Mortality while climbing Everest. Everest is a death zone! The terrible truth about the highest point in the world. Common causes of death at such altitudes

It is estimated that more than 200 people died trying to reach the summit of Everest. The reasons for their death are as varied as the weather at the top. Climbers face a variety of hazards - falling off a cliff, falling into a crevice, asphyxiation due to low oxygen levels at high altitudes, avalanches, rockfalls and weather that can change radically in a matter of minutes. Winds at the summit can reach hurricane force, literally blowing climbers off the mountain. Low oxygen levels cause climbers to suffocate, while oxygen-deprived brains leave them unable to make rational decisions. Some climbers who stop for a short rest fall into a deep sleep, never to wake up. But ask any climber who has conquered the mountain and reached the 29,000-foot summit, and they will tell you that apart from all these dangers, the most memorable and most disturbing part of the climb was the many perfectly preserved bodies of those who died on the way to the summit. .

Apart from the seven-day trek to Base Camp and the two-week acclimatization period there, the ascent to Everest itself lasts 4 days. Climbers begin their four-day climb to Everest at Base Camp, located at the foot of the mountain. Climbers leave Base Camp (located at 17,700 feet), which demarcates Tibet and Nadas, and ascend to Camp No. 1, located at 20,000 feet. After a night of rest at Camp 1, they then go to Camp 2, also known as Advanced Base Camp (ABC). From Advanced Base Camp they climb to Camp 3, where, at 24,500 feet, oxygen levels are so low that they must wear oxygen masks while sleeping. From Camp 3, climbers 3 attempt to reach either the South Col or Camp 4. Having reached Camp No. 4, climbers reach the border of the “death zone” and must decide whether to continue climbing, then stop and rest a little longer, or return back. Those who decide to continue climbing face the most difficult part of the journey. At 26,000 feet, in the “death zone,” necrosis begins and their bodies begin to die. During the climb, climbers are literally in a race against death, they must reach the top and return before their bodies shut down and they die. If they fail, their bodies will become part of the mountain landscape.

Corpses are perfectly preserved in such a low-temperature environment. Considering that a person can die literally in two minutes, many dead are not recognized as such for some time after death. In an environment where every step of the climber is a struggle, rescuing the dead or dying is practically impossible, as is the evacuation of corpses. The bodies become part of the landscape, and many of them become "landmarks", later climbers using them as "markers" during their ascent. There are approximately 200 bodies lying at the summit of Everest.

Some of them:

David Sharp's body still sits near the summit of Everest, in a cave known as Green Shoe Cave. David was climbing in 2006 and near the top he stopped in this cave to rest. Ultimately, he became so cold that he could no longer get out of it.

Sharpe was no stranger to the mountains. At the age of 34, he had already climbed the eight-thousander Cho Oyu, passing the most difficult sections without the use of fixed ropes, which may not be a heroic act, but at least shows his character. Suddenly left without oxygen, Sharpe immediately felt ill and immediately collapsed on the rocks at an altitude of 8500 meters in the middle of the northern ridge. Some of those who preceded him claim that they thought he was resting. Several Sherpas inquired about his condition, asking who he was and who he was traveling with. He replied: “My name is David Sharp, I’m here with Asia Trekking and I just want to sleep.”

A group of about forty climbers left Englishman David Sharpe alone to die in the middle of the northern slope; Faced with the choice of providing assistance or continuing to climb to the top, they chose the second, since reaching the highest peak in the world for them meant accomplishing a feat.

On the very day that David Sharp died surrounded by this pretty company and in utter disdain, the world's media sang the praises of Mark Inglis, the New Zealand guide who, without legs amputated after a professional injury, climbed to the top of Everest using hydrocarbon prosthetics. artificial fiber with cats attached to them.

His body still sits in the cave and is used as a guide for other climbers climbing to the top

The body of “Green Shoes” (an Indian climber who died in 1996) is located near the cave, past which all climbers ascending the peak pass. The "Green Shoes" now serve as a marker that climbers use to determine the distance to the summit. In 1996, Green Shoes broke away from his group and found this rock overhang (actually a small, open cave) to use as protection from the elements. He sat there, shivering with cold, until he died. The wind has since blown his body out of the cave.

