Died on Everest. Death on Everest: the bodies of dead climbers still lie on its slopes. Climbing Everest

Many people know that conquering peaks is deadly and those who climb do not always come down. Both beginners and experienced climbers die on the Mountain. But to my surprise, not many people know that the dead remain where their fate overtook them. For us, people of civilization, the Internet and the city, it is at least strange to hear that 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 is too dangerous to take on additional load.

Everest is a modern Golgotha. Anyone who goes there knows that he has a chance not to return. Roulette with the Mountain, lucky or unlucky. Not everything depends on you: a hurricane wind, a frozen valve on an oxygen tank, incorrect timing, an avalanche, exhaustion, etc. Everest often proves to people that they are mortal. At least because when you rise you see the bodies of those who are never destined to come down again.

According to statistics, about 1,500 people climbed the mountain. Remained there (according to various sources) from 120 to 200. Can you imagine? Here are very revealing statistics up to 2002 about dead people on the mountain (name, nationality, date of death, place of death, cause of death, whether you made it to 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 there are about ten. And if you move left or right...

I’ll tell you only about the most famous losses:

“Why are you going to Everest?” asked George Mallory.

“Because he is!”

The mystery of their disappearance, the first Europeans remaining on Sagarmatha, worried many. But it took many years to find out what happened to the climber.

In 1975, one of the conquerors claimed that he saw some body off to the side of the main path, but did not approach so as not to lose strength. It took another twenty years until in 1999, while traversing the slope from high-altitude camp 6 (8290 m) to the west, the expedition came across many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. Mallory was found among them. He lay on his stomach, spread out, as if hugging a mountain, his head and arms frozen into the slope.

On video it is clearly visible that the climber’s tibia and fibula are broken. With such an injury, he was no longer able to continue his journey.

“They turned it over - the eyes were closed. This means that he did not die suddenly: when they break, many of them remain open. They didn’t let me down - they buried me there.”

Irving was never found, although the bandage 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 and, leaving his comrade, died somewhere lower down the slope.

In 1934, he made his way to Everest disguised as Tibetan monk, the Englishman Wilson, who decided through prayers to cultivate in himself the willpower 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, 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, three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two of 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.

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 quickly as possible. I tried to pick Frances up and carry her, but it was no use. My futile attempts to save her put Katie at risk. There was nothing we could do."

No one deserves such an end. Kathy and I promised each other that we would return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare the new expedition. I wrapped Frances in 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 Sergei’s photos. 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 people brought him down to base camp, and then more than 40 people from other expeditions helped. He got off easy - four fingers were removed.

“It is impossible to afford the luxury of morality at an altitude of more than 8,000 meters”

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, sick people caught in a high-altitude storm. The Japanese passed by. A few hours later, all three died.

I highly recommend reading the article by a participant in the Everest expedition from GEO magazine “Nadina with Death”. ABOUT greatest catastrophe decades on Mt. About how, due to a bunch of circumstances, 8 people died, including two group commanders. Later, the film “Death on Everest” was made based on the author’s book.

Scary footage from the Discovery Channel in the series “Everest - Beyond the Possible.” When the group finds a freezing man, they film him, but are only interested in his name, leaving him to die alone in ice cave (excerpt).

“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.

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.

When the bodies of three dead climbers will be lowered from mountain peak, not yet known. 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 for high mountain 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.

The summit of Everest is the most high point of our planet. Hundreds of brave men try to conquer this mountain every year. Over time, this place became not only a mecca for all climbers, but also one large cemetery for many people. Some of them remained there forever. In this article you will learn about some of the victims of Everest who became prisoners of this giant.

People who have never been interested in mountaineering probably haven’t thought about what happens when climbing a mountain. The weather can instantly change the situation for the worse and can easily take the life of an unprepared climber. One rash act can lead to death. At such a height, people who managed to maintain their sanity remain alive. It is a fact that most people die more often on the way down the mountain than on the way up. After conquering the peak, you immediately feel that everything is behind you. It is this false feeling that fails novice climbers. Others are destroyed by their stubbornness. Often, having climbed to an altitude above 7500 meters, which is called the “death zone,” many believe that they are obliged to reach the summit soon and do not listen to the warnings of their guides. This often becomes their last thoughtless act. Everest victims say goodbye to life in different ways, but the outcome, unfortunately, is the same for everyone.

