Death on Everest: the bodies of dead climbers still lie on its slopes. Cemetery on Everest (not recommended for the impressionable)

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. Thus, part of the Northern route is 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 Malory 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 became a good omen. 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 the bodies from the northern slope disappeared without a trace, some of them were moved by the wind over 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.

Everest is, in the full sense of the word, the mountain of death. Storming this height, the climber knows that he has a chance not to return. Death can be caused by lack of oxygen, heart failure, frostbite or injury. Fatal accidents, such as a frozen oxygen cylinder valve, also lead to death.

Moreover: the path to the top is so difficult that, as one of the participants in the Russian Himalayan expedition, Alexander Abramov, said, “at an altitude of more than 8,000 meters you cannot afford the luxury of morality. Above 8,000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself, and in such extreme conditions you do not have extra strength to help your comrade.”

The tragedy that happened on Everest in May 2006 shocked the whole world: 42 climbers passed by the slowly freezing Englishman David Sharp indifferently, but no one helped him. One of them were television crews from the Discovery Channel, who tried to interview the dying man and, after photographing him, left him alone...

On Everest, groups of climbers pass by unburied corpses scattered here and there; these are the same climbers, only they were unlucky. Some of them fell and broke their bones, others froze or were simply weak and still froze.

What morality can exist at an altitude of 8000 meters above sea level? Here it’s every man for himself, just to survive. If you really want to prove to yourself that you are mortal, then you should try to visit Everest.

Most likely, all these people who remained lying there thought that this was not about them. And now they are like a reminder that not everything is in the hands of man.

No one keeps statistics on defectors there, because they climb mainly as savages and in small groups of three to five people. And the price of such an ascent ranges from $25t to $60t. Sometimes they pay extra with their lives if they save on small things. So, about 150 people, and maybe 200, remained there on eternal guard. And many who visited there say that they feel the gaze of a black climber resting on their back, because right on the northern route there are eight openly lying bodies. Among them are two Russians. From the south there are about ten. But climbers are already afraid to deviate from the paved path; they may not get out of there, and no one will try to save them.

Terrible tales circulate among climbers who have been to that peak, because it does not forgive mistakes and human indifference. In 1996, a group of climbers from the Japanese University of Fukuoka climbed Everest. Very close to their route were three climbers from India in distress - exhausted, frozen people asked for help, they survived a high-altitude storm. The Japanese passed by. When the Japanese group descended, there was no one to save; the Indians were frozen.

This is the supposed corpse of the very first climber to conquer Everest, who died on the descent. It is believed that Mallory was the first to conquer the peak and died on the descent. In 1924, Mallory and his partner Irving began the climb. 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.

They did not return back, only in 1999, at an altitude of 8290 m, the next conquerors of the peak came across many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. Mallory was found among them. He lay on his stomach, as if trying to hug the mountain, his head and arms frozen into the slope.

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

Wind and snow do their job; those places on the body that are not covered by clothing are gnawed down to the bones by the snowy wind, and the older the corpse, the less flesh remains on it. No one is going to evacuate dead climbers, a helicopter cannot rise to such a height, and there are no altruists to carry a carcass of 50 to 100 kilograms. So unburied climbers lie on the slopes.

Well, not all climbers are such selfish people; after all, they save and do not abandon their own in trouble. Only many who died are themselves to blame.

In order to set a personal record for oxygen-free ascent, American Frances Arsentieva, already on the descent, lay exhausted for two days on the southern slope of Everest. Climbers from different countries passed by the frozen but still alive woman. Some offered her oxygen (which she refused at first, not wanting to spoil her record), others poured a few sips of hot tea, there was even a married couple who tried to gather people to drag her to the camp, but they soon left because put their own lives at risk.

The American woman’s husband, Russian climber Sergei Arsentiev, with whom she got lost on the descent, did not wait for her at the camp, and went in search of her, during which he also died.

