How many people were on Everest. Corpses on Everest. Camp after the storm

Over the weekend, it became known about the death of three climbers on Everest. They died from altitude sickness. It is not known when the bodies of the dead will be returned to their relatives. Now there are more than 200 corpses on the highest point of the Earth. "Futurist" figured out how climbers die and why they are not buried.

When climbers try to conquer Everest, they must accept a painful truth: if a mountain takes a life, it will not give up a body to loved ones. Currently, more than 200 bodies of climbers remain on Everest. The highest peak of the Earth, fraught with a mystery and challenging the 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, approx. ed.) are hidden in cracks, they are buried under avalanche snow and rest on the catchment area of the slopes - their mangled limbs burned out in the sun,” writes the BBC future.

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

The sad statistics continues to grow due to the increase in the number of people who want to climb to the top. Known this weekend about the death of three more climbers: Subhash Pavel from India, Eric Ary Arnold from Holland and Maria Strydom from Australia.

Everest has been climbed 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. According to statistics, most deaths on Everest are due to avalanches. In 2014, an avalanche buried 16 climbers under itself at a height of 5.8 km - after this, the ascent was temporarily banned. 2015 was the only year when Everest became truly inaccessible: not a single daredevil managed to conquer it. Only on May 11 of this year, an expedition of nine people led by a Sherpa conquered the highest peak of the Earth.

For those who nevertheless approached the cherished goal and boldly assert that the height of Everest is just the height above sea level, the danger lies elsewhere. In high-altitude mountaineering, there is a term "lethal zone" or "death zone". This is an altitude mark of 8000 meters, where a person can stay no more than 2-3 days. During this time, a person loses resistance to the action of altitude and falls ill with altitude sickness. Symptoms of this disease were observed in those who died this weekend, Pavel, Arnold and Strid. Mountain sickness is calledoxygen starvation (hypoxia), caused by a decrease in oxygen pressure in the inhaled air. It is difficult for climbers to adapt to the dry mountain air and gusts of wind that make breathing difficult. Hypoxia is exacerbated by physical fatigue, dehydration and ultraviolet radiation. Staying at high altitude for a long time, the climber becomes lethargic, his coordination is gradually disturbed, 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, struck with altitude sickness, is in a state of euphoria and actively resists the attempts of his comrades to interrupt the ascent and lower the patient down. He may be unable to act quickly in a dangerous situation.

When the bodies of the three dead climbers will be lowered from the mountain peak is still unknown. Returning the 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 on a high mountain is 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, which usually weighs 80 kg, weighs 150 kg under such conditions. In addition, you have to dig it out along with the surrounding ice.”

In addition, some climbers want their bodies to remain on Everest in the event of their death - such a tradition. However, their followers, who have to step over human remains, find this tradition creepy. Sometimes the bodies of the dead are piled into cracks or covered with stones, forming something like a barrow. Since 2008, the Nepalese Mountaineering Association has been sending expeditions to the peak that dispose of garbage, human waste and deal with burials.

The conquest of 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 in 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 is now showing the way to others. He hardly wanted such a fate for himself.

This article is not written to intimidate beginners to climb mountains, but so that climbers of any qualification know and remember that any climb in the mountains is dangerous, and climbing the most difficult mountains in the world is deadly. Consider one example: climbing the highest Peak in the world, and the most desirable for many climbers - (Chomolungma), 8844 m.

Chomolungma(Tib. Everest (Eng. Mount Everest), or Sagarmatha(from Nepalese - the highest peak of the globe, according to various sources, from 8844 to 8852 meters, is located in the Himalayas. It is located on the border of Nepal and China (Tibet Autonomous Region), the peak itself lies on the territory of China. It has the shape of a pyramid; the southern slope is steeper. glaciers flow down in all directions, ending at an altitude of about 5 thousand m. Snow and firn are not retained on the southern slope and ribs of the pyramid, as a result of which they are exposed. Partially part of the Sagarmatha National Park (Nepal).