Everest victim photo

According to official data in 2017, 292 people died on Chomolungma. Many remain lying on the Himalayan slopes like decorations on a Christmas tree. Due to the low temperature, bodies do not decompose and mummify, so the corpses appear untouched. Retrieving bodies from great heights is very labor-intensive and costs a lot of money. There have already been expeditions, the purpose of which was to collect the dead and remove the garbage left by the climbers, but finding everyone is still an unrealistic task. At high altitudes, routine cleaning becomes a very risky endeavor, not to mention the heavy weight of the bodies. And such events are very rarely funded, so most often people are buried right on the spot. Some are draped in the flag of their home country.

The body of Frances Arsentieva. Everest victim

The famous American Frances Arsentieva became a victim of Everest back in 1998. She and her husband Sergei Arsentiev were in the same group and reached the top of Chomolungma in May. She was the first woman to climb the highest mountain without supplemental oxygen. During the descent, Frances became separated from the rest of the expedition. The entire group successfully reached the camp without her, and only there they noticed the climber’s absence. Sergei went in search of her and, unfortunately, also died. His body was found much later. Members of the South African and Uzbek expedition met Frances and spent some time with her, handing over their oxygen tanks and caring for her. Later, the British from her group returned and also helped her recover, but she was in critical condition. They failed to save her. All information about the incident is not supported by facts, and there were many people who saw Frances - there are so many versions. According to the Chinese liaison officer, the climber died in the arms of the Sherpas, but due to the language barrier between the group and the liaison officer, some of the information may have been misunderstood. Until now, no official witnesses to her death have been found, and there are inconsistencies in people’s stories.

Nine years later, one of the group members, Briton Ian Woodall, could not forgive himself for this incident and, having raised funds for a new expedition, went to Everest to bury Frances. He wrapped her in an American flag, included a note from his son, and threw her body into the abyss.

Everest victims photo. Sergei and Francis Arsentiev

“We threw her body into a cliff. She rests in peace. I was finally able to do something for her." – Ian Woodell.

Everest's first victims

On June 7, 1922, 7 people died at once. This is considered the first officially documented death while attempting to climb Chomolungma. A total of three ascents were carried out under the command of Charles Granville Bruce. The first two were unsuccessful, and the third turned into a tragedy. The expedition doctor believed that the last attempt was impossible, since the entire group had already lost strength, but other team members decided that the risks were small and moved on. George Mallory led part of the group through the icy slopes, but one of the snow accumulations turned out to be quite unstable. As a result, a collapse occurred and an avalanche formed, part of which covered the first group. It contained Howard Somervell, Colin Crawford and George Mallory himself. They were lucky to get out of the snow, but the next group was carried away by tons of snow flying from above. Nine porters were covered. Only two Sherpas managed to escape, and the rest died. Another participant was not found and was also presumed dead. Their names: Norbu ( Norbu), Temba ( Temba), Pasang ( Pasang), Dorodje ( Dorje), Sange ( Sange), Tupac ( Tupac) and Pema ( Pema). This tragedy opened the official list of Everest casualties and also marked the end of the 1922 expedition. The remaining group stopped climbing and left the mountain on August 2.

The first climbers to Everest. Standing from left are Andrew Irvine and George Mallory.

George Mallory made two more attempts to climb, unfortunately, the third time turned out to be tragic again. On June 8, 1924, two young and confident climbers left the high-altitude camp heading towards the summit. George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were last seen at approximately 1 p.m. Just below the Second Stage (8610 meters), Noel Odell, another member of the expedition, saw two black dots that slowly disappeared into the haze. After this, Mallory and Irwin were not seen again. Odell waited for them for a long time a little above the last camp at an altitude of 8170 meters, after which he went down to their place for the night and folded two sleeping bags in the tent in the letter “T”, this was a sign for people from the base camp, which meant: “No traces found , I can only hope, I’m waiting for instructions.”