The bodies of those who died at the Advanced Base Camp are also left to lie where they froze.

George Malory died in 1924, he was the first to attempt to reach the top of the high mountain in the world. His corpse, still perfectly preserved, was identified in 1999.

Details: Mallory was the first to reach the summit and died on the descent. In 1924, the Mallory-Irving team launched an assault. They were last seen through binoculars in a break in the clouds just 150 meters from the summit. Then the clouds moved in and the climbers disappeared.
The mystery of their disappearance, the first Europeans remaining on Sagarmatha, worried many. But it took many years to find out what happened to the climber.
In 1975, one of the conquerors claimed that he saw some body off to the side of the main path, but did not approach so as not to lose strength. It took another twenty years until in 1999, while traversing the slope from high-altitude camp 6 (8290 m) to the west, the expedition came across many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. Mallory was found among them. He lay on his stomach, spread out, as if hugging a mountain, his head and arms frozen into the slope.

Climbers often place rock debris and compacted snow around their bodies to protect them from the elements. Nobody knows why this body was skeletonized.

The bodies lie on the mountain, frozen in the position in which death found them. Here a man fell off the path and, not having the strength to get up, died where he fell.

The man is supposed to have died sitting, leaning on a snowdrift, which has since disappeared, leaving the body in this strange elevated position.

Some die falling from cliffs, their bodies left in places where they can be seen but cannot be reached. Bodies lying on small ledges often roll down, out of sight of other climbers, only to be later buried under fallen snow.

American Francis Arsenyeva, who was descending with a group (which included her husband), fell and begged passing climbers to save her. While walking down a steep slope, her husband noticed her absence. Knowing that he did not have enough oxygen to reach her and return to base camp, he nevertheless decided to return to find his wife. He fell and died while trying to go down and get to his dying wife. Two other climbers successfully descended to her, but they knew that they could not carry her off the mountain. They consoled her for a while before leaving her to die.

Details: Sergey Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsentiev, having spent three nights at 8,200 m (!), set out to climb and reached the summit on 05/22/1998 at 18:15. The ascent was made without the use of oxygen. Thus, Frances became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to climb without oxygen.
During the descent, the couple lost each other. He went down to the camp. She is not.
The next day, five Uzbek climbers walked to the top 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 ascended, and in this case the expedition is already considered successful.
On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Frances. He took the oxygen cylinders and left. But he disappeared. Probably blown by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.
The next day there are three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa - 8 people! They approach her - she has already spent the second cold night, but is still alive! Again everyone passes by - to the top.
“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 summit,” recalls the British climber. “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...
When we discovered her, we tried to dress the woman, but her muscles atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and kept muttering: “I’m an American.” Please, do not leave me"…
We dressed her for two hours. “My concentration was lost due to the bone-piercing rattling sound that broke the ominous silence,” 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 an end like this. Katie and I promised each other that we would return to Everest again to bury Frances. In preparation new expedition 8 years have passed. 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." - Ian Woodhall.

Unfortunately, even with modern mountaineering technology, the list of climbers who have died on Everest is growing. In 2012, the following climbers died while attempting to climb Everest: Doa Tenzing (collapsed due to thin air), Karsang Namgyal (collapsed), Ramesh Gulve (collapsed), Namgyal Tshering (fell into a glacier crevasse), Shah -Klorfine Shriya (loss of strength), Eberhard Schaaf (cerebral swelling), Song Won-bin (fall), Ha Wenyi (loss of strength), Juan Jose Polo Carbayo (loss of strength) and Ralph D. Arnold (broken leg led to loss of strength ).

Deaths continued in 2013; The following climbers met their tragic end: Mingma Sherpa (fell into a crevice in the glacier), DaRita Sherpa (loss of strength), Sergey Ponomarev (loss of strength), Lobsang Sherpa (fall), Alexey Bolotov (fall), Namgyal Sherpa (cause of death unknown) , Seo Sung-Ho (cause of death unknown), Mohammed Hossain (cause of death unknown), and one unknown person (died on descent).

In 2014, a group of approximately 50 climbers preparing for the season was caught in an avalanche at an altitude of over 20,000 feet (just above base camp on the Khumbu Ice Cascade). 16 people died (three of them were never found).

