Why are dead climbers not taken from Everest? Death on Everest: the bodies of dead climbers still lie on its slopes. How much does it cost to climb Everest?

When Prince Siddhartha was born, it was prophesied that he would give up his entire vast inheritance and become a great teacher.
Fearing that the prophecy would come true, his father, the Raja of one of the Indian principalities, surrounded his son with care and comfort.
One of the raja's commands was to clear the city streets of sick and infirm people, the sight and conversations with whom could force Siddhartha to leave the fate of the heir to the principality.

But nevertheless, the prince was concerned about the problems of the common people.
One day, in the thirtieth year of his life, Siddhartha, accompanied by the charioteer Channa, got out of the palace. There he saw “four sights” that changed his entire subsequent life: an old beggar, a sick man, a decomposing corpse and a hermit.
Then he realized the harsh reality of life - that illness, suffering, aging and death are inevitable and neither wealth nor nobility can protect against them, and that the path of self-knowledge is the only way to understand the causes of suffering.

This prompted him, in his thirtieth year, to leave his home, family and property and go in search of a way to get rid of suffering.

Today we know this great man by the name of Buddha.

At the core of his teaching was the concept of impermanence, that we should live our lives as productively as possible and not fear death.

Buddhists usually face death soberly. Many of them also treat corpses calmly. They make a distinction between a person's body, a temporary shelter, and his soul - an immortal essence destined for eternal real life.

Perhaps because we foreigners lead a much more mundane lifestyle, we are very uncomfortable being around dead bodies. As a rule, they make either a disgusted or disgusting impression on us. We are unable to distinguish between the earthly body and eternal life.
Many of us are afraid of dead bodies, but oddly enough, if the corpse becomes increasingly difficult to identify, then the horror that arose towards it is erased.
We are horrified when we see how a pathologist works with recently deceased people, but at the same time we can quite calmly observe the work of an archaeologist who has dug up the skeleton of a person from the distant past.

One of the things that shocks and surprises people to whom I tell about my climb to Everest is that they think that I climb to the top by stepping over a huge number of corpses.
But why weren’t these bodies brought down and buried according to the canons of the Buddhist religion? they ask me.

But before I answer that question, I'm going to debunk the popular media myth that Everest is literally littered with bodies. dead climbers.
Debunking this myth is very important because it is what proves that climbing Everest is inherently unethical. Believe it or not, many people even hold a grudge against climbers who climb Everest, believing that they are completely devoid of conscience, that they will stop at nothing to reach the top of Everest, and that climbers are ready to walk to the top even over the corpses of their comrades.

Returning to the theme of the myth, we can say with confidence that Everest is littered with the bodies of dead climbers just as much as Antarctica is littered with the bodies of dead pioneers of Shackleton’s era.

Yes, it is true that more than 200 people died on Everest during their ascents, and that the bodies of the vast majority of them are still on the mountain.
But on the other hand, Everest is a huge territory, and most of the bodies of the dead are hidden in the depths of the Northern Wall, the Kangshung Wall and the Khumbu Glacier. These "burials" are as inaccessible as if the bodies were buried several hundred meters underground. And even more so, not a single climber will stumble or step over them when climbing to the top.

Perhaps the best example of this is on the Northeast ridge of Everest in 1924.
Some people believe that if climbers can find Irwin's body, he will also have a camera with him that could reveal the century-old secret of Everest: whether Irvine and Mallory were on its summit in 1924.

However, for almost 100 years now, climbers have been searching for Irwin’s body on the North Slope... For this, both visual methods and aerial photographs and satellite images. But all searches turn out to be in vain, and apparently Irwin’s body will never be found.

There are many more corpses in our city cemetery, and they lie much denser.... Of course, not all are hidden from view, but at the same time, every tombstone marks these bodies, but there are also places where there are no tombstones.... and this means that when I walk with the graves of my relatives, I unwittingly step over or even step on the graves of other people who have been buried for a long time.

So let's stop reacting to tabloid headlines. Everest is not littered with corpses!
Over the past 100 years, less than 300 people have died in this mountain range. There are hundreds of other places on Earth that have had much greater casualties.
But what shocks people so much when we talk about corpses on Everest? Perhaps the fact is that these bodies remain on the mountainside and are not taken to the valleys where they could be buried in the ground.
So why is this happening?

