Everest bodies of dead climbers are located there. Why the dead are not taken away on Everest

If you can not go to Everest - do not go ...

Everest has long been turned into a cemetery. There are countless corpses on it and no one is in a hurry to lower them down. It cannot be that people are left to lie where death overtook them. But at an altitude of 8000 meters, the rules are somewhat different. On Everest, groups of climbers pass by unburied corpses scattered here and there, they are the same climbers, only they were not lucky. Some of them fell off and broke their bones, some froze or simply weakened and still froze.

Many people know that conquering peaks is deadly. And those who go up don't always go down. Both beginners and experienced climbers die on the Mountain.


But to my surprise, not many people know that the dead remain where fate has caught them. It is at least strange for us, people of civilization, the Internet and the city, to hear that the same Everest has long turned into a cemetery. There are countless corpses on it and no one is in a hurry to lower them down.

In the mountains, the rules are somewhat different. Good or bad - not for me and not from home to judge. Sometimes it seems to me that there is very little human in them, but even being at five and a half kilometers, I did not feel too good to, for example, drag something weighing about fifty kilograms. What can we say about people in the Death Zone - an altitude of eight kilometers and above.

Everest is modern Golgotha. Anyone who goes there knows that he has a chance not to return. Roulette with Mountain. Lucky - no luck. Not everything depends on you. Hurricane wind, frozen valve on an oxygen tank, wrong timing, avalanche, exhaustion, etc.

Everest often proves to people that they are mortal. At least the fact that when you go up you see the bodies of those who are never destined to go down again.

According to statistics, about 1500 people climbed the mountain.

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

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

No one keeps statistics of defectors there, because they climb mostly as savages and in small groups of three to five people. And the price of such an ascent is from $25t to $60t. Sometimes they pay extra with their lives if they saved on little things.

"Why are you going to Everest?" asked George Mallory, the first conqueror of the ill-fated summit. "Because he is!"

It is believed that Mallory was the first to conquer the summit and died already on the descent. In 1924, Mallory and his partner Irving began their ascent. They were last seen through binoculars in a break in the clouds just 150 meters from the summit. Then the clouds converged and the climbers disappeared.

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

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

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

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

Sergey Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsentiev, having spent three nights on 8,200 m (!), climbed and reached the summit on 22/05/1998 at 18:15. The ascent was made without the use of oxygen. Thus, Francis became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to climb without oxygen.

During the descent, the couple lost each other. He went down to the camp. She is not.

The next day, five Uzbek climbers went to the top past Francis - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but for this they refused to climb. Although one of their comrades has already ascended, in this case the expedition is already considered successful. 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, as put their own lives at risk.


On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Francis. He took oxygen tanks and went. But he disappeared. Probably blown away by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.

The next day, three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa— 8 people! They approach her - she has already spent the second cold night, but she is still alive! Again, everyone passes by - to the top.

“My heart sank when I realized that this man in a red and black suit was alive, but completely alone at an altitude of 8.5 km, just 350 meters from the summit,” recalls the British climber. “Kathy and I, without thinking, turned off the route and tried to do everything possible to save the dying woman. Thus ended our expedition, which we had been preparing for years, begging for money from sponsors ... We did not immediately manage to get to it, although it lay close. Moving at such a height is the same as running underwater...

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

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

Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to get to the top. We succeeded, but on the way back, we were horrified to notice the body of Francis, she lay exactly as we left her, perfectly preserved under the influence of low temperatures.


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

A year later, the body of Sergei Arseniev was found: “I apologize for the delay with the photographs of Sergei. We definitely saw him - I remember the purple down suit. He was in a kind of bow position, lying just behind Jochenovsky (Jochen Hemmleb - expedition historian - S.K.) "implicitly expressed rib" in the Mallory area at about 27150 feet (8254 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 almost the same place as the American, a cold night. His own people lowered him to the base camp, and then more than 40 people from other expeditions helped. He got off lightly - four fingers were removed.