This mountain does not forgive pride and vanity. She kills those who underestimated or overestimated their strength. The mountain has no sense of pity or justice, it kills according to the principle - surrendered-died, fought-survived. According to statistics, about 1500 people have climbed Everest. Remained there (according to various sources) from 120 to 200. Among these 200 people there are those who will always meet new conquerors. According to various sources, there are eight openly lying bodies on the northern route. Among them are two Russians. From the south is about ten.

WHO CLIMBED EVEREST FIRST?

The message, which at the beginning of May 1999 spread around the world, did not leave any of the climbers indifferent. According to ITAR-TASS, the body of Mallory, the leader of the British expedition in 1924, was found 70 meters from the summit of Everest. In accordance with this information, the Russian press, based on the comments of experts, including mine, unambiguously concluded that Mallory had reached the summit. And so it is necessary to rewrite the history of the conquest of the highest mountain of the Earth. (Until now, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Norgay Tenzing, who climbed Everest on May 29, 1953, were considered pioneers). However, as it turned out later, the body was found much lower - at an altitude of 8230 m; it is not clear where ITAR-TASS obtained the other information.

“Yes, in the mountains there are hundreds of corpses frozen from cold and exhaustion, fallen into the abyss.” Valery Kuzin.
"Why are you going to Everest?" asked George Mallory.
"Because he is!"

I am among those who believe that Mallory was the first to conquer the summit and died already 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 converged and the climbers disappeared.
The mystery of their disappearance, the first Europeans who remained on Sagarmatha, worried many. But it took many years to find out what happened to the climber.
In 1975, one of the conquerors assured that he saw some body away from the main path, but did not approach, so as not to lose strength. It took another twenty years for in 1999, when traversing the slope from the 6th high-altitude camp (8290 m) to the west, the expedition stumbled upon many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. found among them. He was lying face down, sprawled as if hugging a mountain, head and hands frozen into the slope.
The climber has a broken tibia and tibia. With such an injury, he was no longer able to continue the journey.
Turned over - eyes closed. This means that he did not die suddenly: when they break, for many they remain open. They didn’t lower it - they buried it there. ”
Irving was never found, although the harness on Mallory's body suggests that the couple were with each other until the very end. The rope was cut with a knife and perhaps Irving could move around and left his comrade, died somewhere down the slope.

In 1934, the Englishman Wilson made his way to Everest, disguised as a Tibetan monk, who decided to prayerfully cultivate the willpower in himself, sufficient to climb to the top. After unsuccessful attempts to reach the North Col, abandoned by the Sherpas accompanying him, Wilson died of cold and exhaustion. His body, as well as the diary he wrote, were found by an expedition in 1935.

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

Sergey Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsentiev, having spent three nights (!) at 8,200 m, climbed and reached the summit on 05/22/2008 at 18:15. The ascent was made without the use of oxygen. Thus, Francis 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 went to the top past Francis - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but for this they refused to climb. Although one of their comrades has already ascended, in this case the expedition is already considered successful.
On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Francis. He took oxygen tanks and went. But he disappeared. Probably 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 - 8 people! They approach her - she has already spent the second cold night, but she is still alive! Again, everyone passes by - to the top.

“My heart sank when I realized that this man in a 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. “Kathy 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 for money from sponsors ... We did not immediately manage to get to it, although it lay close. Moving at such a height is the same as running under water ...
We found her, tried to dress the woman, but her muscles atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and muttered all the time: “I am an American. Please, do not leave me"…
We dressed her for two hours. My concentration was lost due to a bone-piercing rattling sound that broke the ominous silence, Woodhall continues his story. “I realized that Katie was about to freeze to death herself. We had to get out of there as soon as possible. I tried to lift Frances and carry her, but it was useless. My futile attempts to save her put Kathy at risk. We couldn't do anything."

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 get to the top. We succeeded, but on the way back we were horrified to notice the body of Francis, she was lying exactly as we had left her, perfectly preserved under the influence of low temperatures. No one deserves such an ending. Kathy and I promised each other to return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare a new expedition. I wrapped Francis in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into a cliff, away from the eyes of other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally, I was able to do something for her." Ian Woodhall.