In the spring of 2006, eleven people died on Everest - nothing new, it would seem, if one of them, Briton David Sharp, was not left in a state of agony by a passing group of about 40 climbers. Sharpe was not a rich man and made the ascent without guides or Sherpas. The drama is that if he had enough money, his salvation would be possible. He would still be alive today.

Every spring, on the slopes of Everest, on both the Nepalese and Tibetan sides, countless tents grow up, in which the same dream is cherished - to climb to the roof of the world. Perhaps due to the colorful variety of tents resembling giant tents, or due to the fact that anomalous phenomena have been occurring on this mountain for some time, the scene has been dubbed the “Circus on Everest.”

Society with wise calm looked at this house of clowns, as a place of entertainment, a little magical, a little absurd, but harmless. Everest has become an arena for circus performances, absurd and funny things happen here: children come hunting for early records, old people make ascents without outside help, eccentric millionaires appear who have not even seen a cat in a photograph, helicopters land on the top... The list is endless and not has nothing to do with mountaineering, but has a lot to do with money, which, if it doesn’t move mountains, then makes them lower. However, in the spring of 2006, the “circus” turned into a horror theater, forever erasing the image of innocence that was usually associated with the pilgrimage to the roof of the world.

On Everest in the spring of 2006, 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, media around the world 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.

The news, presented by the media as a super-deed, as proof that dreams can change reality, hid tons of garbage and dirt, so Inglis himself began to say: no one helped the British David Sharp in his suffering. The American web page mounteverest.net picked up the news and started pulling the string. At the end of it is a story of human degradation that is difficult to understand, a horror that would have been hidden if not for the media that undertook to investigate what happened.

David Sharp, who was climbing the mountain on his own as part of a climb organized by Asia Trekking, died when his oxygen tank failed at an altitude of 8,500 metres. This happened on May 16th. 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.”

New Zealander Mark Inglis, a double-leg amputee, stepped with his hydrocarbon prosthetics over the body of David Sharp to reach the top; he was one of the few to admit that Sharpe had indeed been left for dead. “At least our expedition was the only one that did something for him: our Sherpas gave him oxygen. About 40 climbers passed by him that day and no one did anything,” he said.

The first person to be alarmed by Sharpe's death was the Brazilian Vitor Negrete, who, in addition, stated that he had been robbed in a high-altitude camp. Vitor was unable to provide any further details, because he died two days later. Negrete reached the summit from the north ridge without the aid of artificial oxygen, but during the descent he began to feel ill and radioed for help from his Sherpa, who helped him reach Camp No. 3. He died in his tent, possibly due to swelling caused by staying at altitude.

Contrary to popular belief, most people die on Everest during good weather, not when the mountain is covered in clouds. A cloudless sky inspires anyone, regardless of their technical equipment and physical abilities, but this is where swelling and typical collapses caused by altitude lie in wait. This spring, the roof of the world experienced a period of good weather, lasting for two weeks without wind or clouds, sufficient to break the climbing record for this very time of year.

Under worse conditions, many would not have risen and would not have died...

David Sharp was still alive after spending a terrible night at 8,500 meters. During this time he had the phantasmagoric company of "Mr. Yellow Boots", the corpse of an Indian climber, dressed in old yellow plastic Koflach boots, there for years, lying on a ridge in the middle of the road and still in the fetal position.

David Sharp shouldn't have died. It would be enough if the commercial and non-commercial expeditions that went to the summit agreed to save the Englishman. If this did not happen, it was only because there was no money, no equipment, no one at base camp who could offer the Sherpas doing this kind of work a good amount of dollars in exchange for their lives. And, since there was no economic incentive, they resorted to a false elementary expression: “at the height you need to be independent.” If this principle were true, the elders, the blind, people with various amputees, the completely ignorant, the sick and other representatives of the fauna who meet at the foot of the “icon” of the Himalayas would not have set foot on the top of Everest, knowing full well that what cannot Their competence and experience will allow their thick checkbook to do so.

