Over the weekend it became known about the death of three climbers on Everest. They died from altitude sickness. It is unknown when the bodies of the victims will be returned to their relatives. Now there are more than 200 corpses at the highest point on Earth. “Futurist” figured out how climbers die and why they are not buried.
When climbers attempt to conquer Everest, they must accept a painful truth: if the mountain takes a life, it will not give up a body. Currently, more than 200 bodies of climbers remain on Everest. The highest peak on Earth, fraught with mystery and challenging daredevils, is now turning into a cemetery. To reach the summit, climbers are forced to step over the bodies of their predecessors.
“The bodies of climbers and Sherpas (representatives of the indigenous Nepalese people who often become guides in the mountains, editor’s note) are hidden in cracks, they are buried under avalanche snow and rest on the drainage area of the slopes - their distorted limbs are bleached by the sun,” writes the BBC Future.
The main landmark for climbers is the “Green Shoes Cave”. In 1995, an Indian climber climbed there to shelter from a snowstorm, but the stone vaults of the cave could not save him, and he froze. Since then, his body has shown the way to other summit conquerors.
The sad statistics continue to grow due to an increase in the number of people wishing to climb to the top. This weekend it became known about the death of three more climbers: Subhash Pavel from India, Erik Ary Arnold from Holland and Maria Strydom from Australia.
Peak Everest has been summited so many times that it's easy to forget how dangerous it is. Many climbers die during storms or fall down while climbing to the top. Statistically, most deaths on Everest are due to avalanches. In 2014, an avalanche buried 16 climbers at a 5.8-kilometer altitude - after which climbing was temporarily banned. 2015 was the only year when Everest became truly inaccessible: not a single daredevil was able to conquer it. Only on May 11 of this year, an expedition of nine people led by Sherpa conquered the highest peak on Earth.
For those who have nevertheless approached their cherished goal and boldly claim that the height of Everest is just an altitude above sea level, the danger lies elsewhere. In high-altitude mountaineering there is a term “lethal zone” or “death zone”. This is an altitude of 8000 meters, where a person can stay for no more than 2-3 days. During this time, a person loses resistance to the effects of altitude and develops altitude sickness. Symptoms of this disease were observed in Pavel, Arnold and Strydom who died this weekend. Mountain sickness is calledoxygen starvation (hypoxia), caused by a decrease in oxygen pressure in the inhaled air. Climbers find it difficult to adapt to dry mountain air and gusts of wind that make breathing difficult. Hypoxia is aggravated by physical fatigue, dehydration and ultraviolet radiation. Staying at high altitude for a long time, the climber becomes lethargic, his coordination is gradually impaired, and speech disorders are observed. The mind and body seem to turn off: at this moment a person can make an ill-considered decision, overestimating his physical capabilities. The climber, stricken by altitude sickness, is in a state of euphoria and actively resists the attempts of his comrades to interrupt the ascent and bring the patient down. He may be unable to act quickly in a dangerous situation.
It is still unknown when the bodies of the three dead climbers will be lowered from the mountain peak. Returning a body to the family of the deceased costs tens of thousands of dollars and requires the efforts of six to eight Sherpas, whose lives are at great risk.
“Even picking up a candy wrapper 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 that normally weighs 80kg weighs 150kg under these conditions. In addition, it has to be dug out along with the surrounding ice.”
In addition, some climbers wish that if they die, their bodies remain on Everest - this is a tradition. However, their followers, who have to step over human remains, find this tradition creepy. Sometimes the bodies of the dead are placed in cracks or covered with stones, forming something like a mound. Since 2008, the Nepal Mountaineering Association has been sending expeditions to the peak to dispose of garbage, human waste and deal with burials.
Conquering Everest is no longer a conquest in the truest sense of the word. There are few corners left on Earth that can be conquered. You can climb Everest to scatter the ashes of a loved one to the wind, draw the name of your beloved girl on the ice, and feel omnipotent.
The main thing is to remember the person whose body now shows the way for others. He hardly wanted such a fate for himself.