A year later, the body of Sergei Arseniev was found: “I apologize for the delay with the photographs of Sergei. We definitely saw him - I remember the purple down suit. He was in a kind of bow position, lying just behind Jochen's "implicit ridge" in the Mallory area at about 27,150 feet. I think it's him." Jake Norton, member of the 1999 expedition.

But in the same year there was a case when people remained people. On the Ukrainian expedition, the guy spent almost the same place as the American, a cold night. His own people lowered him to the base camp, and then more than 40 people from other expeditions helped. He got off lightly - four fingers were removed.

“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.
“It is impossible to afford the luxury of morality at an altitude of more than 8000 meters”
In 1996, a group of climbers from the Japanese University of Fukuoka climbed Mount Everest. Very close to their route were three distressed climbers from India - emaciated, ill people got into a high-altitude storm. The Japanese passed by. A few hours later, all three were dead.

“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 the statistics of corpses, it will increase every year. What is unacceptable in normal life is regarded as the norm at high altitudes.” Alexander Abramov.

“You can’t keep climbing between corpses and pretend that it’s in the order of things” . Alexander Abramov.

The mountain kills in different ways, sometimes sophisticated, but every year an increasing number of climbers go to its foot to try their luck and their strength.

Common causes of death at these altitudes:

- cerebral edema (paralysis, coma, death) due to lack of oxygen,
- pulmonary edema (inflammation, bronchitis, broken ribs) due to lack of oxygen and low temperatures,
– heart attacks due to lack of oxygen and high loads,
- snow blindness
- frostbite, the temperature at such heights drops to -75,
- but the most common is exhaustion from exertion, because. at such a height, the human digestive system almost does not work, the body eats itself, its muscle tissue.

Frostbite:

Tina Sjögren

Climber Beck Withers was twice left on the side of the mountain, believing that he was cold, but he survived, remained disabled and wrote the book "Left for Dead" (Left for Dead, 2000).

As early as 1924, Everest climbers noted that after nine weeks spent at intermediate altitudes, a person can rise to 8530 m and sleep for two or three nights at an altitude of up to 8230 m. As was first shown by free balloon ascents in the seventies of the last century an unacclimatized aeronaut, having risen to such heights, quickly lost consciousness and died. If people are subjected to reduced pressure in a pressure chamber at sea level, then at a pressure corresponding to a height of 7620 m, they lose consciousness after 10 minutes, and at a pressure corresponding to a height of 8230 m, after 3 minutes.

The highest known altitude at which there is a permanent population is 5335 m. In the Andes, at this altitude, there is a village near a mine called Aconquilcha. It is said that the miners prefer to climb 455 m daily from this height and not live in a special camp built for them by the mine administration at an altitude of 5790 m.

Climbers to Everest also noted that in the process of acclimatization their physical condition improved up to a height of 7000 m. Above, there was a rapid and serious exhaustion of the body, manifested in progressive weakness, drowsiness, inability to restore lost strength and gradual muscle atrophy.

At altitudes of 6500-7000 m there is a slow depletion of the body, but it is smoothed out by the process of acclimatization, so that headaches and other symptoms of altitude sickness disappear, and for some time the climber's health improves. But over time, the appetite disappears, the tissues begin to deplete, energy and efficiency decrease. The following table shows the longest stays for climbers on Everest at various heights:

Climbing to a height of more than 8000 m requires such tremendous effort that hardly anyone is able to repeat it during the same expedition. Full recovery after such an ordeal takes many weeks.

Many inhabitants ask the question with horror: “Why don’t they remove the corpses from the mountain, don’t bury them?” But how can you explain to a person who has not been there what kind of mountain it is. That from a height of more than 8,000 thousand there are not so many chances to go down yourself, but to remove the corpse, you need to organize an entire expedition, which will cost a lot of money. But the main problem is that most of these corpses are unknown whereabouts.

Rescue work on Everest

Camp after the storm:

Many books have been written on the theme of Everest, many films have been shown. And yet, every year the statistics of the National Assembly does not decrease.