Three days after the death of David Sharp, Peace Project director Jamie Mac Guinness and ten of his Sherpas rescued one of his clients who had gone into a tailspin shortly after reaching the summit. It took 36 hours, but he was evacuated from the top on a makeshift stretcher and carried to the base camp. Is it possible or impossible to save a dying person? He, of course, paid a lot, and it saved his life. David Sharp paid only to have a cook and a tent at base camp.

A few days later, two members of one expedition from Castile-La Mancha were enough to evacuate one half-dead Canadian named Vince from the North Col (at an altitude of 7,000 meters) under the indifferent gaze of many of those who passed there.

A little later there was one episode that would finally resolve the debate about whether or not it is possible to provide assistance to a dying person on Everest. Guide Harry Kikstra was assigned to lead one group, in which among his clients was Thomas Weber, who had vision problems due to the removal of a brain tumor in the past. On the day of the ascent to the summit of Kikstra, Weber, five Sherpas and a second client, Lincoln Hall, left Camp Three together at night under good climatic conditions.

Gulping heavily on oxygen, a little more than two hours later they came across the body of David Sharp, walked around him with disgust and continued to the top. Despite his vision problems, which the altitude would have exacerbated, Weber climbed on his own using a handrail. Everything happened as planned. Lincoln Hall advanced with his two Sherpas, but at this time Weber's eyesight became seriously impaired. 50 meters from the summit, Kikstra decided to finish the climb and headed back with his Sherpa and Weber. Little by little, the group began to descend from the third stage, then from the second... until suddenly Weber, who seemed exhausted and lost coordination, cast a panicked glance at Kikstra and stunned him: “I’m dying.” And he died, falling into his arms in the middle of the ridge. Nobody could revive him.

Moreover, Lincoln Hall, returning from the top, began to feel ill. Warned by radio, Kikstra, still in a state of shock from Weber's death, sent one of his Sherpas to meet Hall, but the latter collapsed at 8,700 meters and, despite the help of the Sherpas who tried to revive him for nine hours, was unable to rise. At seven o'clock they reported that he was dead. The expedition leaders advised the Sherpas, worried about the onset of darkness, to leave Lincoln Hall and save their lives, which they did.

That same morning, seven hours later, guide Dan Mazur, who was walking with clients along the road to the top, came across Hall, who, surprisingly, was alive. After he was given tea, oxygen and medication, Hall was able to talk on the radio himself to his team at the base. Immediately, all the expeditions located on the northern side agreed among themselves and sent a detachment of ten Sherpas to help him. Together they removed him from the ridge and brought him back to life.

He got frostbite on his hands - a minimal loss in this situation. The same should have been done with David Sharp, but unlike Hall (one of the most famous Himalayans from Australia, a member of the expedition that opened one of the paths on the northern side of Everest in 1984), the Englishman did not have a famous name and a support group .

The Sharp case is not news, no matter how scandalous it may seem. The Dutch expedition left one Indian climber to die on the South Col, leaving him only five meters from his tent, leaving him while he was still whispering something and waving his hand.

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

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 doesn't. The next day, five Uzbek climbers walked to the summit past Frances - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but to do this they would have to give up the climb. Although one of their comrades has already 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 don't 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 such an end. Katie and I promised each other that we would return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare the new expedition. I wrapped Frances in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into the cliff, away from the eyes of other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally, I was able to do something for her." Ian Woodhall.

A year later, the body of Sergei Arsenyev was found: “I apologize for the delay with photographs of Sergei. We definitely saw it - I remember the purple puffer suit. He was in a kind of bowing position, lying immediately behind the Jochen Hemmleb (expedition historian - S.K.) “implicit edge” in the Mallory area at approximately 27,150 feet (8,254 m). 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 a cold night almost in the same place as the American woman. His team brought him down to the base camp, and then more than 40 people from other expeditions helped. He got off easy - 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.

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

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 dangers - 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 again. 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 climb 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.

His body still sits in the cave and is used as a guide for other climbers reaching the summit.