“In such extreme situations, everyone has the right to decide: to save or not to save a partner ... Above 8000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself and it is quite natural that you do not help another, since you have no extra strength.” Miko Imai.

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

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

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

The corpses on the route are a good example and a reminder to be more careful on the mountain. But every year there are more and more climbers, and according to the statistics of corpses, there will be more and more every year. What is unacceptable in ordinary life is regarded as the norm at high altitudes, - Alexander Abramov.

Not everything depends on the person there: a strong chilly wind, a treacherously frozen valve of an oxygen cylinder, an incorrect calculation of the ascent time or a belated descent, a break in the railing rope, a sudden snow avalanche or an icefall collapse, well, or exhaustion of the body.

In winter, the temperature at night drops there to minus 55 - 65°C. Closer to the apical zone, hurricane snowstorms blow at speeds up to 50 m/s. In such conditions, frost “feels like” - minus 100 - 130 ° C. In summer, the thermometer tends to 0°C, but the winds are still strong. In addition, at such a height there is an extremely rarefied atmosphere all year round, which contains the minimum amount of oxygen: on the border of the permissible norm.

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

In the 93 years that have passed since the first mountain expedition to highest peak Earth, about 300 conquerors of Chomolungma died trying to reach its top. At least 150 or even 200 of them are still there on the mountain - abandoned and forgotten.

Most of the bodies rest in deep crevices, among the stones. They are covered with snow and bound by age-old ice. However, some of the remains lie on the snow-covered slopes of the mountain within line of sight, not far from modern climbing routes, along which extreme tourists from all over the world make their way to the “head of the world”. So, at least eight corpses lie near the paths on the northern route, and a dozen more - on the southern one.

The evacuation of the dead on Everest is an extremely difficult task, due to the fact that helicopters practically do not reach such a height, and weakened people are physically unable to drag a heavy “load 200” to the foot of the mountain. At the same time, the bodies of the dead are well preserved there due to the constant extremely low temperatures and the almost complete absence of predatory animals.

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

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

Over time, some of these unburied bodies have become "landmarks" or landmarks along shared trails - landmarks for living climbers.

One of the most famous "markers" on the northern slope of Everest is the "Green Shoes". Apparently, this climber died in 1996. Then the “May Tragedy” almost overnight claimed the lives of eight climbers, and in just a season 15 daredevils disappeared - 1996 remained the deadliest year in the history of climbing Everest until 2014.

The second similar incident occurred in 2014, when an avalanche led to another mass death of climbers, porter Sherpas and a pair of sirdars (the main among the hired Nepalese).

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

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

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

"Green Shoes"

It is noteworthy that in 2006, English climber David Sharp, who also used to wear green mountain shoes, froze to death while on the "roof of the world", in addition, several groups of his colleagues walked past the dying man, when he was still breathing, believing that before they are “green boots” of the 1996 model.

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

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

David was not a rich man, so he went to the top without resorting to the help of guides or Sherpas. The drama of the situation lies in the fact that if he had more money, he would have been saved.

His death revealed another problem of Everest, this time a moral one - harsh, mercantile, pragmatic, often even cruel customs that exist there among climbers and Sherpa guides.

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

How much does it cost to climb Everest?

Most of the expeditions are organized by commercial firms and take place in groups. Clients of such companies pay Sherpa guides and professional climbers for their services, because they teach amateurs the basics of mountaineering, as well as provide them with "equipment" and, as far as possible, ensure their safety throughout the route.

Climbing Chomolungma is not a cheap pleasure, which costs everyone from $25,000 to $65,000. The dawn of the era of commercialization of Everest - the beginning of the 1990s, namely 1992.

Then the now organized hierarchical structure of professional guides began to take shape, ready to make the dream of an amateur climber a reality. As a rule, these are Sherpas - representatives of the indigenous population of some regions of the Himalayas.

Among their duties: escorting clients to the “aclimatization camp”, arranging the infrastructure of the path (installing fixed safety ropes) and constructing intermediate stops, “wiring” the client and securing him throughout the entire journey.