In 2006, there were 11 fatal accidents per 450 successful ascents (2.4% mortality), and the total (1922-2006) mortality rate is 6.74%.

Division by years:

1922-1989; 285/106 (37.19%)
1990-1999; 882/59 (6.69%)
2000-2005; 1393/27 (1.94%)
1922-2006; 3010/203 (6.74%)

Despite such chronological data, there were quite a lot of successful expeditions to Everest. So, the first successful ascent of a group of two people took place on May 5, 1982. The leader of the expedition, Yevgeny Tamm, determined the first assault group-bunch consisting of V. Balyberdin and E. Myslovsky. Phenomenally hardy and resistant to oxygen starvation, Balyberdin led a relatively weak participant. Myslovsky's ascent was difficult: to some extent, the conclusions of the doctors were justified. He dropped the oxygen equipment, suffered severely from the cold, and suffocated. The partner gave him his oxygen mask, psychologically supported him at a dramatic moment. The assault on the top of the world by this first group was successful.

A little later, nine members of the expedition climbed Everest. And their ascents were dramatic. Alpinist V. Onishchenko had to be given very serious help: at an altitude of 7500 meters he had an attack of acute mountain sickness with a sharp drop in blood pressure. He needed resuscitation. Myslovsky, with frostbite of fingers and toes, and V. Khreschaty, who made a night ascent to the summit with frostbitten feet, had to be urgently taken out of the base camp by helicopter. Climber Moskaltsev fell into a crack and received a head injury. Everest was reluctant to submit to athletes. Nevertheless, this massive ascent took place.

The 1982 expedition was an outstanding achievement in world mountaineering. The participants were awarded government awards. Balyberdin and Myslovsky received the Order of Lenin. But, unfortunately, later on the record conquest of Everest was completely forgotten.

Summit 8844 m

And despite everything, Everest remains one of the most beautiful eight-thousanders in the world. But we must always remember that we cannot conquer the mountain, it can either let us in or not. And we can conquer our weakness and cowardice. And immediately I remembered the words from the song of V. Vysotsky ...

If a friend was suddenly
Not a friend, not an enemy, but...
If you don't understand right away
Is he good or bad,
Pull the guy into the mountains - take a chance,
Don't leave him alone
Let him be in a bundle in one with you -
There you will understand who it is.

If the guy is in the mountains - not ah,
If you immediately become limp - and down,
Step stepped on the glacier - and wilted,
Stumbled - and in a cry,
So, next to you is a stranger,
You do not scold him - drive:
They don’t take them up here either
They don't sing about them.

If he did not whine, did not whine,
Let him be gloomy and angry, but he walked,
And when you fell off the rocks
He moaned, but held
If I followed you, as if into battle,
At the top stood, intoxicated,
So, as for yourself,
Rely on him.

The editors of "ALP" obviously apologize if they used other people's photo materials. Due to the fact that 50% of the photos were taken from Google Image, the authors are not known. Therefore, please, if the real author recognizes his photo work in this material, please contact us, we will definitely indicate the copyright or remove it at the request of the owner.

Many people know that conquering peaks is deadly and those who climb do not always descend. Both beginners and experienced climbers die on the Mountain. But to my surprise, not many people know that the dead remain where fate has caught them. It is at least strange for us, people of civilization, the Internet and the city, to hear that the same Everest has long turned into a cemetery. There are countless corpses on it and no one is in a hurry to lower them down - it is too dangerous to take on additional burden.

Everest is the modern Golgotha. Anyone who goes there knows that he has a chance not to return. Roulette with the Mountain, lucky - no luck. Not everything depends on you: a hurricane wind, a frozen valve on an oxygen tank, incorrect timing, an avalanche, exhaustion, etc. Everest often proves to people that they are mortal. At least the fact that when you go up you see the bodies of those who are never destined to go down again.

According to statistics, about 1500 people climbed the mountain. Remained there (according to various sources) from 120 to 200. Can you imagine? Here is a very revealing statistics until 2002 about the people who died on the mountain (name, nationality, date of death, place of death, cause of death, whether he reached the top).