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 Mallory died in 1924, the first person to attempt to reach the top of the world's tallest mountain. 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 when they fall from cliffs, their bodies remaining 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 doesn't.
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 she 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 don't 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 such an end. Kathy and I promised each other that we would return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare a new expedition. I wrapped Frances in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into a cliff, away from the eyes of the 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.

They lie, frozen by time itself, thousands of meters above sea level. Dressed in bright snowsuits, buried under snow, mutilated by cruel cold winds - the unwitting inhabitants of Mount Everest. The number of bodies scattered on the slopes of the mountain has already exceeded two hundred and continues to increase.

The price of climbing Everest ranges from $50,000 to infinity; on the commercial pages of travel companies you can find slogans like “Everest has amazing beauty and mystery! All successful expeditions to Everest are described in history as the best pages in the lives of proud and enterprising people.”
Yes, yes, yes. Only few people tell narrow-minded tourists what the infamous top of the world has now become.

Bodies here and there

Perhaps most famous of all are the remains of Tsewang Paljor, a young Indian mountaineer who lost his life in a blizzard in 1996. It so happened that for almost 20 years, Paljor’s body was a beacon on the route of expeditions, marking the altitude mark of 8500 meters. He was even nicknamed "Mr. Green Boots" because of the neon shoes he died wearing. Climbers sometimes have to step over its legs.

In May 2006, the whole world celebrated Mark Inglis, who climbed to the top with two hydrocarbon prostheses instead of legs. By the way, he was the only person who admitted that his group of 42 climbers passed by the freezing but still alive Englishman David Sharpe. The expedition included members of the Discovery team, they filmed the unfortunate man, took photographs, even tried to interview him and... left him to die. And this was not the only group that day. In total, David spent two days alone before life left his frozen body. He remained forever lying with Mr. “green boots”, noting the sad altitude of 8500 meters.
By the way, Discovery, in their article about Everest, inserted a tiny note about David Sharp, they say they thought he was resting, but many did not notice the guy, and in general, everything was taken out of context and was not at all like that. It's hard to imagine considering they took photos and attempted interviews. But their judges are at their best.
On the northern route, the most popular of all, there are eight bodies, you have to walk, maneuvering between their bright clothes. Scattered along the steep slopes, out of reach, are dozens of unfortunates, people whose desire to conquer the mountain of death turned into a cruel game of fate.

Not a feat, but a dump

Since George Mallory made his first successful ascent in 1924, more than 5,000 people have repeated his feat. By the way, about the feat - Mallory died on the way back, his remains were discovered in 1999, photo below.

So, more than a thousand people climbed the mountain of death. They left a huge amount of garbage and waste. That is, nowadays Everest resembles a forest plantation within the city, where rednecks grill kebabs and drink vodka. Captain M. S. Kohli, who led the first Indian expedition in 1965, put it all very interestingly: “Climbing Everest today looks like a big joke.”

Garbage

Why doesn't anyone care?

As was written above, an expedition to Everest costs a lot of money. David Sharpe did not have enough funds to finance a rescue expedition, and he was not the only person who was simply left to die right on the trail. Many bodies lie near the camps, at different heights, but no one wants to risk their lives to save the already dead or still living people. Having paid $50,000, people would rather turn away and pretend that no one is dying than turn around the expedition and drag the unfortunate person down the hill all day, thereby abandoning the dream.
The second reason is physical impotence. Climbing Everest is a series of fantastic loads and very often climbers can barely drag their own bodies. At an altitude of 8000, maddened by fatigue and oxygen starvation, they simply do not have the strength to help anyone else but themselves.

There wouldn't even be a question

When I learned about all this, I was deeply affected by the moral question itself. What should a person choose who has spent half his life saving up money for this damned climb, and now he sees an unfortunate person dying in these snows? And, as practice shows, most people choose their dreams, not someone else’s life. However, my friend, having read the materials, said: “What? The question wouldn’t even be a question. Life is more important. Always.”
I understand why the bodies are still there, although expeditions were launched in 2014 that brought Tsewang Paljor and several other dead to the camp. But how one can pass by a dying person is a mystery to me. I think it's time for humanity to stop bending the moving joints of morality and start behaving like a rational being. The commercialization of this event has reached such a scale that human life has become nothing. What do you think about this? What would you do? Write comments.