A simple answer to this question is the fact that in most cases it is simply impossible to carry out such an operation.
Helicopters cannot operate at high altitudes due to the thin atmosphere, and on the Tibetan side, their flights in the highlands are generally prohibited by the Chinese government!

Even if a person died in the arms of his comrades, lowering the body from a great height will take all the climbers and sherpas of the expedition, and in the pre-summit zone, even the well-coordinated work of the entire team may not help in the descent.
Most climbers, when stepping above the "death zone", are aware of this fine line between life and death. And they consider their safety as their first priority and not reaching the top at any cost.
In addition, a special operation to remove the body of the deceased from the mountain to the valley will cost tens of thousands of dollars to the family of the deceased, and will also endanger the lives of other climbers taking part in this operation.
Climbers' insurance typically covers search and rescue, but these policies do not cover the recovery of a deceased person.

The bodies of those climbers who died after falling off the route are often unattainable for the rescue team, and in such harsh conditions, these bodies very quickly freeze into ice.

The bodies of those climbers who died from exhaustion, located near the ascent route, are often at the edge of the field of view, or after some time, end up on the slopes of the South-West Face or on Kangshung from the Tibetan side.
A similar thing happened to David Sharp, a British climber who died on the northeast ridge in 2006. His body was removed from the climbing route at the request of his family.
A similar thing happened to the Indian climber Tsevan Paljor, who died in 1996, but his body remained in plain sight in a niche on the north-eastern part of the ridge for almost 20 years: but now it is not there... apparently it was removed from the route.

Yet every year people die on Everest, and in most cases their bodies remain on the mountain. If you attempt to climb to the top and climb to it, you will probably notice several bodies of the dead along the way.

I also walked near the bodies of the dead, but I did not dwell on them. I understood that these few bodies were only a small fraction of those killed who remained here forever over the past decades.
I saw that some bodies were lying along the route, they died from exhaustion, and I could understand how they died, I knew how they suffered and understood that I could not afford to leave my family and friends with such grief.

Please pay attention to this photo. It shows a view of the Everest route from the third stage. The photo was taken from a height of 8600 meters. If you study it in detail, you can see four corpses on the slope of Everest.
Two bodies lying close to the route most likely died from exhaustion. One body is 50 meters below, partially covered in snow, and another is hanging over the edge of a rocky area. These bodies were carried by climbers away from the trail, which was essentially the equivalent of a burial.

In general, in this section, near the third step, there is a large number of bodies of the dead, this is due to the fact that from here, the top of Everest seems to be at arm's length, and this deceptive fact forces climbers to move to the top despite their condition, when the right decision was would turn down.

Let me remind you once again that this photo was taken at around 8600 meters and only about 100 people a year pass this section, and those who found the strength to reach such a height are already having difficulty finding the strength to fight for their own survival.
Only in this photograph did I discover the bodies of two more dead climbers, because in fact, with my own eyes I saw only two on this step...
But as paradoxical as it sounds, these two bodies helped me survive the ascent

I have since removed this photo from my blog to prevent inappropriate comments and conversations.
I have left here only a low-resolution version of the photo, which would make it very difficult to distinguish the bodies of the dead.

Some people who hear about bodies lying on Everest say that the mountain should be closed to climbers in memory of those who remained there forever.
I don’t quite understand this approach, but I think that this opinion arises when people do not know at all what mountaineering is, what climbing to the tops of mountains is.
Climbers who go to Everest understand and know about the risks, they themselves decided to take this risk, because mountaineering and victories enrich their lives.

Of course, not everyone believes that such a risk is worth the reward, but this is the choice of every climber. Mountaineering and mountains are not a place where it is wise to interfere with the choices of others.
I don’t know a single climber who would like the mountain to be closed for climbing in memory of those who died, of those who took risks and their risk was higher than they could overcome.

Perhaps it would be easier if people saw climbing Everest as a metaphor for life. And if you want to live life, you must accept that from time to time you will see corpses, because the dead are part of real life.
Perhaps this look will help to more soberly assess the situation with Everest and understand what the corpses on the mountainside mean.
Every death is a tragedy for the loved ones of the deceased, but death is an unchangeable part of our existence. Death accompanies us all throughout our lives. And when someone dies, we can learn to be more merciful and become a better person.

This translation of the article is subject to copyright law. Reproduction of material on other resources is possible only with the permission of the site administration! Controversial issues are resolved in court

Mountains occupy one third of the Earth's land surface. The Himalayas have 11 peaks over eight kilometers high. The highest point on the planet rises 8848 meters above sea level - a peak called Chomolungma in Tibetan, or Sagarmakhta in Nepali, which means “forehead of heaven”.