Along with this, this does not guarantee that all of them will be able to reach the top, and meanwhile, some guides, in pursuit of the "big dollar", take clients who, for medical reasons, are a priori unable to make a "march" to the top of the mountain.

Thus, if in the early 1980s. an average of 8 people visited the summit a year, and in 1990 about 40, then in 2012 235 people climbed the mountain in just a day, which led to many hours of traffic jams and even fights between annoyed mountaineering fans.

How long does the process of climbing Chomolungma take?

Climb to the very top high mountain in the world takes about two to three months, which involves first setting up a camp, and then a rather long process of acclimatization in the base camp, as well as short trips to the South Col with the same goal - adaptation of the body to the unfriendly climate of the Himalayas. On average, during this time, climbers lose 10-15 kg in weight, or they lose their lives - as lucky.

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

Who was the first to conquer Everest?

British expedition to Chomolungma (1924): Andrew Irvine - far left in the top row, George Mallory - leaned his foot on a comrade.

Long before the first successful ascent to the top of the "roof of the world", which took place on May 29, 1953, thanks to the efforts of two daredevils - the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, about 50 expeditions to the Himalayas and the Karakorum managed to take place.

The participants of these climbs managed to conquer a number of seven-thousanders located in these areas. They also tried to climb some of the eight-thousanders, but this was not successful.

Were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay really the first? It may well be that they were not pioneers, because back in 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irwin began their journey to the top.

The last time they came into view of their colleagues, being only three hundred meters from the fatal peak, after which the climbers disappeared behind the clouds that enveloped them. Since then, they have not been seen again.

For a very long time, the mystery of the disappearance of pioneer explorers who disappeared among the stones of Sagarmatha (as the Nepalese call Everest) excited the minds of many curious people. However, it took many decades to find out what happened to Irwin and Mallory.

So, back in 1975, one of the members of the Chinese expedition assured that he saw someone’s remains away from the main path, but did not approach that place so as not to “breathe”, but then human remains there was much less than in our time. It follows that it is quite likely that it was Mallory.

Another quarter of a century passed when, in May 1999, a search expedition organized by enthusiasts stumbled upon a cluster of human remains. Basically, they all died in the 10-15 years preceding this event. Among other things, they found the mummified body of Mallory: he was lying face down on the ground, sprawled, as if clinging to the mountain, and his head and hands were frozen to the stones on the slope.

His body was entangled with a white safety rope. It had been cut or slashed, a sure sign of a breakdown and subsequent fall from a height.

His colleague, Irwin, could not be found, although the rope harness on Mallory indicated that the climbers were together to the end.

Apparently, the rope was cut with a knife. Perhaps Mallory's partner lived longer and was able to move - he left a friend, continuing the descent, but also found his end somewhere down the steep slope.

When Mallory's body was turned over, his eyes were closed. This means that he died when he fell asleep, being in a state of hypothermia (many dead climbers who fell into a cliff have their eyes open after death).

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

His body was not lowered down - it's difficult when you don't have additional strength to drag the weight from a height of 8.155 meters. He was buried there, overlaid with cobblestones. As for Andrew Irwin, Mallory's expedition partner, his body has not yet been found.

How much does it cost to evacuate a wounded or dead climber from Everest?

An operation of such complexity, frankly, is not cheap - from $10,000 to $40,000. The final amount depends on the height from which the injured or deceased is evacuated and, as a result, the man-hours spent on this.

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

To date, it is known about one successful operation to retrieve the body of a deceased climber from the slopes of Everest, although attempts to carry out such activities have been made repeatedly.

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

According to climbers, Everest can be called the mountain of death. When trying to climb it, about 200 people died. The bodies of some have never been 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, falling under a rockfall, an avalanche to suffocation and fatal changes in the body in the form of cerebral edema, which occur due to very rarefied air. Also unpredictable at altitude is the weather, which can change in a matter of minutes. Gusts of strong wind literally blow climbers off the mountain. In addition, the 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 unprecedented heat, while the temperature during the ascent can drop to - 65 degrees Celsius.