For those who love Everest and are interested in the history and real ascent of it, new numbers of people who have conquered the peak will always be a significant event.

On December 4, 2017, the Himalayan Climbing Database was updated, including information on Everest ascents throughout its history.

In a broader sense, the Himalayan Database includes records of ascents of almost all open Himalayan peaks in Nepal and Tibet, from 1905 to the present day.
This base is supported by a small group of enthusiasts, headed by . During this time, she became the unofficial chronicler of mountaineering in the Himalayas. Its database of historical ascents and achievements has been adopted by all climbers around the world.

And today, despite her advanced age, Elizabeth Hawley remains an active participant in the annalistic history of Everest, she herself personally interviews expeditions, both before their ascent and after completion.

Everest by the numbers by Elizabeth Hawley

As of December 4, 2017, the final count of climbers who conquered Everest in the 2017 season is 648 people. As a percentage, about 61% of all climbers who left base camp reached the summit of Everest in the 2017 season.
Of these, 440 people climbed from the southern, Nepalese side, 202 people from the northern (Tibetan-Chinese) side.
17 climbers tried to climb to the top without using oxygen tanks and 11 of them succeeded!

During the 2017 season, 6 climbers died on the slope of Everest: five deaths on the south side and one on the north.

Number of climbers who have conquered Everest:

Number of climbers who have conquered Everest as of December 2018

Statistics from Nepal:

	Foreign climbers		Nepalese Sherpas		Total
	men	women	men	women
Happy climbing	2494	396	2925	2	5817
	63	1	37	0	101
Solo Climbing	3	0	0	0	3
	28	4	7	0	39

Interrupted ascents	2635	310	1094	0	4039
	55	3	84	0	142

By season:

For the period from May 1953 to December 2018	Foreign climbers		Nepalese Sherpas
For the period from May 1953 to December 2018	climbing	death	climbing	death
Spring	2716	62	2900	65
Summer	0	0	0	0
Autumn	173	26	84	25
Winter	13	3	2	4

Statistics from Tibet:

For the period from May 1953 to December 2018	Foreign climbers		Nepalese Sherpas		Total
For the period from May 1953 to December 2018	men	women	men	women
Happy climbing	1628	206	1391	2	3227
Without the use of oxygen cylinders	90	6	14	0	110
Solo Climbing	2	0	0	0	2
Deaths after successful ascents	32	2	2	0	36

Interrupted ascents	1159	100	413	0	1672
Deaths during aborted ascents	42	2	13	0	36

By season:

For the period from May 1953 to December 2018	Foreign climbers		Nepalese Sherpas
For the period from May 1953 to December 2018	climbing	death	climbing	death
Spring	1813	75	1419	15
Summer	6	3	1	0
Autumn	17	9	13	10
Winter	0	0	0	0

Throughout the history of conquering Everest:

Total number of climbers who have climbed Everest since the beginning of its history: 9044 people, excluding repeated ascents.
from the southern (Nepalese) side of it, we climbed to the top 5817 times,
while from the north (Tibetan-Chinese side) the summit was climbed 3227 times.

Of the 9,044 ascents, approximately 211 were completed without the use of oxygen tanks. This is 2.33%. It would seem a small value. But, if you look at other statistics: of the 274 deaths on Everest, 159 were from those who did not use additional oxygen!

A remarkable fact is that out of 9044 people in the entire history of Everest, only 265 climbers (197 foreigners and 68 Sherpas) climbed to the top of the mountain along non-standard routes.