And the British named it Everest, in honor of the head of the cartographic service, George Everest, who devoted more than 30 years of his life to filming this area of ​​the former British colony.

Conversation with the mountains

On the way to famous mountain, on passes five kilometers high, prayer flags are tied to branches folded into a pyramid. People spend hours talking with the mountains, looking at the peaks stretching into infinity. Everest opens from the Dzha-Tsuo-La pass. Qomolangma base camp is located a stone's throw away from Rongbuk Monastery. The famous artist Vasily Vereshchagin, traveling in those places, wrote: “Whoever has not been in such a climate, at such an altitude, cannot form an idea of ​​​​the blueness of the sky - it is something amazing, incredible...”.

But high mountains- a cruel element, complex and unpredictable, and climbers have no time to admire the beauty of the skies. Each step on a deadly path requires utmost attention and caution. For climbers, climbing Everest is often the achievement of a lifetime and the potential to become... an unusual mummy.

They were the first

The British expedition of 1921 chose the route to storm the summit. General Charles Bruce first proposed the idea of ​​recruiting porters from the Sherpa tribes living in the surrounding area. In May 1922, the British established an assault camp at an altitude of 7600 meters. George Mallory, Edward Norton, Howard Somervell and Henry Morshead climbed to 8000 meters. And George Ingle Finch, Bruce Jr. and Tezhbir made the first attempt at an assault with oxygen cylinders - “English air,” as the Sherpas mockingly called it. The expedition had to be abandoned because seven Sherpas, the first victims of Everest, were killed in an avalanche.

In 1924, during an expedition, the Norton-Somervell pair first went up, but Somervell soon felt ill and returned. Norton rose to 8570 meters without oxygen. A team of Mallory and Irwin launched an assault on June 6. The next day they were seen in a break in the clouds, like two black dots on a snow field at the top. No one saw them alive again.

In 1933, Win-Harris found Irwin's ice ax near the northern ridge. And on May 1, 1999, Konrad Anker saw a shoe sticking out of the snow. It was Mallory's body. According to experts, they could have conquered Everest on June 8, 1924 and died during the descent, falling off the ridge during a snowstorm. A wallet and documents were found in Mallory's pockets, but there was no photograph of his wife and a British flag - he promised to leave them at the top. It remains a mystery whether the researchers climbed Everest?

After a series of unsuccessful expeditions, on May 26, 1953, Henry Hunt and Da Namgyal Sherpa brought a tent and food to an altitude of 8,500 meters. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, who climbed a day later, spent the night in it and at nine o’clock in the morning on May 29 climbed to the top of Everest! But the Western media for a long time claimed that the first conqueror was a white man from New Zealand, Sir Hillary, and the native Sherpa Norgay was not even mentioned. Only many years later was justice restored.

"Death Zone" and moral principles

Altitudes above 7,500 meters are called the “death zone.” Due to the lack of oxygen and cold, a person cannot stay there for a long time. And in acute cases of mountain sickness, climbers develop swelling of the brain and lungs, coma and death occur.

In 1982, 11 Soviet climbers climbed Everest. At the beginning of the 1990s, the era of commercial mountaineering began, and its participants did not always have proper training. Sir Hillary said that “human life was, is and will be higher than the top of the mountain.” But not everyone agrees with this. Many believe that one climber should not risk his climb and his life because of the poor preparation and exaggerated ambitions of another.

Climbers heading to Everest may abandon a dying colleague, and few of them will risk their lives to help him. The Japanese group indifferently walked past the dying Indians. As one of them stated later:

We are too tired to help them. An altitude of 8000 meters is not a place where people will allow themselves moral considerations.

We also passed by the dying Englishman David Sharp. Only one Sherpa porter tried to help him and put him on his feet for an hour. In 1992, while descending from the peak, Ivan Dusharin and Andrei Volkov saw and saved a man lying in the snow, abandoned by his companions to die; as it later turned out, he was the guide of an American commercial expedition. He told them:

I recognized you, you are Russian, only you can save me, help!

In the spring of 2006, with excellent weather, 11 more people remained forever on the slopes of Everest. The unconscious Lincoln Hall was brought down by Sherpas and survived with frostbite on his hands. Anatoly Bukreev saved the lives of three members of his commercial group at an altitude of 8000 meters.

