Mount Everest, the famously tallest mountain in the world. It's seen by many as a challenge. Getting to the top is one of the hardest things that a human could do. It's extremely difficult and dangerous, and only a tiny fraction of people could even attempt such a feat.
One thing that doesn't get talked very much about the mountain, however, is the dead bodies. (In fact, I became aware of this myself only a few days ago. I had never heard of this before.)
Climbing the mountain is, in fact, so dangerous that every year people die in the attempt. Some die by falling off a cliff, others die simply due to exhaustion and exposure to the cold.
The problem is, if you die up there, you'll most probably stay there forever. Nobody is going to retrieve or bury your body. Retrieving a body from that altitude, from those conditions, is extremely difficult and dangerous itself. Even if somebody wanted to organize some kind of retrieval party, it would be highly expensive and dangerous, and they would probably find it difficult to find people willing to do it. Thus pretty much all people who die climbing the mountain are destined to remain there forever.
It is estimated that there are approximately 200 bodies on the mountain. Due to the cold and dry climate the majority of the bodies mummify, rather than rot, so they are preserved for decades and even centuries. It is, in fact, not an uncommon sight for climbers to encounter such bodies. Some of the bodies have been identified, most of them are anonymous, their identities forever lost.
As morbid as it may sound, some of these bodies are in fact used as landmarks. Certain bodies, which can be recognized for their clothes, act as landmarks. When you find it, you know exactly where you are on the mountain.
It gets even more morbid than that. There have been reported cases of people who are not yet dead, but are dying due to exhaustion and the cold, who just can't continue, and other climbers just passing by them, some even speaking to them for a while, but being unable to help. There is little that other climbers can do. It's not a question of water or food, which all climbers have plenty of. The only way that the dying climber could be helped would be to get him out of the mountain, but that's just impossible. They are like 6, 7 or 8 kilometers up, and it's just not possible to help somebody in those conditions to get back down. Trying to do so would only put oneself in grave danger. The conditions are already difficult and dangerous enough for anybody, no matter how good in condition. Everybody is on their own up there, and every climber who goes there accepts this grim fact.
One thing that doesn't get talked very much about the mountain, however, is the dead bodies. (In fact, I became aware of this myself only a few days ago. I had never heard of this before.)
Climbing the mountain is, in fact, so dangerous that every year people die in the attempt. Some die by falling off a cliff, others die simply due to exhaustion and exposure to the cold.
The problem is, if you die up there, you'll most probably stay there forever. Nobody is going to retrieve or bury your body. Retrieving a body from that altitude, from those conditions, is extremely difficult and dangerous itself. Even if somebody wanted to organize some kind of retrieval party, it would be highly expensive and dangerous, and they would probably find it difficult to find people willing to do it. Thus pretty much all people who die climbing the mountain are destined to remain there forever.
It is estimated that there are approximately 200 bodies on the mountain. Due to the cold and dry climate the majority of the bodies mummify, rather than rot, so they are preserved for decades and even centuries. It is, in fact, not an uncommon sight for climbers to encounter such bodies. Some of the bodies have been identified, most of them are anonymous, their identities forever lost.As morbid as it may sound, some of these bodies are in fact used as landmarks. Certain bodies, which can be recognized for their clothes, act as landmarks. When you find it, you know exactly where you are on the mountain.
It gets even more morbid than that. There have been reported cases of people who are not yet dead, but are dying due to exhaustion and the cold, who just can't continue, and other climbers just passing by them, some even speaking to them for a while, but being unable to help. There is little that other climbers can do. It's not a question of water or food, which all climbers have plenty of. The only way that the dying climber could be helped would be to get him out of the mountain, but that's just impossible. They are like 6, 7 or 8 kilometers up, and it's just not possible to help somebody in those conditions to get back down. Trying to do so would only put oneself in grave danger. The conditions are already difficult and dangerous enough for anybody, no matter how good in condition. Everybody is on their own up there, and every climber who goes there accepts this grim fact.
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