Countries with the largest number of ascents on non-standard routes: Japan (30), USA (26), USSR (23), South Korea (23), Russia (16)

Deaths on Everest

As of December 4, 2017 (since 1921), 288 people are officially considered dead. Of these, 173 are foreign climbers and 115 are Sherpas.
181 climbers died while climbing from the south side as a percentage, this is 3.4% of the total number of successful ascents, 107 people died while climbing from the north - this is 3.3% of the total number of successful ascents

Since 1990, mortality on Everest as a percentage of age has risen to 5.1% due to improved quality of climbing equipment, better weather forecasting and more people willing to reach the summit participating in commercial expeditions.

Despite the fact that Everest leads in the number of deaths, in the general statistics of eight-thousanders it occupies almost the last line in absolute terms: 1.23
Thus, Annapurna, the tenth highest eight-thousander in the world, still remains the deadliest peak in the world: on these expeditions, the mortality rate reaches 3.91, and in specific figures: 261 ascents to 71 deaths, that is, 28%.
In second place is K2 (Chogori): the ratio of ascents to deaths is 355 ascents to 82 deaths, that is, 23%.
Cho Oyu is considered the safest eight-thousander: 3681 ascents account for 50 deaths or 0.55%

According to Everest statistics, from 1921 to 2017, an average of 4 climbers die per climbing season
From 2000 to 2018, an average of 6.5 climbers die per climbing season, but this figure is largely due to the tragedies of 2014 and 2015.

Looking at mortality rates from 1900 to 2017, it can be noted that they are essentially the same for both foreign climbers and Sherpas and are 1.18 and 1.9, respectively.
But when commercial expeditions came to Everest in large numbers, from 1990, the mortality rate of clients increased to 2.09.
In the modern era of commercialization, mortality among clients and employees has dropped to 1.04 and 0.64, respectively.

Although the reputation of a safe climbing route on the Nepal side was tarnished in 2014 and 2015, there were also many accidents on the Tibet side.
In 2004 and 2006, 6 and 8 climbers died, respectively. The last year without deaths on the Tibet side was 2016, and on the Nepal side was 2010.
The last time Everest didn't see death on both sides was 1981!

A remarkable fact is that out of 8,306 people in the entire history of Everest, only 265 climbers (197 foreigners and 68 Sherpas) climbed to the top of the mountain using non-standard routes.
Of these climbs there were 80 deaths, of which 50 were foreign climbers and 30 Sherpas - that's 27% of the total death rate on Everest!
This partly explains why standard routes are the most popular among commercial operators - they carry lower risks.

Everest climbing statistics

One of the remarkable features of Everest statistics is the fact that over the past two years the number of foreign climbers climbing from the northern, Chinese side has been steadily increasing, while on the contrary, from the traditional Nepalese side, it has been decreasing.
If you look at a longer time period, you will notice that similar indicators were in the 2010 season, when 85 climbers climbed to the top from the Tibet side, and 175 climbers from the Nepal side. In 2017, there were 120 and 199, respectively, the difference being 34% and 13%.
At this rate, in just a couple of years, China may overtake Nepal in the popularity of climbing Everest.

Of course, a number of events, both natural and political-economic, influenced the development of mountaineering on both sides of the top of the world.
As the chart shows, the popularity of the north side of Everest began to gain momentum until 2008, when China "closed" the climbing flow in connection with the Olympic Games in China. This forced many tour operators not to risk their money in obtaining permits from China and move to the southern, Nepalese side.
Russell Bryce was perhaps the leading force on North Face expeditions between 1994 and 2007, guiding 219 of his clients to the summit, including 53 climbers in 2007.
But he also switched to the southern side, after the northern one was closed in 2008, making his great contribution to the statistics of ascents from the Nepalese side.

The 2008 “failure” in the above graph shows the situation when the Chinese government closed the northern side of Everest to climbing during the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The "failure" in 2014 is associated with
The "failure" in 2015 is associated with

A terrible avalanche and subsequent Sherpa strike forced the climbers to cross over to the Chinese side again.
But oddly enough, the distribution of climbers on the sides of Everest had little effect on the statistics, since, first of all, this tragedy was viewed as a natural disaster, not unique to either side, even despite the fact that Everest was closed from both China and Nepal .