Scary footage from the Discovery Channel in the series “Everest - Beyond the Possible.” When the group finds a freezing man, they film him, but are only interested in his name, leaving him to die alone in an ice cave:

The question immediately arises: how is this possible?

based on the materials of the article.

There are several reasons why those killed on Everest are not always taken away.

Reason one: technical difficulty

There are several ways to climb any mountain. Everest is the highest mountain in the world, 8848 meters above sea level, located on the border of two countries: Nepal and China. On the Nepal side, the most unpleasant section is located at the bottom - if only the starting altitude of 5300 can be called “bottom”. This is the Khumbu Icefall: a giant “flow” consisting of huge blocks of ice. The path runs through cracks many meters deep along stairs installed instead of bridges. The width of the stairs is just equal to the boot in the “crampon” - a device for walking on ice. If the deceased is on the Nepalese side, it is unthinkable to evacuate him through this section by hand. The classic route of ascent passes through the spur of Everest - the eight-thousandth Lhotse ridge. Along the way there are 7 high-altitude camps, many of them are just ledges, on the edge of which tents are molded. There are a lot of dead people here...

In 1997, on Lhotse, a member of the Russian expedition, Vladimir Bashkirov, began to have heart problems due to overload. The group consisted of professional climbers, they correctly assessed the situation and went down. But this did not help: Vladimir Bashkirov died. They put him in a sleeping bag and hung him on a rock. A memorial plaque was erected in his honor at one of the passes.

If desired, the body can be evacuated, but this requires an agreement with the pilots regarding non-stop loading, since there is nowhere for the helicopter to land. Such a case happened in the spring of 2014, when an avalanche hit a group of Sherpas who were laying a route. 16 people died. Those who were found were taken out by helicopter, their bodies placed in sleeping bags. The wounded were also evacuated.

Reason two: the deceased is in an inaccessible place

The Himalayas are a vertical world. Here, if a person breaks down, he flies hundreds of meters, often along with big amount snow or stones. Himalayan avalanches have incredible power and volume. The snow begins to melt due to friction. A person caught in an avalanche should, if possible, make swimming movements, then he has a chance to stay on the surface. If there is at least ten centimeters of snow left above him, he is doomed. An avalanche, stopping, freezes in seconds, forming an incredibly dense ice crust. Also in 1997, at Annapurna, professional climbers Anatoly Boukreev and Simone Moro, together with cameraman Dmitry Sobolev, were caught in an avalanche. Moro was dragged about a kilometer to the base camp, he was injured, but survived. Bukreev and Sobolev were not found. A plaque dedicated to them is located on another pass...

Reason three: death zone

According to the rules of climbers, everything above 6000 above sea level is a death zone. The principle of “every man for himself” applies here. From here, even if someone is injured or dying, most often no one will take it out. Every breath, every movement is too hard. A slight overload or imbalance on a narrow ridge - and the savior himself will find himself in the role of a victim. Although most often, in order to save a person, it is enough to simply help him descend to the height to which he already has acclimatization. In 2013, a tourist from one of the largest and most reputable Moscow travel companies died on Everest at an altitude of 6000 meters. He moaned and suffered all night, and by morning he was gone.

An opposite example, or rather an unprecedented situation, occurred in 2007 in China. A couple of climbers: Russian guide Maxim Bogatyrev and an American tourist named Anthony Piva were going to the seven-thousander Muztag-Ata. Already near the top, they saw a tent covered with snow, from which someone was waving a mountain stick at them. The snow was waist-deep, and digging a trench was hellishly difficult. There were three completely exhausted Koreans in the tent. They ran out of gas, and they could neither melt their snow nor cook food. They even went to the toilet on their own. Bogatyrev tied them directly in the sleeping bag and dragged them down, one by one, to the base camp. Anthony walked ahead and walked the road in the snow. Even climbing from 4,000 meters to 7,000 just once is a huge load, but here I had to do three.

