As snow melts, Everest’s ‘loss of life zone’ reveals its ghosts

On the sacred slopes of Everest, circumstellar trade is thinning the snow and ice, leaving more and more of the bodies of many climbers who died pursuing their dream of climbing the world’s best mountain.

At this time one of the climbing teams in the rising Himalayan mountains was not aiming to reach the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak but was instead risking their lives to dispose of the bodies.

Five unidentified frozen bodies have been recovered as part of Nepal’s mountain clean-up operation on Everest and nearby peaks Lhotse and Nuptse – including one that was reduced to a mere skeleton.

It is a serious, difficult and threatening activity.

It took hours for rescue workers to remove the ice with axes, with crews at times having to use boiling H2O to release its frozen hold.

Aditya Karki, a major in Nepal’s army, who led the team of 12 military personnel and 18 climbers, said, “Due to the impact of global warming, (bodies and garbage) are becoming more visible as the snow cover is receding. Giving.”

More than 300 populations have been destroyed on the mountain since expeditions began in the 20s, 8 of which were abandoned this season.

Many live in our bodies. Some are secret due to deep, unexplored crevasses covered in ice or snow.

Others, despite their colorful mountaineering equipment, have become milestones on the way to the summit.

Come up with the nicknames “Green Boots” and “Sleeping Beauty”.

‘Loss of life zone’

“There is a psychological impact,” Karki told AFP.

“People believe that when they climb mountains they are entering a divine place, but if they see dead bodies on the way, it can have a negative impact.”

Many are across the “death zone”, where light air and low oxygen levels increase the risk of altitude sickness.

Climbers must carry insurance coverage, although any rescue or treatment venture is fraught with risk.

One structure, covered with snow up to its torso, took climbers 11 hours to free.

Workers had to apply hot water to loosen it, blasting it with their axes.

“It is extremely difficult,” said Tshiring Zangbu Sherpa, who led the frame recovery operation.

“Getting the body out is one part, getting it down is another challenge.”

The Sherpas said that their bodies still looked almost the same as they did on the day of their deaths – they were wearing their crampons and harnesses as well as full equipment.

One seemed new, only one glove was missing.

The recovery of bodies at prime altitudes is a matter of debate for the mountaineering crowd.

It costs thousands of dollars, and requires 8 rescuers for each frame.

A body weight can exceed 100 kilograms (220 kg), and at high altitudes, a person’s ability to lift heavy weights is significantly affected.

‘Become a graveyard’

However, Karki said the rescue effort was important.

“We have to bring them back as much as possible,” he said. “If we keep leaving them behind, our mountains will turn into graveyards.”

Our bodies are always wrapped in a bag and later placed on a plastic sled to be pulled.

Sherpa noted that bringing a body from the equivalent of Lhotse’s 8,516-metre altitude – the fourth highest mountain in the region – is one of the toughest challenges ever.

“The body was stiff and the arms and legs were spread out,” he said.

“We had to get it to Camp Three that way, and only then could it be put on a sled to be pulled.”

Rakesh Gurung, head of Nepal’s tourism sector, said two bodies had been initially identified and the government was waiting for “detailed tests” for overall confirmation.

The recovered bodies are now in the capital Kathmandu, have not been identified and will eventually be cremated.

lack of climbers

Despite treatment efforts, the mountain still holds its secrets and techniques.

The body of British climber George Mallory, who went missing during a 1924 attempt on the summit, was recovered in 1999.

Her climbing partner, Andrew Irwin, has never been found – nor has his digital camera, which could provide evidence of a hit zenith that could rewrite mountaineering history.

An additional 171 Nepalese guides and porters were hired to clean up 11 garbage patches at a cost of more than $600,000.

Fluorescent tents, discarded mountaineering equipment, empty fuel canisters or even human waste litter the difficult route to the peak.

“The mountains have given us climbers a lot of opportunities,” Sherpa said.

“I think we have to give them back, we have to remove the trash and bodies to clean the mountains.”

Recently, there have been campaigns to address the ill-gotten waste they produce, no matter how ancient the waste.

“This year’s waste could be brought back by climbers,” Karki said. “But who will bring the old ones?”

© 2024 AFP