One of the factors that could significantly influence the preponderance of “forces” is the recent increase by the Chinese government in the cost of permits to $9,500, which is very close to the current figure from Nepal - $11,000.
Over time, we will see how the reaction will go, although on the other hand, the constantly introduced and large number of serac collapses on the route may force most climbers to consider the Chinese side as more reliable and safe.
Moreover, the Chinese government’s immediate plans include.

Climbing with and without oxygen

Climbing to the top of Everest without the use of oxygen cylinders is still rare, and in the entire history of the mountain, only 208 people were able to climb without the use of oxygen cylinders.
However, if you look at the accident statistics, it turns out that of the 208 deaths on Everest, 168 climbers did not use oxygen tanks; however, this gives a slightly incorrect picture of the situation, because 199 deaths in the case of anoxic ascent were recorded with Sherpas engaged in laying out the route passing through

This chart shows that climbers who use supplemental oxygen are twice as likely to reach the summit as those who do not use oxygen tanks

And from this diagram it is clear that climbers who do not use additional oxygen die more often than those who do not use it

Looking at the north side, bad weather is a major factor in accidents, both for those who use oxygen tanks and for those who do not use them. However, for those climbers who do not use oxygen cylinders, frostbite becomes the second cause of death.
For those climbers who carry oxygen cylinders, the second factor in mortality is the emptying of these same cylinders.

The north side of Everest is known to be colder and windier than the south. This may explain why more climbers who don't use oxygen tanks are back!
2017 was an exception with only the opposite characteristics on the south side, when strong winds knocked climbers off the route, stopping several attempts to reach the summit without using oxygen tanks.
Looking south, it can also be said that bad weather is a major factor in accidents, both for those who use oxygen tanks and for those who do not use them.
However, here, the second leading cause of death is physical exhaustion, both for climbers with and without oxygen.

Sherpas on Everest

The work of Sherpas on Everest has undergone a huge change, especially over the past 15 years: this has been a time of explosive growth in the number of hired expedition participants.
Of course, this is primarily due to the increasing role of commercial tour operators, who hired at least 1 Sherpa per 5 clients, and today this figure has risen to 1 Sherpa per 2 clients!

This increase in Sherpas per client was due to the increasing number of inexperienced clients, and a marketing move on the part of travel companies - which, for money, guaranteed each of their clients a Sherpa on the top of Everest

In 1992, when the commercialization of Everest was just beginning, there were 22 Sherpas working on expeditions from the southern, Nepalese side for 65 clients.
In 2017 there were already 212 Sherpas and 199 clients.
On the northern side, the situation is as follows: in 2000, the Sherpa-client ratio was 17:38, in 2017 it was already 117:120!

Women on Everest

Regarding women on Everest, it is noted that a total of 536 women have climbed to the top of Everest, 497 of whom have done so for the first time, which means that 39 women have climbed Everest more than once in their lives.

Calculating the average mortality rate on Everest, we can get a figure of 4.8 people per year. If we take the period from 2000 to 2016, we can see that this figure is 6.9 people per year.

The very first woman on Everest was

The most repeated climber of Everest is a Nepalese climber!

Two Ukrainian women also visited Everest: The first Ukrainian woman on Everest was.
It is noteworthy that the very next day the second Ukrainian climbed to the top - .