Reason four: high cost

Helicopter rental costs about $5,000. Plus - complexity: landing will most likely be impossible, so someone, and not just one, must get up, find the body, drag it to the place where the helicopter can safely hover, and organize loading. Moreover, no one can guarantee the success of the enterprise: at the last moment the pilot may discover the risk of the propellers catching a rock, or there will be problems with removing the body, or suddenly the weather will deteriorate and the entire operation will have to be curtailed. Even under favorable circumstances, evacuation will cost around 15-18 thousand dollars - not counting other expenses, such as international flights and air transportation of the body with transfers. Since direct flights to Kathmandu are only within Asia.

Reason five: fiddling with certificates

Let's add: international fuss. Much will depend on the level of dishonesty of the insurance company. It is necessary to prove that the person is dead and remains on the mountain. If he bought a tour from a company, take a certificate of the tourist’s death from this company, but it will not be interested in giving such evidence against itself. Collect documents at home. Coordinate with the Embassy of Nepal or China: depending on which side of Everest we are talking about. Find a translator: Chinese okay, but Nepali is complex and rare. If there is any inaccuracy in the translation, you will have to start all over again.

Obtain airline consent. Certificates from one country must be valid in another. All this through translators and notaries.

Theoretically, it is possible to cremate the body on the spot, but in fact in China everything will get stuck trying to prove that this is not the destruction of evidence, and in Kathmandu the crematorium is under open air, and the ashes are dumped into the Bagmati River.

Reason six: body condition

The high altitude Himalayas have very dry air. The body quickly dries out and becomes mummified. It is unlikely that it will be delivered entirely. And probably few people would want to see what a loved one has turned into. This does not require a European mentality.

Reason seven: he would like to stay there

We are talking about people who climbed on foot to the altitude of long-range aviation, met sunrises on the way to the top, and lost friends in this snowy world. It is difficult to imagine their spirit enclosed between the numerous graves of a quiet cemetery or in a cell of a columbarium.

And against the backdrop of all of the above, this is a very weighty argument.

Over the weekend it became known about the death of three climbers on Everest. They died from altitude sickness. It is unknown when the bodies of the victims will be returned to their relatives. Now on the most high point There are more than 200 corpses on the ground. “Futurist” figured out how climbers die and why they are not buried.

When climbers attempt to conquer Everest, they must accept a painful truth: if the mountain takes a life, it will not give up a body. Currently, more than 200 bodies of climbers remain on Everest. The highest peak on Earth, fraught with mystery and challenging daredevils, is now turning into a cemetery. To reach the summit, climbers are forced to step over the bodies of their predecessors.

“The bodies of climbers and Sherpas (representatives of the indigenous Nepalese people who often become guides in the mountains, editor’s note) are hidden in cracks, they are buried under avalanche snow and rest on the drainage area of ​​​​the slopes - their distorted limbs are bleached by the sun,” writes the BBC Future.

The main landmark for climbers is the “Green Shoes Cave”. In 1995, an Indian climber climbed there to shelter from a snowstorm, but the stone vaults of the cave could not save him, and he froze. Since then, his body has shown the way to other summit conquerors.

The sad statistics continue to grow due to an increase in the number of people wishing to climb to the top. This weekend it became known about the death of three more climbers: Subhash Pavel from India, Erik Ary Arnold from Holland and Maria Strydom from Australia.

Peak Everest has been summited so many times that it's easy to forget how dangerous it is. Many climbers die during storms or fall down while climbing to the top. Statistically, most deaths on Everest are due to avalanches. In 2014, an avalanche buried 16 climbers at a 5.8-kilometer altitude - after which climbing was temporarily banned. 2015 was the only year when Everest became truly inaccessible: not a single daredevil was able to conquer it. Only on May 11 this year, an expedition of nine people led by Sherpa conquered highest peak Earth.