The route to Everest has long been studied. The ascent to the mountain itself takes about 4 days. However, in reality, it takes much more time, considering the obligatory acclimatization to local conditions. First, climbers get to the Base Camp - on average, this transition takes about 7 days. It is located at the foot of a mountain on the border of Tibet and Nadas. After the Base Camp, climbers ascend to Camp No. 1, where, as a rule, they rest at night. In the morning they leave for Camp 2 or Advanced Base Camp. The next altitude is Camp 3. Oxygen levels are very low here and it is necessary to use oxygen tanks with masks to sleep.
From Camp No. 4 climbers decide whether to continue climbing or return 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. Mummified remains of the dead are found here and there along this route. The bodies become part of the local landscape. So, part of the Northern route is called "Rainbow" because of the colorful clothes of the dead. Those climbers who climb Everest not for the first time use them as a kind of markers, landmarks for climbing.

Francis Arsentiev

American, wife of Russian climber Sergei Arsentiev. A married couple of climbers climbed the mountain on May 22, 1998 without the use of oxygen. A woman became the first American to summit Mount Everest without using an oxygen mask. Climbers died during the descent. Frances' body is on the southern slope of Everest. Now it is covered with the national flag. Sergei's body was found in a crevice, where it was blown away by a strong wind while trying to get to the freezing Francis.

George Mallory

George Malory died in 1924 from a head injury from 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

The mummified corpse of this climber was located just above Camp No. 4 for a long time, and all climbers ascending the South Slope could see her. The German climber died in 1979. After a while, strong winds dispelled her remains near Mount Kangshung.

Tsewang Paljor

The corpse of this climber was located on the northeast route and served as one of the notable landmarks for climbers. Climbers called him "Green Boots". The man's cause of death was hypothermia. This body even gave its name to a point on the Northern Route called "Green Boots". Radio messages from the group to the camp that the climbers had passed the Green Shoes point was a good omen. This meant that the group was going correctly, and only 348 meters vertically remained to the top.
In 2014, "Green Shoes" was lost from sight. Irish climber Noel Hannah, who visited Everest at the time, noted that most of bodies with northern slope disappeared without a trace, some of them were moved by the wind for a considerable distance. Hanna said that he was sure - "he (Paljor) was moved or buried under stones."

David Sharp

A British climber who froze to death near Mr. Green Boots. Sharpe was not a wealthy climber, and undertook the ascent of Everest without the funds for a guide and without the use of oxygen. He stopped to rest and froze to death, so he did not reach the coveted peak. Sharpe's corpse was discovered at an altitude of 8500 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 starvation due to problems with oxygen equipment.

Shriya Shah-Klorfine

Canadian climber Shriya Shah-Klorfin climbed Mount Everest in 2012, died on the descent. The body of the climber rests 300 meters from the top of Everest.

In addition to the identified bodies, while climbing or descending Everest, there are corpses of unknown climbers.

Bodies rolled down the mountain are often covered with snow and become invisible.
Snow and wind turn clothes into tatters

Many corpses lie in crevices between the rocks, which are difficult to reach.
Corpse of an unknown climber at Advance Base Camp

The evacuation of corpses is associated with significant financial, time and physical costs, so most of the relatives of the victims cannot afford it. Many climbers are considered missing. Some of the bodies were never found. Despite these facts, known to all who attempt to climb the mountain, every year hundreds of climbers from all over the world come to Base Camp 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 of not returning. Death can be caused by a lack of oxygen, heart failure, frostbite or injury. Fatal accidents also lead to death, such as a frozen valve of an oxygen cylinder.

Moreover, the path to the summit is so difficult that, as Alexander Abramov, one of the participants in the Russian Himalayan expedition, said, “at an altitude of more than 8000 meters you cannot afford the luxury of morality. Above 8000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself, and in such extreme conditions you do not have extra strength to help a friend.