Statistical results of Everest as of 2018

Some statistics about Everest climbs throughout its history

2 full solo ascents
34th traverse of Everest
22 ski/snowboard slopes
13 paragliding flights (paragliding descents)
1 unauthorized climb
20 controversial ascents
14 unrecognized ascents

Interesting facts about Everest

Geography
- Everest height is 29035 feet or 8848 meters
- The ascent follows the border of Nepal (from the south) and from Tibet (from the north)
- Everest was formed about 60 million years ago
- Everest was formed as a result of the collision of the Indian tectonic plate and the Asian tectonic plate
- Everest is growing by about 6mm every year
- Everest is made up of various types of slate, limestone and marble
- The rocky peak of Everest is covered with deep snow throughout the year
Weather
- Everest has strong winds all year round
- Wind speed can reach 320 km/h
- Temperatures at the top of Everest can reach -63 degrees Celsius
- In mid-May of each year, weather conditions on Everest become suitable for climbing, this brief period is called the "weather window". There is a similar period in the fall: in November of each year.
- During weather windows, temperatures can reach +35 degrees
Story
- Everest was primarily named Peak XV, and its height in 1856 was estimated at 29,000 feet (8839 m)
- In 1955, the height of Everest was measured as 8848 meters, a value still used today
- China uses 8843 meters to indicate the height of Everest
- In 1999, the height of Everest measured by GPS devices was 8850 meters
- Everest is called Chomolungma in Tibet. It means mother goddess of the universe
- Everest is called Sagarmatha in Nepal. It means sky goddess
Climbing
- In the entire history of Everest, 20 Ukrainians have climbed to the top.
- She became the first Ukrainian woman on Everest. It is noteworthy that the very next day the second Ukrainian climbed to the top - .
- The first successful expedition to Everest was in 1953 by a team led by Colonel John Hunt, climbing from the southern side (from Nepal)
- The first successful ascent from the north side was carried out on May 25, 1960 by climbers Nawang Gombu (Nawang Gombu, Tibet), Chu Yin-Hau and Wang Fu-Zhou (China)
- In the entire history of conquering Everest, as of December 2017, 8,306 climbers have climbed to its summit, 4,833 people have climbed Everest more than once.
- The Nepal side of Everest remains the most popular among climbers, with 5,280 Everest climbs using it. From the Tibet side - climbers climbed 3220 times
- Throughout the history of Everest, 536 women have climbed to the top, of which 38 have climbed Everest more than once.
- 208 climbers reached the summit without using oxygen tanks, this is approximately 2.7% of climbers from the total
- 288 people (173 foreign and 115 Sherpa) died on Everest between 1924 and 2017
- Most climbers died on the southern side - 181 people, 107 people died on the Tibetan side
- Almost all deaths occurred on the ascent route
- The most common causes of death were avalanches (77), falling off the route (67), altitude sickness (32) and other causes (26).
- Since 1953, the probability of successfully climbing Everest has been 63%
- Since 1921, the rate of successful ascent among foreign climbers is 33%, among men 32%, among women 40%
- Since 2000, among foreign climbers the rate of successful ascent is 50%; among men 49%, among women 52%
- Climbing
  - By 2014 there are 18 different routes to Everest
  - On average it takes 40 days to climb Everest
  - In each breath at the top of Everest, a person inhales 66% less oxygen than at sea level
  - Climbers begin to use oxygen cylinders from an altitude of 8,000 meters
  - To climb Everest, climbers must be over 16 years old if climbing from the Nepal side and at least 18 years old if climbing from the Chinese side
- Sherpas
  - Sherpa is the name of the people of Nepal. They mainly live in western Nepal. They migrated from Tibet over the past few hundred years
  - The name "Sherpa" is also used as a surname
  - Usually their names are the names of the days of the week when they were born:
    Dawa - Monday
    Mingma - Tuesday
    Lhakpa - Wednesday
    Phurba - Thursday
    Pasang - Friday
    Pemba - Saturday
    Nyima - Sunday
  - Sherpas help climbers, carrying expeditionary cargo, organizing kitchens and life in camps along the ascent route
  - Sherpas climb Everest to earn money to feed their families
  - Sherpas are as susceptible to altitude sickness as all other climbers
  - Babu Chiri Sherpa spent a night on top of Everest in 1999
  - More than 10 kilometers of ropes are used every year to climb Everest on the south face
  - Climbers burn about 10,000 calories every day when climbing Everest
  - When climbing Everest, climbers lose from 4.5 to 10 kilograms of weight
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