For those who have nevertheless approached their cherished goal and boldly claim that the height of Everest is just an altitude above sea level, the danger lies elsewhere. In high-altitude mountaineering there is a term “lethal zone” or “death zone”. This is an altitude of 8000 meters, where a person can stay for no more than 2-3 days. During this time, a person loses resistance to the effects of altitude and develops altitude sickness. Symptoms of this disease were observed in Pavel, Arnold and Strydom who died this weekend. Mountain sickness is calledoxygen starvation (hypoxia), caused by a decrease in oxygen pressure in the inhaled air. Climbers find it difficult to adapt to dry mountain air and gusts of wind that make breathing difficult. Hypoxia is aggravated by physical fatigue, dehydration and ultraviolet radiation. Staying at high altitude for a long time, the climber becomes lethargic, his coordination is gradually impaired, and speech disorders are observed. The mind and body seem to turn off: at this moment a person can make an ill-considered decision, overestimating his physical capabilities. The climber, stricken by altitude sickness, is in a state of euphoria and actively resists the attempts of his comrades to interrupt the ascent and bring the patient down. He may be unable to act quickly in a dangerous situation.

When the bodies of three dead climbers will be lowered from mountain peak, not yet known. Returning a body to the family of the deceased costs tens of thousands of dollars and requires the efforts of six to eight Sherpas, whose lives are at great risk.

“Even picking up a candy wrapper for high mountain very difficult because it is completely frozen and you have to dig around it,” says Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. “A dead body that normally weighs 80kg weighs 150kg under these conditions. In addition, it has to be dug out along with the surrounding ice.”

In addition, some climbers wish that if they die, their bodies remain on Everest - this is a tradition. However, their followers, who have to step over human remains, find this tradition creepy. Sometimes the bodies of the dead are placed in cracks or covered with stones, forming something like a mound. Since 2008, the Nepal Mountaineering Association has been sending expeditions to the peak to dispose of garbage, human waste and deal with burials.

Conquering Everest is no longer a conquest in the truest sense of the word. There are few corners left on Earth that can be conquered. You can climb Everest to scatter the ashes of a loved one to the wind, draw the name of your beloved girl on the ice, and feel omnipotent.

The main thing is to remember the person whose body now shows the way for others. He hardly wanted such a fate for himself.

Everest is the Golgotha ​​of our time. Those who go there know that they have every chance of not returning back. “Roulette with rocks”: lucky or unlucky.

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, there will be more and more corpses every year. What is unacceptable in ordinary life is considered the norm at high altitudes - Alexander Abramov.

There, not everything depends on the person: a strong chilly wind, a treacherously frozen oxygen cylinder valve, an incorrect calculation of the timing of the ascent or a late descent, a broken rope, a sudden snow avalanche or an icefall collapse, or exhaustion of the body.

In winter, the temperature at night drops there to minus 55 - 65°C. Closer to the apical zone, hurricane snowstorms blow at speeds of up to 50 m/s. In such conditions, the frost “feels like” is minus 100 - 130°C. In summer the thermometer tends to reach 0°C, but the winds are still as strong. In addition, at such a height there is an extremely rarefied atmosphere all year round, which contains a minimal amount of oxygen: on the border of the permissible norm.

No climber wants to end his days there, to remain an anonymous reminder of the tragedy that happened.

In the 93 years that have passed since the first mountain expedition to highest peak Earth, about 300 conquerors of Chomolungma died trying to reach its peak. At least 150 or even 200 of them are still there on the mountain - abandoned and forgotten.

Most of the bodies rest in deep crevices, among stones. They are covered in snow and shackled centuries-old ice. However, some of the remains lie on the snow-covered slopes of the mountain within direct visibility, not far from the modern climbing routes along which extreme tourists from all over the world make their way to the “head of the world.” So, at least eight corpses lie near the trails on the northern route, and a dozen more on the southern route.

Evacuation of those killed on Everest is an extremely difficult task, due to the fact that helicopters practically do not reach such a height, and weakened people are physically unable to drag a heavy “200 load” to the foot of the mountain. At the same time, the bodies of the dead are well preserved there due to constant extremely low temperatures and the almost complete absence of predatory animals.

Nowadays, new conquerors of Everest, as part of numerous commercial groups, on their way to the top, pass by the corpses of dead fellow climbers.

Often fallen climbers are still dressed in bright special clothing: windproof gloves on their hands; on the body - thermal underwear, fleece jackets and down sweaters, storm jackets and warm trousers; on the feet are mountain boots or felt shekeltons with “crampons” attached to their soles (metal devices for moving on ice and compressed snow - firn), and on the head are hats made of Polartek.