Mira stores not only piles of garbage, but also the remains of its conquerors. For many decades now, the corpses of losers have been decorating the highest point of the planet, and no one intends to remove them from there. Most likely, the number of unburied bodies will only increase.
Attention, impressionable people, pass by!
In 2013, the media obtained photos from the very top of Everest. Dean Carrere, a famous climber from Canada, took a selfie against the background of the sky, rocks and heaps of garbage brought earlier by his predecessors.
At the same time, on the slopes of the mountain you can see not only various garbage, but also unburied bodies of people who remained there forever. The summit of Everest is known for its extreme conditions, which literally turn it into a mountain of death. Everyone who conquers Chomolungma must understand that conquering this peak may be the last.
Night temperatures here drop to minus 60 degrees! Closer to the top, hurricane winds blow at speeds of up to 50 m/s: at such moments the frost is felt by the human body as minus 100! Plus, the extremely rarefied atmosphere at such an altitude contains extremely little oxygen, literally on the border of deadly limits. Under such loads, even the most resilient people’s hearts suddenly stop, and equipment often fails—for example, the valve of an oxygen cylinder may freeze. The slightest mistake is enough to lose consciousness and, having fallen, never rise again...
At the same time, you can hardly expect that someone will come to your rescue. The climb to the legendary peak is fantastically difficult, and only true fanatics meet here. As one of the participants in the Russian Himalayan expedition, Master of Sports of the USSR in mountaineering, Alexander Abramov, put it:
“The corpses on the route are a good example and a reminder to be more careful on the mountain. But every year there are more and more climbers, and according to statistics, the number of corpses will increase every year. What is unacceptable in normal life is considered normal at high altitudes.”
There are terrible stories among those who have been there...
Local residents - Sherpas, naturally adapted to life in these harsh conditions, are hired as guides and porters for climbers. Their services are simply irreplaceable - they provide fixed ropes, delivery of equipment, and, of course, rescue. But in order for them to come to
help needs money...
Sherpas at work.
These people risk themselves every day so that even moneybags unprepared for difficulties can get their share of the experiences they want to get for their money.
Climbing Everest is a very expensive pleasure, costing from $25,000 to $60,000. Those who try to save money sometimes have to pay extra on this bill with their very lives... There are no official statistics, but according to those who returned, not less than 150 people, and perhaps as many as 200...
Groups of climbers pass by the frozen bodies of their predecessors: at least eight unburied corpses lie near the common trails on the northern route, ten more on the southern route, recalling the serious danger that befalls a person in these places. Some of the unfortunate people were just as eager to reach the top, but fell and crashed, someone froze to death, someone lost consciousness from lack of oxygen... And it is highly not recommended to deviate from the trodden routes - you will stumble, and no one will come to your rescue , risking his own life. Death Mountain does not forgive mistakes, and people here are as indifferent to misfortune as rocks.
Below is the supposed corpse of the very first climber to conquer Everest, George Mallory, who died on the descent.
“Why are you going to Everest?” - Mallory was asked. - “Because he exists!”
In 1924, the Mallory-Irving team began an assault on the great mountain. The last time they were seen was only 150 meters from the top, seen through binoculars in a break in the clouds... They did not return back, and the fate of the first Europeans who climbed so high remained a mystery for many decades.
One of the climbers in 1975 claimed that he saw someone's frozen body to the side, but did not have the strength to reach it. And only in 1999, one of the expeditions came across a cluster of bodies of dead climbers on a slope to the west of the main route. There they found Mallory lying on his stomach, as if hugging a mountain, his head and arms frozen into the slope.
His partner Irving was never found, although the bandage on Mallory's body suggests that the pair were with each other until the very end. The rope was cut with a knife. Probably, Irving could move longer and, leaving his comrade, died somewhere lower down the slope.
The bodies of the dead climbers remain here forever; no one is going to evacuate them. Helicopters cannot reach such a height, and few people are capable of carrying the considerable weight of a dead body...
