Frozen bodies gradually becoming a common sight on Everest’s summit, as more people attempt to conquer the “roof of the world”.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes at the scene there,” climber Elia Saikaly commented about his 2019 Everest expedition. “Many bodies scattered everywhere along the route.”
This was Saikaly’s third time conquering the “roof of the world.” But the 44-year-old man affirmed he would never return after the horrifying experiences during his most recent trip.
That spring, 11 people died attempting to summit Everest. In 2015, an avalanche claimed at least 19 lives. During the 2021 climbing season, three more people perished on the mountain.
The process of retrieving bodies from the summit is extremely difficult. The cost can reach up to $70,000, accompanied by deadly risks. In 1984, two Nepalese climbers died trying to bring a body down. Therefore, victims’ bodies are often left on the mountain.
Everest stands at 8,848 meters, the highest mountain peak on Earth above sea level. The mountain lost 2.4 cm in height after the April 25, 2015 earthquake in Nepal and has shifted 3 cm southwest. The route to the summit forms the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet region.
Lhakpa Sherpa, the woman who has summited Everest ten times, said she encountered 7 bodies during her 2018 climb. “Those bodies were lying very close to the summit,” Sherpa said.
Accurately identifying all 306 recorded deaths on Everest is impossible, and they have almost become “eternal mummies” on the icy mountain. For many years, the body nicknamed “Green Boots,” lying in a cave about 340 meters below the summit, has become famous among climbers.
Many believe the increasing death toll on Everest is partly due to overcrowding. The Everest climbing season falls around April-May, when the weather is clear and less cloudy. Thus, climbers try to summit before the monsoon season begins in late May.
In May 2019, there were only about 5 suitable climbing days, instead of the usual 7-12, causing hundreds of climbers to depart simultaneously, creating traffic jams.
Many are so determined they risk their lives, ignoring warnings. Typically, these climbers spend $25,000-$75,000 to complete their “once-in-a-lifetime” expedition.
Climbers complain about dangerous congestion at altitudes above 8,000 meters, known as the mountain’s “death zone,” where the air is dangerously thin, forcing most to use oxygen masks.
Removing bodies from this zone is extremely hazardous. “It’s very expensive and risky, especially for the Sherpa guides,” Everest climber Alan Arnette told CBC. “They have to approach the body, sometimes put it on a sled, but often wrap it in fabric and tie a rope, then drag it down. I wouldn’t want my body handled that way.”
Arnette also signed documents requesting his body be left to “rest in peace” on the mountain in case of death.
Jennifer Peedom, a filmmaker and director who has climbed Everest four times, said the sense of adventure in conquering the world’s highest peak is now gone. “Now Everest is incredibly crowded, with more people every year.”