Among these 200 people there are those who will always meet new conquerors. According to various sources, there are eight openly lying bodies on the northern route. Among them are two Russians. From the south is about ten. And if you move left or right...

I will tell only about the most famous losses:

"Why are you going to Everest?" asked George Mallory.

"Because he is!"

The mystery of their disappearance, the first Europeans who remained on Sagarmatha, worried many. But it took many years to find out what happened to the climber.

In 1975, one of the conquerors assured that he saw some body away from the main path, but did not approach, so as not to lose strength. It took another twenty years for in 1999, when traversing the slope from the 6th high-altitude camp (8290 m) to the west, the expedition stumbled upon many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. Mallory was found among them. He was lying on his stomach, sprawled, as if hugging a mountain, his head and hands were frozen into the slope.

On the video it is clearly seen that the climber's tibia and fibula are broken. With such an injury, he was no longer able to continue the journey.

“Turned over - eyes closed. This means that he did not die suddenly: when they break, for many they remain open. They didn’t lower it - they buried it there. ”

Irving was never found, although the harness on Mallory's body suggests that the couple were with each other until the very end. The rope was cut with a knife and perhaps Irving could move around and left his comrade, died somewhere down the slope.

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

Sergey Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsentiev, having spent three nights (!) at 8,200 m, climbed and reached the summit on 05/22/1998 at 18:15. The ascent was made without the use of oxygen. Thus, Francis 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 went to the top past Francis - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but for this they refused to climb. Although one of their comrades has already ascended, in this case the expedition is already considered successful.

On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Francis. He took oxygen tanks and went. But he disappeared. Probably 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 - 8 people! They approach her - she has already spent the second cold night, but she is still alive! Again, everyone passes by - to the top.

When we found her, we tried to dress the woman, but her muscles atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and muttered all the time: “I am an American. Please, do not leave me"...

We dressed her for two hours. My concentration was lost due to a bone-piercing rattling sound that broke the ominous silence, Woodhall continues his story. “I realized that Katie was about to freeze to death herself. We had to get out of there as soon as possible. I tried to lift Frances and carry her, but it was useless. My futile attempts to save her put Kathy at risk. We couldn't do anything."

Nobody deserves such an end. Cathy and I promised each other to return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare a new expedition. I wrapped Francis in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into a cliff, away from the eyes of other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally, I was able to do something for her." Ian Woodhall.

A year later, the body of Sergei Arsenyev was found: “I apologize for the delay with photos of Sergei. We definitely saw him - I remember the purple puffy suit. He was in a sort of bowing position, lying just behind the Jochenovsky (Jochen Hemmleb - expedition historian - S.K.) "implicit rib" in the Mallory area at about 27150 feet (8254 m). I think it's him." Jake Norton, member of the 1999 expedition.

“It is impossible to afford the luxury of morality at an altitude of more than 8000 meters”

In 1996, a group of climbers from the Japanese University of Fukuoka climbed Mount Everest. Very close to their route were three distressed climbers from India - emaciated, ill people got into a high-altitude storm. The Japanese passed by. A few hours later, all three were dead.

I highly recommend reading the article by the member of the expedition to Everest from the GEO magazine "Nadine with death". About the greatest catastrophe of the decade on Gor. About how, due to a bunch of circumstances, 8 people died, including two group commanders. Later, the film "Death on Everest" was filmed based on the author's book.

Terrible footage of the Discovery channel in the TV series Everest - Beyond the Limits of the Possible. When the group finds a freezing person, they shoot him on camera, but only are interested in the name, leaving him to die alone in an ice cave ( excerpt).

There are several reasons why those who die on Everest are not always collected.