The unfortunate are left lying without burial on the slopes. The icy wind gnaws the bodies to the bones, leaving an absolutely terrible sight...
As the history of recent decades has shown, extreme sports enthusiasts obsessed with records will calmly pass by not only corpses, but on the icy slope there is a real “law of the jungle”: those who are still alive are left without help.
So in 1996, a group of climbers from a Japanese university did not interrupt their climb to Everest because their Indian colleagues were injured in a snow storm. No matter how they begged for help, the Japanese passed by. On the descent they found those Indians already frozen to death...
In May 2006, another amazing incident occurred: 42 climbers passed by the freezing Briton one after another, including a Discovery Channel film crew... and no one helped him, everyone was in a hurry to accomplish their own “feat” of conquering Everest!
Briton David Sharp, who climbed the mountain on his own, died due to the fact that his oxygen tank failed at an altitude of 8500 meters. Sharpe was no stranger to the mountains, but suddenly left without oxygen, he felt ill and fell on the rocks in the middle of the northern ridge. Some of those who passed by claim that it seemed to them that he was simply resting.
But the media around the world glorified New Zealander Mark Inglis, who that day climbed to the roof of the world on prosthetics made of hydrocarbon fiber. He became one of the few who admitted that Sharpe was indeed left to die on the slope:
“At least our expedition was the only one that did something for him: our Sherpas gave him oxygen. About 40 climbers passed by him that day, and no one did anything.”
David Sharp didn't have much money, so he went to the summit without the help of Sherpas, and he had no one to call for help. Probably, if he were richer, this story would have had a happier ending.
Climbing Everest.
David Sharp shouldn't have died. It would be enough if the commercial and non-commercial expeditions that went to the summit agreed to save the Englishman. If this did not happen, it was only because there was no money or equipment. If he had someone left at the base camp who could order and pay for evacuation, the Briton would have survived. But his funds were only enough to hire a cook and a tent at the base camp.
At the same time, commercial expeditions are regularly organized to Everest, allowing completely unprepared “tourists”, very old people, the blind, people with severe disabilities and other owners of deep wallets to reach the summit.
Still alive, David Sharp spent a terrible night at an altitude of 8500 meters in the company of “Mr. Yellow Boots”... This is the corpse of an Indian climber in bright boots, lying for many years on a ridge in the middle of the road to the summit.
A little later, guide Harry Kikstra was assigned to lead a group that included Thomas Weber, who had vision problems, a second client, Lincoln Hall, and five Sherpas. They left the third camp at night under good climatic conditions. Gulping oxygen, two hours later they came across the body of David Sharp, walked around him with disgust and continued on their way to the top.
Everything went according to plan, Weber climbed on his own using the railing, Lincoln Hall moved forward with two Sherpas. Suddenly, Weber's vision dropped sharply, and just 50 meters from the top, the guide decided to end the climb and headed back with his Sherpa and Weber. They slowly descended... and suddenly Weber became weak, lost coordination, and died, falling into the hands of the guide in the middle of the ridge.
Hall, who was returning from the summit, also radioed to Kikstra that he was not feeling well, and Sherpas were sent to help him. However, Hall collapsed at a height and could not be revived for nine hours. It was beginning to get dark, and the Sherpas were ordered to take care of their own salvation and descend.
Rescue operation.
Seven hours later, another guide, Dan Mazur, who was traveling with clients to the summit, came across Hall, who, to his surprise, was alive. After he was given tea, oxygen and medicine, the climber found enough strength to talk on the radio to his group at the base.
Rescue work on Everest.
Since Lincoln Hall is one of the most famous “Himalayans” of Australia, a member of the expedition that opened one of the paths on the northern side of Everest in 1984, he was not left without help. All the expeditions located on the northern side agreed among themselves and sent ten Sherpas after him. He escaped with frostbitten hands - a minimal loss in such a situation. But David Sharp, abandoned on the trail, had neither a big name nor a support group.
Transportation.
But the Dutch expedition left a climber from India to die - just five meters from their tent, leaving him while he was still whispering something and waving his hand...