The tragedy that happened on Everest in May 2006 shocked the whole world: 42 climbers passed by the slowly freezing Englishman David Sharpe, but no one helped him. One of them was the television people of the Discovery channel, who tried to interview the dying man and, having photographed him, left him alone ...

On Everest, groups of climbers pass by unburied corpses scattered here and there, they are the same climbers, only they were not lucky. Some of them fell off and broke their bones, some froze or simply weakened and still froze.

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

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

This is the alleged corpse of the very first climber who conquered Everest, who died on the descent. It is believed that Mallory was the first to conquer the summit and died already on the descent. In 1924, Mallory and his partner Irving began their ascent. They were last seen through binoculars in a break in the clouds just 150 meters from the summit. Then the clouds converged and the climbers disappeared.

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

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

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

Well, not all climbers are such egoists, they still save and do not leave their own in trouble. Only many who died are to blame themselves.

For the sake of the personal record of an oxygen-free ascent, the American Francis Arsentieva, already on the descent, lay exhausted for two days on the southern slope of Everest. Climbers from different countries. 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, as put their own lives at risk.

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

In the spring of 2006, eleven people died on Everest - not news, it would seem, if one of them, Briton David Sharp, was not left in agony by a group of about 40 climbers passing by. Sharp was not a rich man and climbed without guides and Sherpas. The drama lies in the fact that if he had enough money, his salvation would be possible. He would still be alive today.

Every spring, on the slopes of Everest, both on 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 because of the motley variety of tents resembling giant tents, or because anomalous phenomena have been occurring on this mountain for some time, the scene was dubbed the “Circus on Everest”.

Society looked with wise calmness 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, ridiculous and funny things happen here: children come to hunt for early records, old people climb without help, eccentric millionaires appear who have not even seen cats even in a photograph, helicopters land on the top ... The list is endless and not has nothing to do with mountaineering, but a lot to do with money, which, if not moving mountains, makes them lower. However, in the spring of 2006, the "circus" turned into a theater of horror, erasing forever the image of innocence that was usually associated with a pilgrimage to the roof of the world.

In the spring of 2006, on Everest, about forty climbers left the Englishman David Sharpe alone to die in the middle of the northern slope; faced with a choice, to help or continue climbing to the top, they chose the second, as to reach the very high peak the world for them meant to accomplish a feat.

On the same day that David Sharpe was dying surrounded by this pretty company and in complete contempt, the means mass media around the world sang praises to Mark Inglis, the New Zealand guide, who, in the absence of legs amputated after a professional injury, climbed to the top of Everest on artificial hydrocarbon fiber prostheses with crampons attached to them.

The news, presented by the media as a super act, as proof that dreams can change reality, hid tons of garbage and dirt, so that 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 began to pull the string. At the end of it is a story of human degradation, which is difficult to understand, a horror that would have been hidden if it were not for the media that undertook to investigate what happened.

David Sharp, who climbed the mountain on his own, participating in an ascent organized by Asia Trekking, died when his oxygen tank failed at an altitude of 8500 meters. It happened on May 16th. Sharpe was no stranger to the mountains. At the age of 34, he had already climbed the eight-thousand-meter Cho Oyu, passing the most difficult sections without the use of railings, which may not be a heroic deed, but at least shows his character. Suddenly left without oxygen, Sharp 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 with whom he traveled. 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 amputee, stepped his hydrocarbon prostheses over David Sharp's body to reach the summit; he was one of the few who admitted that Sharpe had indeed been left for dead. “At least our expedition was the only one that did anything for him: our Sherpas gave him oxygen. On that day, about 40 climbers passed by him, and no one did anything,” he said.