Reason one: technical complexity

There are several ways to climb any mountain. Everest - the highest mountain in the world, 8848 meters above sea level, is located on the border of two states: Nepal and China. On the Nepalese side, the worst part is at the bottom - if only the starting height of 5300 can be called "down". This is the Khumbu Icefall: a giant "stream" consisting of huge blocks of ice. The path runs through cracks many meters deep along the stairs laid instead of bridges. The width of the stairs is just equal to the boot in the "cat" - a device for walking on ice. If the deceased is from Nepal, it is unthinkable to evacuate him through this segment on his hands. The classic climbing route passes through the spur of Everest - the eight-thousand-meter Lhotse ridge. There are 7 high-altitude camps along the way, many of them are just ledges, on the edge of which tents are molded. There are many dead people here...

In 1997, on Lhotse, Vladimir Bashkirov, a member of the Russian expedition, developed heart problems from overloads. 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. On one of the passes, a commemorative plaque was erected in his honor.

If desired, you can carry out the evacuation of the body, but this requires an agreement with the pilots regarding non-stop loading, since there is nowhere for the helicopter to land. Such a case was in the spring of 2014, when an avalanche descended on a group of Sherpas who were laying the track. 16 people died. Those who could be found were taken out by helicopter, putting the bodies 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 loose, he flies hundreds of meters, often along with a lot of snow or stones. Himalayan avalanches have incredible power and volume. The friction snow begins to melt. A person caught in an avalanche should, if possible, make swimming movements, then he has a chance to stay on the surface. If at least ten centimeters of snow remain above it, it is doomed. The avalanche, stopping, freezes in seconds, forming an incredibly dense ice crust. In the same 1997 on Annapurna, professional climbers Anatoly Boukreev and Simone Moro, together with cameraman Dmitry Sobolev, fell under an avalanche. Moro dragged about a kilometer to the base camp, he was injured, but survived. Boukreev and Sobolev were not found. The tablet dedicated to them is located on another pass ...

Reason three: the death zone

According to the rules of climbers, everything that is above 6000 above sea level is a death zone. The principle “every man for himself” applies here. From here, even the injured or dying, most often no one will undertake to pull out. Every breath, every movement is too hard. A slight overload or imbalance on a narrow ridge - and the savior himself will be in the role of a victim. Although most often to save a person it is enough just to 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 with an American tourist named Anthony Piva went to the seven-thousander Muztag-Ata. Already near the top, they saw a tent covered with snow, from which someone waved 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 the snow for themselves nor cook food. They even went to the toilet for themselves. Bogatyrev tied them right in the sleeping bag and dragged them down, one by one, to the base camp. Anthony walked in front and traced the road in the snow. Even once to climb from 4000 meters to 7000 is a huge load, but here I had to do three.

Reason four: high cost

Helicopter rental is about 5000 US dollars. Plus - the complexity: landing is likely to be impossible, respectively, someone, and not alone, must rise, 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 hooking the rock with propellers, or there will be problems with removing the body, or suddenly the weather will deteriorate and the whole operation will have to be curtailed. Even with a favorable set of circumstances, the evacuation will come out in the region of 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 in Asia.

Reason five: fuss with references

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 remained on the mountain. If he bought a tour from a company - take a certificate of death of a tourist from this company, and she will not be interested in giving such evidence against herself. Collect documents at home. Coordinate with the embassy of Nepal or China: depending on which side of Everest is in question. Find a translator: Chinese is still okay, but Nepalese is difficult and rare. If there is any inaccuracy in the translation, you will have to start all over again.

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

Theoretically, you can 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 located in the open air, and the ashes are dumped into the Bagmati River.

Reason six: the state of the body

The high altitude Himalayas have very dry air. The body quickly dries up, mummifies. It is unlikely that it will be delivered in its entirety. And to see what a loved one has turned into, probably, few people want to. 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 height of long-range aviation, met sunrises on the way to the top, 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 background of all of the above, this is a very weighty argument.

Everest is the Golgotha of our time. Those who go there know that they have every chance not to go back. "Roulette with rocks": lucky - no luck.

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

Not everything depends on the person there: a strong chilly wind, a treacherously frozen valve of an oxygen cylinder, an incorrect calculation of the ascent time or a belated descent, a break in the railing rope, a sudden snow avalanche or an icefall collapse, well, 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 up to 50 m/s. In such conditions, frost “feels like” - minus 100 - 130 ° C. In summer, the thermometer tends to 0°C, but the winds are still strong. In addition, at such a height there is an extremely rarefied atmosphere all year round, which contains the minimum amount of oxygen: on the border of the permissible norm.