But often many of those who died are themselves to blame. A well-known tragedy that shocked many occurred in 1998. Then a married couple died - Russian Sergei Arsentiev and American Frances Distefano.
They reached the summit on May 22, using absolutely no oxygen. Thus, Frances became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to conquer Everest without oxygen. During the descent, the couple lost each other. For the sake of this record, Francis already lay exhausted for two days on the descent on the southern slope of Everest. Climbers from different countries 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 several sips of hot tea.
Sergei Arsentyev, without waiting for Francis in the camp, went in search. The next day, five Uzbek climbers walked to the summit past Frances - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but to do this they would have to give up the climb. Although one of their comrades has already climbed the peak, and in this case the expedition is already considered successful.
On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Frances. He took oxygen cylinders - and did not return; most likely, he was blown away by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.
The next day there are three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa, a total of 8 people! They approach her lying down - she has already spent the second cold night, but she is still alive! And again everyone passes by, to the top.
British climber Ian Woodhall recalls:
“My heart sank when I realized that this man in the red and black suit was alive, but completely alone at an altitude of 8.5 km, just 350 meters from the top. Katie and I, without thinking, turned off the route and tried to do everything possible to save the dying woman. Thus ended our expedition, which we had been preparing for years, begging money from sponsors... We did not immediately manage to get to it, although it was close. Moving at such a height is the same as running under water...
Having discovered her, we tried to dress the woman, but her muscles atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and kept muttering: “I am an American. Please don’t leave me”... We dressed her for two hours,” Woodhall continues his story. “I realized: Katie is about to freeze to death herself.” We had to get out of there as soon as possible. I tried to pick Frances up and carry her, but it was no use. My futile attempts to save her put Katie at risk. There was nothing we could do.
Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to reach the top. We succeeded, but on the way back we were horrified to notice Frances' body, lying exactly as we had left her, perfectly preserved by the cold temperatures.
No one deserves such an end. Katie and I promised each other that we would return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare the new expedition. I wrapped Frances in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into the cliff, away from the eyes of other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally I was able to do something for her."
A year later, the body of Sergei Arsenyev was found:
“We definitely saw him - I remember the purple puffer suit. He was in a sort of bowing position, lying...in the Mallory area at approximately 27,150 feet (8,254 m). I think this is him,” writes Jake Norton, a member of the 1999 expedition.
But in the same 1999 there was a case when people remained people. A member of the Ukrainian expedition spent a cold night almost in the same place as the American. His team brought him down to the base camp, and then more than 40 people from other expeditions helped. As a result, he got off lightly with the loss of four fingers.
Japanese Miko Imai, veteran of Himalayan expeditions:
“In such extreme situations, everyone has the right to decide: to save or not to save a partner... Above 8000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself and it is quite natural that you do not help another, since you have no extra strength.”
Alexander Abramov, Master of Sports of the USSR in mountaineering:
“You can’t continue climbing, maneuvering between corpses, and pretend that this is in the order of things!”
The question immediately arises: did this remind anyone of Varanasi - the city of the dead? Well, if we return from horror to beauty, then look at the Lonely Peak of Mont Aiguille...
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Everest is the largest mountain on our planet; its height is currently estimated at 8848 meters. It is part of the Mahalangur Himal mountain range in the Himalayas, on the border between Nepal and China. The fantastic height of Everest has impressed even the local population of Tibet since ancient times. The surrounding people, the Sherpas, accustomed to life at an impressive height, were convinced that Everest was especially blessed by spirits, and the Buddhist monks believed that at its base there was a sacred hidden valley.
The Europeans, having reached Everest, immediately asked themselves the question: is it possible to climb to the top of the mountain? This ambitious task led not only to impressive achievements, but also to many terrible deaths.