The first to be alarmed by Sharpe's death was the Brazilian Vitor Negrete, who, in addition, said that he had been robbed in a high-mountain camp. Vitor could not provide any more details, because he died two days later. Negrete made his way to the summit from the north ridge without the aid of artificial oxygen, but during the descent began to feel unwell and radioed for help from his Sherpa, who helped him get to Camp No. 3. He died in his tent, possibly due to swelling caused by being 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 his technical equipment and physical capabilities, and this is where the edema and typical collapses caused by altitude lie in wait for him. This spring, the roof of the world knew a period of good weather, lasting for two weeks without wind and clouds, enough to break the record of ascents at this very time of the year.

Under worse conditions, many would not rise and would not die ...

David Sharp was still alive after spending terrible night at an altitude of 8500 meters. During this time, he had the phantasmagorical company of "Mr. Yellow Boots", the corpse of an Indian climber, dressed in old yellow plastic Koflach boots, lying there for years, lying on a ridge in the middle of the road and still in a fetal position.

David Sharp shouldn't have died. It would be enough for the commercial and non-commercial expeditions that went to the summit to agree to save the Englishman. If this did not happen, it was only because there was no money, no equipment, there was no one in the base camp who could offer the Sherpas doing such work a good amount of dollars in exchange for a life. And, since there was no economic incentive, they resorted to a false elementary expression: "you need to be independent at the height." If this principle were true, old people, the blind, people with various amputated limbs, completely ignorant, sick and other representatives of the fauna that meet at the foot of the "icon" of the Himalayas, knowing full well that something that cannot make their competence and experience, their thick checkbook will allow.

Three days after David Sharp's death, Peace Project leader Jamie McGuinness and ten of his Sherpas rescued one of his clients from a tailspin shortly after reaching the summit. It took 36 hours to do this, but he was evacuated from the summit on a makeshift stretcher, bringing him to the base camp. Can the dying person be saved or not? Of course, he paid a lot, and it saved his life. David Sharp only paid for having a cook and a tent at the base camp.

A few days later, two members of the same expedition from Castile-La Mancha were enough to evacuate one half-dead Canadian named Vince from the North Col (at an altitude of 7000 meters), under the indifferent looks of many of those who passed there.

A little later there was one episode that will finally resolve the debate about whether or not to help a dying man on Everest. The tour guide Harry Kikstra was assigned to lead a group in which Thomas Weber, who had vision problems due to the removal of a brain tumor in the past, appeared among his clients. On the day of the summit of Kikstra, Weber, five Sherpas and a second client, Lincoln Hall, set out together from Camp Three at night under good weather conditions.

Abundantly swallowing oxygen, a little more than two hours later they stumbled upon the corpse of David Sharp, with disgust walked around him and continued on to the top. Despite the vision problems that height should have exacerbated, Weber climbed on his own using a railing. Everything happened as planned. Lincoln Hall with his two Sherpas moved forward, but at this time Weber's eyesight was seriously impaired. At 50 meters from the summit, Kikstra decided to finish the ascent and headed back with his Sherpa and Weber. Little by little, the group began to descend from the third step, then from the second ... until suddenly Weber, who seemed exhausted and uncoordinated, threw a panicked look at Kikstra and dumbfounded 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 bad. 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 8700 meters and, despite the help of the Sherpas, who had been trying to revive him for nine hours, could not 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 following the road to the summit with clients, stumbled upon Hall, who, surprisingly, was alive. After being given tea, oxygen, and medicine, Hall was able to talk on the radio himself with his group at the base. Immediately, all the expeditions that were on the north side agreed among themselves and sent a detachment of ten Sherpas to help him. Together they removed him from the crest and brought him back to life.

He got frostbite on his hands - the minimum 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 north side of Everest in 1984), the Englishman did not have a famous name and support group .

Sharpe's 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 when he whispered something else and waved his hand.

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

Sergey Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsentiev, having spent three nights (!) at 8,200 m, climbed and reached the summit on 05/22/1998 at 18:15. The ascent was made without the use of oxygen. Thus, Francis became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to climb without oxygen.

During the descent, the couple lost each other. He went down to the camp. She is not. The next day, five Uzbek climbers went to the top past Francis - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but for this they refused to climb. Although one of their comrades has already ascended, in this case the expedition is already considered successful.