George Mallory's body was found 75 years later at an altitude of 8155 meters. His corpse was entangled in the remains of a safety rope, which was broken in some places. This indicated a possible failure of the climber. Andrew Irwin's ice ax was also found nearby, but he himself has still not been found. Mallory was missing a photo of his wife and a British flag, which were the things he intended to leave at the summit. Two climbers became victims of Everest, and like hundreds of others, they remained legends for centuries for everyone who tries to climb to the top of this mountain.

Everest 2015 victims. Dozens of dead

On April 25-26, an avalanche occurred on Chomolungma due to an earthquake, which took the lives of many people. This was the biggest incident of all time. This year, a record number of people gathered on the slopes of Everest, because due to last year’s avalanche, which in turn took 16 human lives, many abandoned the climb and returned in the new year to try to conquer the peak again.

Everest victims photos

An evacuation was carried out, as a result of which 61 people were taken to safety and 19 were found dead. These days, many professional climbers have left the world and simply good people. Among them was Daniel Fredinburg, an employee of Google. He was here to map the area for one of the Google Earth-type projects. A large number of people who were at the base camp during the avalanche were injured. Most of the victims died there. The climbers who were in higher altitude camps were not injured, but were cut off from civilization for some time.

Everest victims instead of navigation

Some of the bodies remain lying next to the ascent paths. Hundreds of people pass by these mummies every season. Some of the dead have already become a local landmark. For example, the well-known “Mr. Green Shoes Everest”, which lies at an altitude of 8500 meters. This is one of the members of the Indian group that disappeared in 1996. A group of 6 people climbed to the top, three decided to stop climbing and return, and the rest said that they would continue climbing. The climbers who went up later radioed and reported that they had reached the summit. After that they were never seen again. The man in bright green boots lying on the slope was most likely once one of the climbers of the Indian group, presumably it was Tsewang Paljor. He was seen before the tragedy in the camp, wearing green boots. It lay on the mountain for more than 15 years and was a reference point for many conquerors of Chomolungma. Another climber who visited the summit in 2014 said that most of the corpses were missing. Most likely, someone moved them or buried them.

In 2006, for ridiculous reasons, David Sharp became a victim of Everest. He died long and painfully, but other climbers who passed by did not even stop to help. This is because he was wearing green boots, and most people thought that he was the famous Indian climber who died in 1996.

One of the last victims of Everest was the Swiss Ueli Steck. He left this world on April 30, 2017, trying to follow a route that had not yet been tested by anyone. Having fallen, he fell from a height of more than 1000 m and died.

Enough a large number of tragedies occurred at the “Third Pole”. Most people have gone missing and it is still unclear for what reasons. Every climb to the top is an incredible risk. The chances of staying forever on the slopes of this mountain and immortalizing yourself in history are quite high. Many people cannot understand why people do this and why they risk their lives. Even an experienced climber with extensive experience can become a victim of Everest, but this fact will never stop real adventurers. George Mallory was once asked: “Why are you going to Everest?”. His answer was the phrase: “Because he exists!”

Everest victims video

It is estimated that more than 200 people died trying to reach the summit of Everest. The reasons for their death are as varied as the weather at the top. Climbers face a variety of dangers - falling off a cliff, falling into a crevice, asphyxiation due to low oxygen levels at high altitudes, avalanches, rockfalls and weather that can change radically in a matter of minutes. Winds at the summit can reach hurricane force, literally blowing climbers off the mountain. Low oxygen levels cause climbers to suffocate, while oxygen-deprived brains leave them unable to make rational decisions. Some climbers who stop for a short rest fall into a deep sleep, never to wake up. But ask any climber who has conquered the mountain and reached the 29,000-foot summit, and they will tell you that apart from all these dangers, the most memorable and most disturbing part of the climb was the many perfectly preserved bodies of those who died on the way to the summit. .