Over time, some of these unburied bodies became "landmarks" or landmarks along public trails - elevation markers for living climbers.

One of the most famous "markers" on the northern slope of Everest is the "Green Shoes". Apparently, this climber died in 1996. Then the “May Tragedy” almost overnight claimed the lives of eight climbers, and in just one season, 15 daredevils died - 1996 remained the deadliest year in the history of climbing Everest until 2014.

The second similar incident occurred in 2014, when an avalanche led to another mass death of climbers, Sherpa porters and a couple of sirdars (the main ones among the hired Nepalese).

Some researchers believe that the “Green Shoes” is Tsewang Paljor, a member of the expedition consisting of Indians, or Dorje Morup, another member of the same group.

In total, in this group, which was then caught in a severe storm, there were about half a dozen climbers. Three of them, halfway to the peak of the mountain, turned back and returned to base, and the other half, including Morup and Paljor, continued on their way to their intended goal.

After some time, the trio got in touch: one of them radioed to their colleagues in the camp that the group was already at the top, and also that they were starting to descend back, but they were not destined to survive that “scrape.”

"Green Shoes"

It is noteworthy that in 2006, the English climber David Sharp, who also used to wear green mountain shoes, froze to death while on the “roof of the world.” In addition, several groups of his colleagues walked past the dying man while he was still breathing, believing that he was about to die. They are “green boots” from 1996.

The Discovery Channel film crew went even further - their cameraman filmed the dying David, and the journalist even tried to interview him. True, the television crew may not have known the true state of his health - a day later, when another group discovered him, he was still conscious. The mountain guides asked him if he needed help, to which he replied: “I need to rest! Need to sleep!

Most likely, among the causes of David’s death was the failure of gas equipment and, as a consequence, hypothermia and oxygen starvation. In general, a typical diagnosis for these places.

David was not a rich man, so he walked to the top without the help of guides or Sherpas. The drama of the situation lies in the fact that if he had more money, he would have been saved.

His death revealed another problem of Everest, this time a moral one - the harsh, mercantile, pragmatic, and often even cruel morals that exist there among climbers and Sherpa guides.

There is nothing reprehensible in this behavior of climbers - Everest is no longer the same as it was a couple of decades ago, because in the era of commercialization it is every man for himself, and Sherpas lower on stretchers to the foot of the mountain only those who have enough money to save themselves.

How much does it cost to climb Everest?

Most expeditions are organized by commercial companies and take place in groups. Clients of such companies pay Sherpa guides and professional climbers for their services, because they teach amateurs the basics of mountaineering, as well as provide them with “equipment” and, as far as possible, ensure their safety throughout the entire route.

Climbing Chomolungma is not a cheap pleasure, costing everyone from $25,000 to $65,000. The dawn of the era of commercialization of Everest was the early 1990s, namely 1992.

Then the now organized hierarchical structure of professional guides began to take shape, ready to make the dream of an amateur climber a reality. As a rule, these are Sherpas - representatives of the indigenous population of some regions of the Himalayas.

Among their responsibilities: accompanying clients to the “acclimatization camp”, arranging the route infrastructure (installation of handrail safety ropes) and constructing intermediate stops, “guiding” the client and providing him with insurance throughout the entire journey.

Along with this, this does not guarantee that all of them will be able to reach the top, and meanwhile, some guides, in pursuit of the “big dollar”, take clients who, for medical reasons, are a priori unable to make a “thrown march” to the top of the mountain.

Thus, if in the early 1980s. per year, an average of 8 people were at the top, and in 1990, about 40; in 2012, 235 people climbed the mountain in just one day, which led to hours of traffic jams and even fights between disgruntled mountaineering fans.

How long does the process of climbing Chomolungma take?

Climbing to the top of the highest mountain in the world takes about two to three months, which involves first setting up a camp, and then a rather long process of acclimatization in the base camp, as well as short forays to the South Col for the same purpose - adapting the body to the unfriendly climate of the Himalayas . On average, during this time, climbers lose 10 - 15 kg in weight, or lose their lives - depending on your luck.