Passing by dying people, climbers are sometimes simply unable to help them. The problem is the physical impossibility of saving them if there is no iron health. At altitudes of 7500-8000 meters, a person is forced to simply fight for his life, and he decides for himself what to do in this case. Sometimes trying to save one can lead to the death of several people. And when a climber dies at an altitude of more than 7,500 meters, evacuating his body is often an even more risky undertaking than climbing.

"Rainbow" way

On one of the most popular climbing routes, here and there, multi-colored clothes of the dead peek out from under the snow. To date, more than 3,000 people have visited Everest and more than 200 bodies remain forever on its slopes. Most of them have not been found, but some are in plain sight. The bodies of dead, frozen or crashed climbers have become an everyday part of the landscape on the classic routes to the summit. Several points along the route are named after them, and they serve as eerie landmarks as you climb the peak. Climatic conditions - dry air, scorching sun and strong winds - lead to the fact that the bodies are mummified and preserved for decades.

All the conquerors of Everest pass by the corpse of the Indian Tsewang Palchor, called Green Shoes. Nine years after her death, Frances Arsentiev's body was only lowered down a little, where it lies, covered with an American flag. In 1979, while descending from the summit, the German woman Hannelore Schmatz died from hypoxia, exhaustion and cold in a sitting position on the southeastern ridge of the mountain at an altitude of 8350 meters. While trying to lower it, Yogendra Bahadur Thapa and Ang Dorje fell and died. Later, a strong wind blew her corpse onto the eastern slope of the mountain.

In the spring of 1996, due to a blizzard, frost and hurricane winds, 15 people died at once. It was only in 2010 that Sherpas found Scott Fisher's body and left it in place, in accordance with the wishes of the deceased's family. Brazilian Victor Negrete wished in advance to remain at the top in case of death, which happened from hypothermia in 2006. Canadian Frank Ziebarth climbed without oxygen and died in 2009. In 2011, Irishman John Delairy died literally a few meters from the top. On the last leg of the thorny path in 2012, on May 19, German Eberhard Schaff and Korean Son Won Bin died, and on May 20, Spaniard Juan Jose Polo and Chinese Ha We-nyi died. On April 26, 2015, after an earthquake and avalanches, 65 climbers died at once!

There's money everywhere

Climbing Everest requires money, and a lot of it. Only a permit for an individual climb costs 25 thousand dollars, 70 thousand for a group of seven people. You have to pay 12 thousand for cleaning garbage from the slopes, 5-7 thousand for the services of a cook, three thousand for the Sherpas for laying a path along the Khumbu Icefall. And another five thousand for the services of a personal Sherpa porter and five thousand for setting up a camp. Plus payment for the ascent to the base camp with the delivery of cargo and equipment, for food and fuel. And also three thousand each - to the officers of the People's Republic of China or Nepal, who monitor compliance with the lifting rules. All amounts shown are in dollars.

A climber can save on some expense items by refusing some services. If one paid twice as much to climb as another, does that mean he should have twice the chance of survival? It turns out that payment matters.

If you can't go to Everest, don't go...

A well-known tragedy that shocked many occurred in May 1998. Then a married couple, Sergei Arsentiev and Francis Distefano, died.

“In such extreme situations, everyone has the right to decide: to save or not to save a partner... Above 8000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself and it is quite natural that you do not help another, since you have no extra strength.” Miko Imai.

Mira stores not only piles of garbage, but also the remains of its conquerors. For many decades now, the corpses of losers have been decorating the highest point of the planet, and no one intends to remove them from there. Most likely, the number of unburied bodies will only increase.

Attention, impressionable people, pass by!

In 2013, the media obtained photos from the very top of Everest. Dean Carrere, a famous climber from Canada, took a selfie against the background of the sky, rocks and heaps of garbage brought earlier by his predecessors.

At the same time, on the slopes of the mountain you can see not only various garbage, but also unburied bodies of people who remained there forever. The summit of Everest is known for its extreme conditions, which literally turn it into a mountain of death. Everyone who conquers Chomolungma must understand that conquering this peak may be the last.