Apart from the seven-day trek to Base Camp and the two-week acclimatization period there, the ascent to Everest itself lasts 4 days. Climbers begin their four-day climb to Everest at Base Camp, located at the foot of the mountain. Climbers leave Base Camp (located at 17,700 feet), which demarcates Tibet and Nadas, and ascend to Camp No. 1, located at 20,000 feet. After a night of rest at Camp 1, they then go to Camp 2, also known as Advanced Base Camp (ABC). From Advanced Base Camp they climb to Camp 3, where, at 24,500 feet, oxygen levels are so low that they must wear oxygen masks while sleeping. From Camp 3, climbers 3 attempt to reach either the South Col or Camp 4. Having reached Camp No. 4, climbers reach the border of the “death zone” and must decide whether to continue climbing, then stop and rest a little longer, or return back. Those who decide to continue climbing face the most difficult part of the journey. At 26,000 feet, in the “death zone,” necrosis begins and their bodies begin to die. During the climb, climbers are literally in a race against death, they must reach the top and return before their bodies shut down and they die. If they fail, their bodies will become part of the mountain landscape.

Corpses are perfectly preserved in such a low-temperature environment. Considering that a person can die literally in two minutes, many dead are not recognized as such for some time after death. In an environment where every step of the climber is a struggle, rescuing the dead or dying is practically impossible, as is the evacuation of corpses. The bodies become part of the landscape, and many of them become "landmarks", later climbers using them as "markers" during their ascent. There are approximately 200 bodies lying at the summit of Everest.

Some of them:

David Sharp's body still sits near the summit of Everest, in a cave known as Green Shoe Cave. David was climbing in 2006 and near the top he stopped in this cave to rest. Ultimately, he became so cold that he could no longer get out of it.

Sharpe was no stranger to the mountains. At the age of 34, he had already climbed the eight-thousander Cho Oyu, passing the most difficult sections without the use of fixed ropes, which may not be a heroic act, but at least shows his character. Suddenly left without oxygen, Sharpe immediately felt ill and immediately collapsed on the rocks at an altitude of 8500 meters in the middle of the northern ridge. Some of those who preceded him claim that they thought he was resting. Several Sherpas inquired about his condition, asking who he was and who he was traveling with. He replied: “My name is David Sharp, I’m here with Asia Trekking and I just want to sleep.”

A group of about forty climbers left Englishman David Sharpe alone to die in the middle northern slope; Faced with the choice of providing assistance or continuing to climb to the top, they chose the second, since reaching the highest peak in the world for them meant accomplishing a feat.

On the very day that David Sharp died, surrounded by this pretty company and in utter disdain, media around the world sang the praises of Mark Inglis, the New Zealand guide who, without legs amputated after a professional injury, climbed to the top of Everest using hydrocarbon prosthetics. artificial fiber with cats attached to them.

His body still sits in the cave and is used as a guide for other climbers climbing to the top

The body of “Green Shoes” (an Indian climber who died in 1996) is located near the cave, past which all climbers ascending the peak pass. The "Green Shoes" now serve as a marker that climbers use to determine the distance to the summit. In 1996, Green Shoes broke away from his group and found this rock overhang (actually a small, open cave) to use as protection from the elements. He sat there, shivering with cold, until he died. The wind has since blown his body out of the cave.

The bodies of those who died at the Advanced Base Camp are also left to lie where they froze.

George Malory died in 1924, he was the first person to attempt to reach the top of the highest mountain in the world. His corpse, still perfectly preserved, was identified in 1999.

Details: Mallory was the first to reach the summit and died on the descent. In 1924, the Mallory-Irving team launched an assault. They were last seen through binoculars in a break in the clouds just 150 meters from the summit. Then the clouds moved in and the climbers disappeared.
The mystery of their disappearance, the first Europeans remaining on Sagarmatha, worried many. But it took many years to find out what happened to the climber.
In 1975, one of the conquerors claimed that he saw some body off to the side of the main path, but did not approach so as not to lose strength. It took another twenty years until in 1999, while traversing the slope from high-altitude camp 6 (8290 m) to the west, the expedition came across many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. Mallory was found among them. He lay on his stomach, spread out, as if hugging a mountain, his head and arms frozen into the slope.