To better understand what it's like to conquer Everest, imagine this: you put on all the clothes in your closet. You have a clothespin on your nose, so you are forced to breathe through your mouth. Behind your back you have a backpack containing an oxygen cylinder, the weight of which is 15 kg, and in front of you is a 4.5 km steep path from the base camp to the top, for most of which you will have to walk on your toes, resist the icy wind and climb up the slope . Introduced? Now you can even remotely imagine what awaits everyone who decides to challenge this ancient mountain.

Who was the first to conquer Everest?

British expedition to Chomolungma (1924): Andrew Irwin - far left in the top row, George Mallory - leaned his leg on a comrade.

Long before the first successful ascent to the top of the “roof of the world,” which took place on May 29, 1953, thanks to the efforts of two daredevils - New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, about 50 expeditions to the Himalayas and Karakoram managed to take place.

The participants of these mountain climbs managed to conquer a number of seven-thousanders located in these areas. They also tried to climb some of the eight-thousanders, but this was not successful.

Were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay really the first? It may well be that they were not pioneers, because back in 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irwin began their path to the top.

The last time they came into view of their colleagues, they were only three hundred meters from the fatal peak, after which the climbers disappeared behind the clouds that enveloped them. Since then they have not been seen again.

For a very long time, the mystery of the disappearance of pioneer explorers who disappeared among the stones of Sagarmatha (as the Nepalese call Everest) excited the minds of many curious people. However, it took many decades to find out what happened to Irwin and Mallory.

So, back in 1975, one of the members of the Chinese expedition claimed that he saw someone’s remains off to the side of the main trail, but did not approach that place so as not to “run out of steam”, but then there were much fewer human remains there, than in our time. It follows that it is likely that it was Mallory.

Another quarter of a century passed when, in May 1999, a search expedition organized by enthusiasts stumbled upon a cluster of human remains. Basically, they all died in the 10-15 years preceding this event. Among other things, they discovered the mummified body of Mallory: he was lying face down on the ground, spread out, as if pressed against a mountain, and his head and hands were frozen to the stones on the slope.

His body was wrapped in a white safety rope. It was cut or interrupted - a sure sign of a breakdown and subsequent fall from a height.

His colleague Irwin could not be found, although the rope harness on Mallory indicated that the climbers were together until the end.

Apparently, the rope was cut with a knife. Perhaps Mallory's partner lived longer and was able to move - he left his comrade, continuing the descent, but also found his end somewhere lower along the steep slope.

When Mallory's body was turned over, his eyes were closed. This means that he died when he fell asleep, being in a state of hypothermia (many dead climbers who fell into a cliff, their eyes remain open after death).

Many artifacts were found on him: an altimeter, sunglasses hidden in a pocket on a half-decayed and wind-tattered jacket. An oxygen mask and parts of breathing equipment, some papers, letters and even a photograph of his wife were also found. And also the Union Jack, which he planned to hoist on the top of the mountain.

They didn’t lower his body down - it’s difficult when you don’t have the extra strength to drag the weight from a height of 8,155 meters. He was buried there, surrounded by cobblestones. As for Andrew Irwin, Mallory’s expedition partner, his body has not yet been found.

How much does it cost to evacuate a wounded or dead climber from Everest?

To be honest, carrying out an operation of this complexity is not cheap - from $10,000 to $40,000. The final amount depends on the height from which the injured or deceased is evacuated and, as a result, the man-hours spent on this.

In addition, the bill may also include the cost of renting a helicopter or plane for further transportation to the hospital or home.

To date, we know of one successful operation to remove the body of a deceased climber from the slopes of Everest, although attempts to carry out such activities have been made more than once.

At the same time, there are many cases of successful rescue of injured climbers who tried to conquer its peak, but got into trouble.

According to climbers, Everest can be called the mountain of death. About 200 people died trying to climb it. The bodies of some were never found, the frozen corpses of others still remain on mountain paths, in rock crevices as a reminder that luck is capricious, and any mistake in the mountains can be fatal.

There are quite a few reasons for the death of climbers - from the possibility of falling off a cliff, getting caught in a rockfall, an avalanche, to suffocation and fatal changes in the body in the form of cerebral edema that occurs due to very rarefied air. The weather at altitude is also unpredictable and can change in a matter of minutes. Gusts of strong wind literally blow climbers off the mountain. In addition, lack of oxygen causes people to do strange things that can lead to death: climbers feel very tired and lie down to rest, never to wake up again, or strip down to their underwear, feeling an unprecedented heat, while the temperature during the ascent can drop to - 65 degrees Celsius.