Night temperatures here drop to minus 60 degrees! Closer to the top, hurricane winds blow at speeds of up to 50 m/s: at such moments the frost is felt by the human body as minus 100! Plus, the extremely rarefied atmosphere at such an altitude contains extremely little oxygen, literally on the border of deadly limits. Under such loads, even the most resilient people’s hearts suddenly stop, and equipment often fails—for example, the valve of an oxygen cylinder may freeze. The slightest mistake is enough to lose consciousness and, having fallen, never rise again...

At the same time, you can hardly expect that someone will come to your rescue. The climb to the legendary peak is fantastically difficult, and only true fanatics meet here. As one of the participants in the Russian Himalayan expedition, Master of Sports of the USSR in mountaineering, Alexander Abramov, put it:

“The corpses on the route are a good example and a reminder to be more careful on the mountain. But every year there are more and more climbers, and according to statistics, the number of corpses will increase every year. What is unacceptable in normal life is considered normal at high altitudes.”

There are terrible stories among those who have been there...

Locals- Sherpas, naturally adapted to life in these harsh conditions, are hired as guides and porters for climbers. Their services are simply irreplaceable - they provide fixed ropes, delivery of equipment, and, of course, rescue. But in order for them to come to
help needs money...

Sherpas at work.

These people risk themselves every day so that even moneybags unprepared for difficulties can get their share of the experiences they want to get for their money.

Climbing Everest is a very expensive pleasure, costing from $25,000 to $60,000. Those who try to save money sometimes have to pay extra on this bill with their very lives... There are no official statistics, but according to those who returned, not less than 150 people, and perhaps as many as 200...

Groups of climbers pass by the frozen bodies of their predecessors: at least eight unburied corpses lie near the common trails on the northern route, ten more on the southern route, recalling the serious danger that befalls a person in these places. Some of the unfortunate people were just as eager to reach the top, but fell and crashed, someone froze to death, someone lost consciousness from lack of oxygen... And it is highly not recommended to deviate from the trodden routes - you will stumble, and no one will come to your rescue , risking his own life. Death Mountain does not forgive mistakes, and people here are as indifferent to misfortune as rocks.

Below is the supposed corpse of the very first climber to conquer Everest, George Mallory, who died on the descent.

“Why are you going to Everest?” - Mallory was asked. - “Because he exists!”

In 1924, the Mallory-Irving team began an assault on the great mountain. The last time they were seen was only 150 meters from the top, seen through binoculars in a break in the clouds... They did not return back, and the fate of the first Europeans who climbed so high remained a mystery for many decades.

One of the climbers in 1975 claimed that he saw someone's frozen body to the side, but did not have the strength to reach it. And only in 1999, one of the expeditions came across a cluster of bodies of dead climbers on a slope to the west of the main route. There they found Mallory lying on his stomach, as if hugging a mountain, his head and arms frozen into the slope.

His partner Irving was never found, although the bandage on Mallory's body suggests that the pair were with each other until the very end. The rope was cut with a knife. Probably, Irving could move longer and, leaving his comrade, died somewhere lower down the slope.

The bodies of the dead climbers remain here forever; no one is going to evacuate them. Helicopters cannot reach such a height, and few people are capable of carrying the considerable weight of a dead body...

The unfortunate are left lying without burial on the slopes. The icy wind gnaws the bodies to the bones, leaving an absolutely terrible sight...

As the history of recent decades has shown, extreme sports enthusiasts obsessed with records will calmly pass by not only corpses, but on the icy slope there is a real “law of the jungle”: those who are still alive are left without help.

So in 1996, a group of climbers from a Japanese university did not interrupt their climb to Everest because their Indian colleagues were injured in a snow storm. No matter how they begged for help, the Japanese passed by. On the descent they found those Indians already frozen to death...

In May 2006, another amazing incident occurred: 42 climbers passed by the freezing Briton one after another, including a Discovery Channel film crew... and no one helped him, everyone was in a hurry to accomplish their own “feat” of conquering Everest!

Briton David Sharp, who climbed the mountain on his own, died due to the fact that his oxygen tank failed at an altitude of 8500 meters. Sharpe was no stranger to the mountains, but suddenly left without oxygen, he felt ill and fell on the rocks in the middle of the northern ridge. Some of those who passed by claim that it seemed to them that he was simply resting.

But the media around the world glorified New Zealander Mark Inglis, who that day climbed to the roof of the world on prosthetics made of hydrocarbon fiber. He became one of the few who admitted that Sharpe was indeed left to die on the slope:

“At least our expedition was the only one that did something for him: our Sherpas gave him oxygen. About 40 climbers passed by him that day, and no one did anything.”

