministry. Those that remain unidentified will likely be cremated.
“A difficult and dangerous mission”
This Nepalese campaign aims to clean Mount Everest and the neighboring peaks of Lhotse and Nuptse, in a difficult and dangerous mission.
Speaking to Agence France-Presse, Aditya Karki, a Nepalese army official who heads a team of 12 soldiers and 18 mountaineers, said, “Due to the effects of climate warming, bodies and waste are becoming increasingly visible as the snow cover shrinks.”
More than 300 people have been killed on the mountain since climbing missions began in the 1920s, eight of them in the past season alone.
Many bodies remained on the mountain, some buried in snow and others falling into deep crevices. The bodies, still wearing their colorful climbing gear, became a reference point for climbers, earning them nicknames such as “Green Boots” or “Sleeping Beauty.”
“death zone”
“There is a psychological impact to this,” says Aditya Karki. “People think they are entering wonderful lands when they climb mountains, but if they come across dead bodies along the way, they may be negatively affected.”
Many bodies were found in the “death zone”, where low oxygen levels increase the risk of acute mountain sickness (or altitude sickness), which becomes fatal after a certain period.
It took 11 hours to retrieve a body covered in ice up to the chest, using hot water and an axe.
“It’s very difficult. It’s one thing to get the body out and another thing to get it down,” said Tshering Jangpo Sherpa, who led the recovery mission, noting that a number of bodies were left exactly as they were when they died, with all their clothes, straps and belts on.
“The mountains will turn into graves”
Recovering bodies from high altitudes remains a controversial topic among mountaineers, an endeavor that costs thousands of dollars and requires up to eight rescuers per body.
It is difficult at high altitude to carry something heavy at a time when the weight of the body may exceed 100 kilograms. However, Karki believes that this effort is necessary.
“We need to bring back as many bodies as possible. If we leave them behind, our mountains will turn into graveyards,” he says.
During missions, bodies are often wrapped in a bag and then lowered by sled.
A body was found near Lhotse, the world’s fourth-highest peak at 8,516 metres, and bringing it down was one of the most difficult tasks, according to Tshering Jangpo Sherpa.
“The body was frozen and the hands and feet were separated,” he said. “We had to carry it as it was to Camp 3, where we were able to transport it by sled.”
Tents, equipment and gas cylinders
The Himalayas hold many secrets. While the body of George Mallory, a British mountaineer who disappeared in 1924, was found in 1999, the body of his colleague Andrew Irvine has never been found. Only their camera will provide evidence of a successful ascent that may rewrite the history of mountaineering.
The clean-up campaign, which had a budget of more than $600,000, involved 171 Nepalese guides who returned 11 tons of waste.
On the path leading to the summit, colorful tents, discarded climbing equipment, empty gas cylinders and even human feces were found.
“The mountains have given us many opportunities,” says Tshering Jangpo Sherpa, “and we must repay them by removing waste and dead bodies from them.”
Now expeditions are required to dispose of their waste. “The mountain climbers have to return their waste this year,” says Karki. “But who will remove the old waste?”
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