On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Francis. He took oxygen tanks and went. But he disappeared. Probably blown away by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss. The next day there are three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa - 8 people! They approach her - she has already spent the second cold night, but she is still alive! Again, everyone passes by - to the top.

“My heart sank when I realized that this man in a red and black suit was alive, but completely alone at an altitude of 8.5 km, just 350 meters from the summit,” recalls the British climber. “Kathy and I, without thinking, turned off the route and tried to do everything possible to save the dying woman. Thus ended our expedition, which we had been preparing for years, begging for money from sponsors ... We did not immediately manage to get to it, although it lay close. Moving at such a height is the same as running under water ...

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

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

Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to get to the top. We succeeded, but on the way back, we were horrified to notice the body of Francis, she lay exactly as we left her, perfectly preserved under the influence of low temperatures.

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

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

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

“In such extreme situations, everyone has the right to decide: to save or not to save a partner ... Above 8000 meters you are completely occupied with yourself and it is quite natural that you do not help another, since you have no extra strength.” Miko Imai.

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

Everest is the most high point On the Earth . Because of this unique distinction, people have climbed it constantly since Sir Edmund Hillary's first successful ascent in 1953. Everest Peak is located in Nepal and rises 29,035 feet (8850 meters) above sea level. The mountain itself has common border as with Nepal and Tibet. Due to the harsh weather conditions on the slopes, climbers rarely try to complete the hike in May-June. Even then, the weather is quite inhospitable. average temperature- minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 27 degrees Celsius), wind - 51 miles (81 km) per hour.
During the rest of the year, the cumulative jet of air flow passes directly on the slopes and winds can blow with hurricane force - 118 miles (189 km) per hour, and temperatures can drop to minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 73 Celsius). Add to that the fact that there is less than one third of the amount of oxygen in the air compared to sea level and you can see why Everest easily takes the lives of adventurers.
However, this does not diminish the adventurous spirit. It is estimated that more than 2,000 people have successfully reached the summit of Everest, while 189 have died. If you're one of about 150 people trying to storm Mount Everest this year, be prepared to see corpses along the way.

Of the 189 people who died in their attempts, it is estimated that about 120 of them are still there. This is a terrible reminder for those trying to get to the top of how dangerous it can be. The bodies of dead climbers are strewn across Mount Everest and it is too dangerous and difficult to remove them. Reaching the summit of Everest is a physical challenge unlike any other point on earth. This makes the rescue effort almost suicidal.
Most of the bodies are in the "Death Zone" above the base camp site at 26,000 feet (8,000 meters) in altitude. No one has ever studied the cause of death, but fatigue certainly plays a major role. Many bodies are frozen in moments of ascent, with a rope around the waist. Others are in various stages of decay. Because of this, in last years some experienced climbers on Everest have made efforts to bury some of the more accessible organs on the mountain. A climbing team from China will lead an expedition to clean up some of the scattered 120 tons of rubbish left behind each year. During these cleanups, it is planned to remove any remains that can be safely reached from the mountain and carried down.
In 2007, Ian, a British climber, returned to Everest to bury the bodies of three climbers he met on his way to the summit. One of the climbers, a woman named Francis Arsentieva, was still alive when Woodall reached her on his first ascent. Her first words were "don't leave me". The harsh reality, however, is that Woodall couldn't have done anything for her without endangering his own life or the lives of his team members. He was forced to leave her to die alone.
Climbing Mount Everest has become much safer over the past decade, thanks to advances in technology and climbing equipment. Satellite phones allow the climber to stay in touch with the base camp to receive constant updates from the weather systems in the area. A better understanding of what is happening around also caused a sharp drop in the death toll. In 1996, there were 15 deaths and a total of 98 successful summits. Just 10 years later, in 2006 there were only 11 deaths and about 400 summits. The overall death rate over the past 56 years is nine percent, but that percentage has now dropped to 4.4 percent.