Climbers often place rock debris and compacted snow around their bodies to protect them from the elements. Nobody knows why this body was skeletonized.

The bodies lie on the mountain, frozen in the position in which death found them. Here a man fell off the path and, not having the strength to get up, died where he fell.

The man is supposed to have died sitting, leaning on a snowdrift, which has since disappeared, leaving the body in this strange elevated position.

Some die falling from cliffs, their bodies left in places where they can be seen but cannot be reached. Bodies lying on small ledges often roll down, out of sight of other climbers, only to be later buried under fallen snow.

American Francis Arsenyeva, who was descending with a group (which included her husband), fell and begged passing climbers to save her. While walking down a steep slope, her husband noticed her absence. Knowing that he did not have enough oxygen to reach her and return to base camp, he nevertheless decided to return to find his wife. He fell and died while trying to go down and get to his dying wife. Two other climbers successfully descended to her, but they knew that they could not carry her off the mountain. They consoled her for a while before leaving her to die.

Details: Sergey Arsentiev and Francis Distefano-Arsentiev, having spent three nights at 8,200 m (!), set out to climb and reached the summit on 05/22/1998 at 18:15. The ascent was made without the use of oxygen. Thus, Frances became the first American woman and only the second woman in history to climb without oxygen.
During the descent, the couple lost each other. He went down to the camp. She is not.
The next day, five Uzbek climbers walked to the top past Frances - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but to do this they would have to give up the climb. Although one of their comrades has already ascended, and in this case the expedition is already considered successful.
On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Frances. He took the oxygen cylinders and left. But he disappeared. Probably blown by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.
The next day there are three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa - 8 people! They approach her - she has already spent the second cold night, but 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 quickly as possible. I tried to pick Frances up and carry her, but it was no use. My futile attempts to save her put Katie at risk. There was nothing we could do."
Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to reach the top. We succeeded, but on the way back we were horrified to notice Frances' body, lying exactly as we had left her, perfectly preserved by the cold temperatures.

"No one deserves such an end. Kathy and I promised each other that we would return to Everest again to bury Frances. It took 8 years to prepare a new expedition. I wrapped Frances in an American flag and included a note from my son. We pushed her body into a cliff, away from the eyes of the other climbers. Now she rests in peace. Finally, I was able to do something for her." - Ian Woodhall.

Unfortunately, even with modern mountaineering technology, the list of climbers who have died on Everest is growing. In 2012, the following climbers died while attempting to climb Everest: Doa Tenzing (collapsed due to thin air), Karsang Namgyal (collapsed), Ramesh Gulve (collapsed), Namgyal Tshering (fell into a glacier crevasse), Shah -Klorfine Shriya (loss of strength), Eberhard Schaaf (cerebral swelling), Song Won-bin (fall), Ha Wenyi (loss of strength), Juan Jose Polo Carbayo (loss of strength) and Ralph D. Arnold (broken leg led to loss of strength ).

In 2013 deaths continued; The following climbers met their tragic end: Mingma Sherpa (fell into a crevice in the glacier), DaRita Sherpa (loss of strength), Sergey Ponomarev (loss of strength), Lobsang Sherpa (fall), Alexey Bolotov (fall), Namgyal Sherpa (cause of death unknown) , Seo Sung-Ho (cause of death unknown), Mohammed Hossain (cause of death unknown), and one unknown person (died on descent).

In 2014, a group of approximately 50 climbers preparing for the season was caught in an avalanche at an altitude of over 20,000 feet (just above base camp on the Khumbu Ice Cascade). 16 people died (three of them were never found).

The question immediately arises: how is this possible?

based on the materials of the article.

This article was written not to intimidate beginners to go to the mountains, but so that climbers of any qualification know and remember that any ascent in the mountains is dangerous, and climbing the most difficult mountains world - mortally dangerous. Let's consider one example: climbing the highest Peak of the world, and the most desirable for many climbers - (Chomolungma), 8844 m.