The route to Everest has long been studied. The climb to the mountain itself takes about 4 days. However, in reality, this takes much more time, considering mandatory acclimatization to local conditions. First, climbers get to Base Camp - on average, this transition takes about 7 days. It is located at the foot of the mountain on the border of Tibet and Nadas. After Base Camp, climbers climb to Camp No. 1, where, as a rule, they rest at night. In the morning they go to Camp No. 2 or Advanced Base Camp. The next altitude is Camp No. 3. Oxygen levels are very low here, and you need to use oxygen tanks with masks to sleep.
From Camp No. 4, climbers decide whether to continue climbing or turn back. This is the height of the so-called “death zone”, in which it is very difficult to survive without excellent physical fitness and an oxygen mask. Along this route there are mummified remains of the dead here and there. The bodies become part of the local landscape. Yes, part Northern route called "Rainbow" because of the colorful clothes of the victims. Those climbers who are not climbing Everest for the first time use them as unique markers and landmarks for the ascent.

Francis Astentiev

American, wife of Russian climber Sergei Arsentiev. A married couple of climbers summited the mountain on May 22, 1998, without the use of oxygen. The woman became the first American woman to conquer Everest without using an oxygen mask. Climbers died during the descent. Frances' body is on the southern slope of Everest. It is now covered with the national flag. Sergei's body was found from a crevice, where he was blown away by a strong wind while trying to get to the freezing Frances.

George Mallory

George Mallory died in 1924 from a head injury caused by a fall. He was the first to attempt to reach the summit of Everest, and many researchers believe that he achieved his goal. His corpse, still perfectly preserved, was identified in 1999.

Hannelore Schmatz

For a long time, the mummified corpse of this climber was located just above Camp No. 4, and she could be seen by all climbers ascending the Southern slope. The German climber died in 1979. After a while, strong winds scattered her remains near Mount Kangshung.

Tsewang Paljor

The corpse of this climber was located on the northeastern route and served as one of the noticeable landmarks for the climbers. Climbers called it "Green Boots". The man's cause of death was hypothermia. This body even gave its name to a spot on the Northern Route called "Green Boots". Radio messages from the group to the camp that the climbers had passed the Green Shoes point was a good sign. This meant that the group was going correctly, and there were only 348 vertical meters left to the top.
In 2014, Green Shoes was lost from sight. Irish climber Noel Hannah, who visited Everest at that time, noted that most of bodies from the northern slope disappeared without a trace, some of them were moved by the wind a considerable distance. Khanna reported that he was sure that “he (Paljor) was moved or buried under stones.”

David Sharp

British climber who froze to death near Mr Green Boots. Sharpe was not a wealthy climber, and attempted the ascent of Everest without funds for a guide and without using oxygen. He stopped to rest and froze to death without reaching the cherished peak. Sharpe's body was discovered at an altitude of 8,500 meters.

Marko Lihteneker

A Slovenian climber died while descending Everest in 2005. The body was found just 48 meters from the summit. Cause of death: hypothermia and oxygen deprivation due to problems with oxygen equipment.

Shriya Shah-Klorfine

Canadian climber Shriya Shah-Klorfine climbed Everest in 2012 and died during the descent. The climber's body rests 300 m from the summit of Everest.

In addition to identified bodies, corpses of unknown climbers are encountered during the ascent or descent of Everest.

Bodies that roll down the mountain are often covered with snow and become invisible.
Snow and wind turn clothes into rags

Many corpses lie in crevices between the rocks, which are difficult to reach.
The corpse of an unknown climber in the Advanced Base Camp

Evacuation of corpses is associated with significant financial, time and physical costs, and therefore is beyond the means of most relatives of the deceased. Many climbers are considered missing. The bodies of some were never found. Despite these facts, known to everyone trying to climb the mountain, hundreds of climbers from all over the world arrive at Base Camp every year to try again and again to reach their height.