The first deaths on Everest
Formally, the first victims of Everest date back to 1922. A torrent of snow from the mountains covered the British expedition led by George Mallory. Significantly, Mallory's squad was the first group known to us that set as its goal to climb to the top of the inaccessible peak. However, the countdown of deaths can begin a year earlier - in 1921. Then two people from the British reconnaissance expedition, which prepared the ground for Mallory’s group, died. But since these people did not plan to climb to the very top, they are usually excluded from the number of climbers who died on Everest.
George Mallory himself failed to reach the summit in 1922, after which he made two more attempts in 1923 and 1924. The last ascent was fatal for him - the traveler died, and his body was found only in 1999. This failure and the failures of several subsequent expeditions, although not so tragic, led to a decrease in public interest in the conquest of Everest. Moreover, the situation in the region was becoming less and less calm - Nepal was a closed country, and a civil war was flaring up in China.
First successful ascent
The first successful ascent of the inaccessible peak was made only in 1953. The first people to reach the top of Everest were an expedition led by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Their success not only did not satisfy the interest of other enthusiasts, but only fueled it even more. Since the 50s, the number of people seeking to conquer Everest has grown steadily. Along with them, the list of victims of the mountain peak grew.
Mortality statistics on Everest
Until 2007, the death rate among participants in expeditions to the mountain averaged about 1.6 percent: more than one in every hundred climbers died pursuing their dream. Among those who reach the top, the mortality rate is 6.5%. Neither technological progress nor the apparent expansion of our knowledge of Everest has had much effect on this number, which remained stable from the 50s to the 2000s. But the growing popularity of Everest has led to fluctuations for the worse. Thus, the most “deadly” day still remains May 11, 1996, when 8 climbers did not immediately return to base camp. Over the past decade, more and more unprepared people have attempted to reach the summit, causing the death toll on Everest to rise steadily.
How people die on Everest
When thinking about death in the mountains, we most often imagine falling into an abyss or dying under an avalanche. But in reality, such “traumatic” deaths are in the minority. Most climbers die from so-called “non-traumatic” deaths, related to fatigue, cold, exacerbation of pre-existing conditions or lack of oxygen in a section of the mountain known as the “death zone.”
Everest's "death zone" begins at altitudes above 8 kilometers. The air in it is so rarefied that the body begins to lack oxygen - even just being on the top of Everest, you can easily suffocate. Because of this, all expeditions since Mallory's time have traveled with oxygen cylinders. For the same reason, most deaths occur during the descent: overexcited climbers make mistakes in air calculations or simply succumb to fatigue, which turns out to be fatal for them. Wind and snow carry dead bodies into abysses and crevices.
Everest Cemetery
Another feature of Everest is connected with this - the mountain is literally a huge cemetery. The bodies of the dead are easily lost, but even if they are found, removing the dead is difficult and dangerous. On October 24, 1984, two Nepalese climbers died trying to evacuate the body of their German predecessor from Everest.
Some of these bodies even become local landmarks and receive their own names. The most famous of them is “Green Shoes,” the corpse of an unidentified climber who died on the fateful day of May 11, 1996, and remained lying in a cave named in his honor. The body of the deceased climber remained in plain sight until 2014, when reports emerged that the distinctive shoes could no longer be distinguished.
The story of the “Green Shoes” is not the only one: from 1998 to 2007, many companies passed by the “Sleeping Beauty”, the body of the American climber Frances Arsentiev. Only a special expedition was able to hide her corpse from climbers. Moreover, the expedition members did not try to remove the body from the mountain, but simply performed a short memorial ritual and threw the climber’s corpse into a crevice, where it did not serve as such clear evidence of the danger of Everest.
How to bury on Everest
Climbers reaching the summit are forced to conserve their energy. People carrying a variety of heavy equipment and oxygen tanks cannot afford the additional burden of dead bodies. In addition, the bodies of those who died on Everest often lie in hard-to-reach places, and getting to them means risking your life even more. Many climbers who tried to carry out the bodies of their dead predecessors themselves remained lying on the slopes of the mountain.
Nowadays, Everest conquerors rarely take the risk of evacuating the bodies of the dead. In most cases, they limit themselves to placing a memorial plaque on a pile of stones, covering the body with a blanket, or throwing it into one of the many crevices.
