Mount Everest as a name itself conjures up images of a majestic beauty towering above the Panoramic Himalayas. Seen from afar, the mountain will no doubt leave you in awe of its ethereal and intimidating presence not forgetting its pristine glory blanketed in white. But!!! When you are on the mountain itself as many images will show you, it could be an eerie and haunting open graveyard as Everest is also a resting place for more than 200 hundred dead, victims of avalanches, accidents, and hypothermia. Some even dying agonizing deaths imploring and pleading for help from heartless climber’s hell-bent on getting to the top at the cost of their own humanity.
This is the real but chilling reality of Everest a mountain that can be regarded as both beauty and beast because above 26,000 feet lies the famous death zone of Everest. What is, even more, spine chilling is the fact that all of these dead bodies lie in plain sight frozen in various positions for all to see. Here are 10 shocking stories of dead bodies on Everest.
1Green Boots, The most famous marker on Everest
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One of Everest’s most famous landmarks seen on the North Col route is “Green Boots” named after the green mountain boots worn by the corpse whose identity is still a debate. Many feel it is an Indian climber named Tsewang Paljor who was part of an Indian summit attempt in 1996 that perished except for one survivor Harbhajan Singh. Paljor and his team members were caught in a blizzard and succumbed to the elements just after descending from a successful summit attempt. His body was brought down to a lower level where no snow or debris covers them. It lies visible and identified easily by the green boots.
Image Source: www.twimg.com
2Sleeping beauty
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Sleeping beauty is the name of the body of American climber Francys Arsentiev who tried climbing the mountain along with husband Sergei without supplemental oxygen in 1998. Francys was separated even as Sergei reached camp IV. He was found half alive by an Uzbek team who brought her to a lower but left her there due to lack of their own resources.
On May 24th she was found by Climbers Ian Goodall and Cathy O Dowd who abandoned their summit plans to help her but she kept fainting. They were compelled to leave her due to their own oxygen running out. For years he body lay in the open and was named sleeping beauty till Goodall returned to Everest in 2007 and brought her body to a lower position to rest in peace rather than be a signpost for others.
Image Source: www.mysteryu.com