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

In the 93 years that have passed since the first mountain expedition to the highest peak of the Earth, about 300 conquerors of Chomolungma died trying to reach its summit. 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 the stones. They are covered with snow and bound by age-old ice. However, some of the remains lie on the snow-covered slopes of the mountain within line of sight, not far from 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 paths on the northern route, and a dozen more - on the southern one.

The evacuation of the dead 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 “load 200” to the foot of the mountain. At the same time, the bodies of the dead are well preserved there due to the constant extremely low temperatures and the almost complete absence of predatory animals.

Today, the new conquerors of Everest, as part of numerous commercial groups, overcoming the way up, pass by the corpses of fallen fellow climbers.

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

Over time, some of these unburied bodies have become "landmarks" or landmarks along shared trails - landmarks 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 a season 15 daredevils disappeared - 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, porter Sherpas and a pair of sirdars (the main among the hired Nepalese).

Some researchers believe that the "Green Shoes" is Tsewang Paljor - a member of the expedition, which consisted of Hindus or Dorje Morup - another member of the same group.

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

After some time, the trinity got in touch: one of them told his colleagues in the camp by radio that the group was already at the top, and that they were starting to descend back, but they were not destined to survive in that “trouble”.

"Green Shoes"

It is noteworthy that in 2006, 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, when he was still breathing, believing that before they are “green boots” of the 1996 model.

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

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

David was not a rich man, so he went to the top without resorting to 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 - harsh, mercantile, pragmatic, often even cruel customs that exist there among climbers and Sherpa guides.

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

How much does it cost to climb Everest?

Most of the expeditions are organized by commercial firms 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 route.

Climbing Chomolungma is not a cheap pleasure, which costs everyone from $25,000 to $65,000. The dawn of the era of commercialization of Everest - the beginning of the 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 duties: escorting clients to the “aclimatization camp”, arranging the infrastructure of the path (installing fixed safety ropes) and constructing intermediate stops, “wiring” the client and securing him 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 "march" to the top of the mountain.

Thus, if in the early 1980s. an average of 8 people visited the summit a year, and in 1990 about 40, then in 2012 235 people climbed the mountain in just a day, which led to many hours of traffic jams and even fights between annoyed 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 trips to the South Col with the same goal - adaptation of the body to the unfriendly climate of the Himalayas . On average, during this time, climbers lose 10-15 kg in weight, or they lose their lives - as lucky.

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

Who was the first to conquer Everest?

British expedition to Chomolungma (1924): Andrew Irvine - far left in the top row, George Mallory - leaned his foot 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 - the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, about 50 expeditions to the Himalayas and Karakorum managed to take place.

The participants of these 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 journey to the top.

The last time they came into view of their colleagues, being 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 assured that he saw someone’s remains away from the main path, but did not approach that place so as not to “breathe out of breath”, but then there were much fewer human remains, than in our time. It follows that it is quite 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 found the mummified body of Mallory: he was lying face down on the ground, sprawled, as if clinging to the mountain, and his head and hands were frozen to the stones on the slope.

His body was entangled with a white safety rope. It had been cut or slashed, 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 to the end.

Apparently, the rope was cut with a knife. Perhaps Mallory's partner lived longer and was able to move - he left a friend, continuing the descent, but also found his end somewhere down 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 have their eyes open after death).

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

His body was not lowered down - it's difficult when you don't have additional strength to drag the weight from a height of 8.155 meters. He was buried there, overlaid with 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?

An operation of such complexity, frankly, 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.

On top of that, the bill may also include the cost of renting a helicopter or plane for onward transportation to a hospital or home.

To date, it is known about 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 repeatedly.

At the same time, there are not isolated cases of successful rescue of injured climbers who tried to conquer its summit, but got into trouble.

home » Cyprus » How many people were on Everest. Corpses on Everest. Camp after the storm