The Dark Side of Everest
The inability of the climbers to remove each other's bodies has an even darker side. In 2006, Briton David Sharp successfully climbed to the top. But, as often happens, on the way back his strength ran out, he tried to catch his breath on a stone ledge, where he froze to death. Subsequent investigation revealed that about 40 people crawled past him on the mountain while he was still alive and made no attempt to help. Whether these people realized that the climber was still breathing, or considered him another corpse, is not known for certain.
But this situation itself caused a storm of indignation. Edmund Hillary, a participant in the very first successful ascent, indignantly declared that climbers should not leave their comrade to die if there is at least a minimal chance that he may still be alive. He also added that he is horrified by the modern attitude towards the mountain, when people are ready to literally do anything just to get to the top. But, despite the harsh words and frightening statistics, the number of people willing has not dried up, so there is a good chance that the number of Everest victims will continue to grow.
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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, 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 have been 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 theater of horrors, 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, the world's media sang the praises of Mark Inglis, the New Zealand guide who, without legs amputated after a professional injury, climbed to the top of Everest using hydrocarbon prosthetics. artificial fiber with cats attached to them.
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 Sharp'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 capabilities, but this is where swelling and typical collapses caused by altitude await them. 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 routes on the north 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, do not leave me"…
We dressed her for two hours. “My concentration was lost due to the bone-piercing rattling sound that broke the ominous silence,” Woodhall continues his story. “I realized: Katie is about to freeze to death herself.” We had to get out of there as soon 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 sort 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.
Everest is the highest mountain on Earth (8848 meters above sea level). Its peak rises above the clouds. The mountain attracts many climbers, because to climb Everest is to go beyond the limits of human capabilities. But only a few succeed. The local Sherpas call Everest the Mountain of Death and for good reason. Climber deaths on Everest are common. The slopes of the mountain are literally strewn with the corpses of climbers who were never destined to reach the top
Killing Silence
It is known that the human body feels best when it is at sea level, and the higher a person rises, the heavier it becomes for his body. Already at an altitude of 2500 meters above sea level, a person is “covered” by “mountain sickness”. Low atmospheric pressure reduces the level of oxygen in the blood, and accordingly the climber begins to have a headache, dizziness, insomnia, vomiting, etc...
But all this is child's play compared to what happens on Everest. Having risen to a height of 8000 meters, you find yourself in the so-called “death zone”. The body cannot adapt to this altitude, because... there is not enough oxygen to breathe. The rate of breaths increases from the usual rhythm (20-30 breaths per minute) to 80-90. The lungs and heart tense. Many people lose consciousness. So in the death zone, almost all climbers use oxygen cylinders for breathing.
The most difficult section of the Everest climb is the last 300 m, nicknamed by climbers “the longest mile on Earth.” The ascent on this last section takes about 12 hours. To successfully complete the section you need to overcome a steep, smooth rock slope covered with powdery snow.
But this is just one of Everest's problems. In addition to oxygen deprivation, snow blindness, dehydration and disorientation may occur. At eight thousand meters, the human stomach can no longer digest food, people lose energy and turn into helpless dolls... The higher you rise, the greater the risk of cerebral or pulmonary edema. At high altitudes there is a rapid accumulation of fluid in the tissues. This often leads to fatal consequences.
Added to all these difficulties are unexpected meteorological hazards: adverse winds, storms, icing, snow and avalanches.
Frostbite can occur in a matter of minutes. As a result, swellings and blisters form, followed by gangrene. An idea of the intensity of the cold is given by an incident that happened to the famous mountaineer Howard Somervell during his attempt to climb Everest in 1924.
At the altitude, Somervell began to cough and felt something stuck in his throat. Then he exhaled with a powerful push and a piece of blood fell onto the snow. Taking a closer look, the climber realized that the airway was blocked by a frozen piece of his own larynx...
Yet Somervell was luckier than many others. He managed to return home.