David Sharp didn't have much money, so he went to the summit without the help of Sherpas, and he had no one to call for help. Probably, if he were richer, this story would have had a happier ending.

Climbing Everest.

David Sharp shouldn't have died. It would be enough if the commercial and non-commercial expeditions that went to the summit agreed to save the Englishman. If this did not happen, it was only because there was no money or equipment. If he had someone left at the base camp who could order and pay for evacuation, the Briton would have survived. But his funds were only enough to hire a cook and a tent at the base camp.

At the same time, commercial expeditions are regularly organized to Everest, allowing completely unprepared “tourists”, very old people, the blind, people with severe disabilities and other owners of deep wallets to reach the summit.

Still alive, David Sharp spent a terrible night at an altitude of 8500 meters in the company of “Mr. Yellow Boots”... This is the corpse of an Indian climber in bright boots, lying for many years on a ridge in the middle of the road to the summit.

A little later, guide Harry Kikstra was assigned to lead a group that included Thomas Weber, who had vision problems, a second client, Lincoln Hall, and five Sherpas. They left the third camp at night in good weather. climatic conditions. Gulping oxygen, two hours later they came across the body of David Sharp, walked around him with disgust and continued on their way to the top.

Everything went according to plan, Weber climbed on his own using the railing, Lincoln Hall moved forward with two Sherpas. Suddenly, Weber's vision dropped sharply, and just 50 meters from the top, the guide decided to end the climb and headed back with his Sherpa and Weber. They slowly descended... and suddenly Weber became weak, lost coordination, and died, falling into the hands of the guide in the middle of the ridge.

Hall, who was returning from the summit, also radioed to Kikstra that he was not feeling well, and Sherpas were sent to help him. However, Hall collapsed at a height and could not be revived for nine hours. It was beginning to get dark, and the Sherpas were ordered to take care of their own salvation and descend.

Rescue operation.

Seven hours later, another guide, Dan Mazur, who was traveling with clients to the summit, came across Hall, who, to his surprise, was alive. After he was given tea, oxygen and medicine, the climber found enough strength to talk on the radio to his group at the base.

Rescue work on Everest.

Since Lincoln Hall is one of the most famous “Himalayans” of Australia, a member of the expedition that opened one of the paths on the northern side of Everest in 1984, he was not left without help. All the expeditions located on the northern side agreed among themselves and sent ten Sherpas after him. He escaped with frostbitten hands - a minimal loss in such a situation. But David Sharp, abandoned on the trail, had neither a big name nor a support group.

Transportation.

But the Dutch expedition left a climber from India to die - just five meters from their tent, leaving him while he was still whispering something and waving his hand...

But often many of those who died are themselves to blame. A well-known tragedy that shocked many occurred in 1998. Then a married couple died - Russian Sergei Arsentiev and American Frances Distefano.

They reached the summit on May 22, using absolutely no oxygen. Thus, Frances became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to conquer Everest without oxygen. During the descent, the couple lost each other. For the sake of this record, Francis already lay exhausted for two days on the descent on the southern slope of Everest. Climbers from different countries. Some offered her oxygen, which she refused at first, not wanting to spoil her record, others poured several sips of hot tea.

Sergei Arsentyev, without waiting for Francis in the camp, went in search. The next day, five Uzbek climbers walked to the summit past Frances - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but to do this they would have to give up the climb. Although one of their comrades has already climbed the peak, and in this case the expedition is already considered successful.

On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Frances. He took oxygen cylinders - and did not return; most likely, he was blown away by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.

The next day there are three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa, a total of 8 people! They approach her lying down - she has already spent the second cold night, but she is still alive! And again everyone passes by, to the top.

British climber Ian Woodhall recalls:

“My heart sank when I realized that this man in the red and black suit was alive, but completely alone at an altitude of 8.5 km, just 350 meters from the top. Katie and I, without thinking, turned off the route and tried to do everything possible to save the dying woman. Thus ended our expedition, which we had been preparing for years, begging money from sponsors... We did not immediately manage to get to it, although it was close. Moving at such a height is the same as running under water...

Having discovered her, we tried to dress the woman, but her muscles atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and kept muttering: “I am an American. Please don’t leave me”... We dressed her for two hours,” Woodhall continues his story. “I realized: Katie is about to freeze to death herself.” We had to get out of there as quickly as possible. I tried to pick Frances up and carry her, but it was no use. My futile attempts to save her put Katie at risk. There was nothing we could do.

Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to reach the top. We succeeded, but on the way back we were horrified to notice Frances' body, lying exactly as we had left her, perfectly preserved by the cold temperatures.
No one deserves such an end. Katie and I promised each other that we would return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare the new expedition. I wrapped Frances in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into the cliff, away from the eyes of other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally I was able to do something for her."

A year later, the body of Sergei Arsenyev was found:

“We definitely saw him - I remember the purple puffer suit. He was in a sort of bowing position, lying...in the Mallory area at approximately 27,150 feet (8,254 m). I think this is him,” writes Jake Norton, a member of the 1999 expedition.

But in the same 1999 there was a case when people remained people. A member of the Ukrainian expedition spent a cold night almost in the same place as the American. His team brought him down to the base camp, and then more than 40 people from other expeditions helped. As a result, he got off lightly with the loss of four fingers.

Japanese Miko Imai, veteran of Himalayan expeditions:

“In such extreme situations, everyone has the right to decide: to save or not to save a partner... Above 8000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself and it is quite natural that you do not help another, since you have no extra strength.”

Alexander Abramov, Master of Sports of the USSR in mountaineering:

“You can’t continue climbing, maneuvering between corpses, and pretend that this is in the order of things!”

The question immediately arises, did this remind anyone of Varanasi - City of dead? Well, if we return from horror to beauty, then look at the Lonely Peak of Mont Aiguille...

Be interesting with

Everest is the highest point on planet Earth. Because of this unique distinction, people have climbed it continuously since Sir Edmund Hillary's first successful ascent in 1953. Everest Peak is located in Nepal and rises 29,035 feet (8,850 meters) above sea level. The mountain itself has common border as with Nepal and Tibet. Due to severe weather conditions on the slopes, climbers rarely attempt to complete the trek in May-June. Even then, the weather is quite inhospitable. The average temperature is minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 27 degrees Celsius), with winds of 51 miles (81 km) per hour.
The rest of the year, the cumulative air flow passes directly onto the slopes and winds can blow at hurricane force levels of 118 miles (189 km) per hour and temperatures can drop to minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 73 Celsius). Add to this the fact that there is less than one-third the amount of oxygen in the air compared to sea level and you can understand why Everest easily takes the lives of adventurers.
However, this does not diminish the adventurous spirit. It is estimated that more than 2,000 people successfully reached the summit of Everest, while 189 died. If you're one of the 150 or so people attempting to scale Everest this year, be prepared to see dead bodies along the way.

Of the 189 people who died in their attempts, it is estimated that about 120 of them remain there today. It's a terrible reminder for those trying to get to the top just how dangerous it can be. The bodies of dead climbers are scattered across Mount Everest and are too dangerous and difficult to remove. Reaching the top of Everest is a physical challenge unlike any other point on Earth. This makes rescue efforts almost suicidal.
Most of the bodies are in the "Death Zone" above the base camp parking lot at 26,000 feet (8,000 meters) in altitude. No one has ever studied the cause of death, but fatigue certainly plays a major role. Many bodies were frozen in moments of ascent, with a rope around their waist. Others lie in various stages of decay. Because of this in last years Some experienced Everest climbers have made efforts to bury some of the more accessible organs on the mountain. A climbing team from China will lead an expedition to clear up some of the scattered 120 tonnes of rubbish left behind every year. During these cleanups, the plan is to remove any remains from the mountain that can be safely reached and carried down.
In 2007, Ian, a British climber, returned to Everest to bury the bodies of three climbers he met on his way to the summit. One of the climbers, a woman named Frances Arsentieva, was still alive when Woodall reached her on his first ascent. Her first words were “don’t leave me.” The harsh reality, however, is that Woodall couldn't do anything for her without endangering his own life or the lives of his team members. He was forced to leave her to die alone.
Climbing Mount Everest has become much safer over the past decade, thanks to advances in technology and climbing equipment. Satellite phones allow the climber to remain in contact with base camp to receive constant updates from weather systems in the area. A better understanding of what was happening around them also caused the death toll to plummet. In 1996, there were 15 fatalities and a total of 98 successful summit encounters. Just 10 years later, in 2006 there were only 11 deaths and approximately 400 sightings. top level. The overall mortality rate over the past 56 years is nine percent, but this percentage has now dropped to 4.4 percent.