Corpses in the snow
Everest was officially conquered in 1953. Since then (data for 2012), over 240 people have died while trying to climb to the top. The death zone is replete with corpses, but no one knows exactly how many there are.
Over time, corpses sticking out from under the snow began to be used by climbers as route markers. On the northern route alone, eight corpses are indicated as markers on the map. Two of them are Russian. About ten corpses act as anchor points along the southern route.
"Green Boots" This nickname was given to the corpse of Indian climber Tsewang Paljor, who died in 1996. The man fell behind his group and soon froze. Today, all climbers often set up camp next to his body.
Literally not far from the Green Boots you can see the body of climber David Sharp. In 2005, he stopped to rest near the top, but soon felt that he was freezing. At this time, a group of 30 climbers passed near him. People heard a faint groan and realized that the man lying on the snow was still alive. However, they did not help the dying man. Today, Sharpe's corpse also serves as a point of orientation.
Dead body in a sleeping bag.
In 1996, a group of climbers from the University of Fukuoka, Japan, discovered three dying Indians while climbing Everest. They were caught in a storm and asked for help. However, the Japanese refused to help them. And when they came down, the Indians were already dead.
“It is impossible to afford the luxury of morality at an altitude of more than 8000 meters,” the famous climber Miko Imai commented on the situation. – In such extreme situations, everyone has the right to decide: to save or not to save their partner. At extreme heights you are completely occupied with yourself. It is quite natural that you cannot help another, since you do not have extra strength...
You may ask why no one is evacuating the bodies. The answer is simple. Helicopters cannot rise to such a height, and no one wants to lower bodies weighing from 50 to 100 kilograms.
In 2008, environmental groups were formed to clean up Everest. Participants in the Everest eco-expedition collected 13,500 kilograms of garbage, of which 400 kilograms were human remains.
In low temperatures, these gloomy “distance markers” persist for a very long time. Whenever possible, Sherpa guides push frozen corpses down from the cliffs, away from human eyes. But soon new markers appear at the top.
As already mentioned, no one knows the exact statistics about the number of climbers who died on Everest. Officially, you have to pay $30,000 to get up, but many people don't have that kind of money. So many people start climbing alone or in small groups. Groups try not to register and people simply disappear.
One of the climbers once said: “If you want to prove to yourself that you are mortal, try climbing Everest.”
Three tries
A tragedy that shocked many occurred on Everest in May 1998. Then a married couple, Sergei Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsenyeva, died on the slopes of the mountain.
Frances became the first American woman to reach the summit of Everest without oxygen tanks. Together with her husband, she climbed the mountain, but on the way down they got caught in a snowstorm and got lost. He went down to the camp, she did not. Without waiting for his wife, Sergei Arsentiev went in search of her and died.
In turn, Francis, exhausted, lay on the slope of Everest for two days. Moreover, climbers from different countries passed by the frozen but still alive woman, but they did not help her.
Only the Woodhall couple from England tried to pull Frances down, but they too soon left because they were putting their own lives at risk.
“We found it at an altitude of 8.5 km, just 350 meters from the top. “My heart sank when I realized that this woman was still alive,” recalls British climber Ian Woodhall. “Katie and I, without thinking, turned off the route and tried to save the dying woman. Thus ended our expedition, which we had been preparing for several years, begging for money from sponsors...
We did not immediately manage to reach her, although she lay close. Moving at such a height is the same as running underwater.
We tried to dress Frances, but her muscles had already atrophied, she looked like a rag doll and kept muttering: “I'm American. Please, do not leave me". We dressed her for two hours and I felt that due to the bone-chilling cold I was losing concentration. And soon I realized: my wife Katie herself was about to freeze to death. We had to get out of there as soon as possible. I tried to pick Frances up and carry her, but it was no use. My futile attempts to save Frances endangered my wife's life. There was nothing we could do...
Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. And then 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 Frances, she was lying exactly as we had left her. No one deserved 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 her son. We pushed her body off the cliff, away from the eyes of other climbers. Finally, I was able to do something for her.