Chomolungma(Tib. Everest, or Sagarmatha(from Nepali - highest peak The height of the globe, according to various sources, from 8844 to 8852 meters is located in the Himalayas. Located on the border of Nepal and China (Tibet Autonomous Region), the peak itself lies on Chinese territory. Has the shape of a pyramid; the southern slope is steeper. Glaciers flow down from the massif in all directions, ending at an altitude of about 5 thousand m. On the southern slope and edges of the pyramid, snow and firn are not retained, as a result of which they are exposed. Partially included in national park Sagarmatha (Nepal).

This mountain does not forgive pride and vanity. She kills those who underestimated or overestimated their strength. The mountain has no sense of pity or justice, it kills according to the principle - surrender - die, fight - survive. According to statistics, about 1,500 people have climbed Everest. From 120 to 200 remained there (according to various sources). 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 there are about ten.

WHO FIRST CONQUERED EVEREST?

The message that spread around the world in early May 1999 left none of the climbers indifferent. According to ITAR-TASS, the body of Mallory, the leader of the English expedition of 1924, was found 70 m from the summit of Everest. In accordance with this information, the Russian press, based on comments from specialists, including mine, clearly concluded that Mallory had reached the summit. And therefore it is necessary to rewrite the history of conquest highest mountain Earth. (Until now, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Norgay Tenzing, who climbed Everest on May 29, 1953, were considered the first climbers). However, as it turned out later, the body was found much lower - at an altitude of 8230 m; It is not clear where ITAR-TASS received other information.

“Yes, in the mountains there lie hundreds of corpses frozen from cold and exhaustion, who fell into the abyss.” Valery Kuzin.
“Why are you going to Everest?” asked George Mallory.
“Because he is!”

I am one of those who believe that Mallory was the first to reach the summit and died on the descent. In 1924, the Mallory-Irving team launched an assault. They were last seen through binoculars in a break in the clouds just 150 meters from the summit. Then the clouds moved in and the climbers disappeared.
The mystery of their disappearance, the first Europeans remaining on Sagarmatha, worried many. But it took many years to find out what happened to the climber.
In 1975, one of the conquerors claimed that he saw some body off to the side of the main path, but did not approach so as not to lose strength. It took another twenty years until in 1999, while traversing the slope from high-altitude camp 6 (8290 m) to the west, the expedition came across many bodies that had died over the past 5-10 years. Found among them. He lay face down, spread out, as if hugging a mountain, his head and arms frozen into the slope.
The climber's tibia and fibula were broken. With such an injury, he was no longer able to continue his journey.
“They turned it over - the eyes were closed. This means that he did not die suddenly: when they break, many of them remain open. They didn’t let me down - they buried me there.”
Irving was never found, although the bandage 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 and, leaving his comrade, died somewhere lower down the slope.

In 1934, the Englishman Wilson made his way to Everest, disguised as a Tibetan monk, and decided to use his prayers to cultivate willpower 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, 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 05/22/2008 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 is not.
The next day, five Uzbek climbers walked to the top past Frances - she was still alive. The Uzbeks could help, but to do this they would have to give up the climb. Although one of their comrades has already ascended, and in this case the expedition is already considered successful.
On the descent we met Sergei. They said they saw Frances. He took the oxygen cylinders and left. But he disappeared. Probably blown by a strong wind into a two-kilometer abyss.
The next day there are three other Uzbeks, three Sherpas and two from South Africa - 8 people! They approach her - she has already spent the second cold night, but 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...
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, 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 quickly as possible. I tried to pick Frances up and carry her, but it was no use. My futile attempts to save her put Katie at risk. There was nothing we could do."

Not a day went by that I didn't think about Frances. A year later, in 1999, Katie and I decided to try again to reach the top. We succeeded, but on the way back we were horrified to notice the body of Frances, she was lying exactly as we had left her, perfectly preserved under the influence of low 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 bowing position, lying just beyond Jochen's "subtle rib" in the Mallory area at approximately 27,150 feet. 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. 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.
“It is impossible to afford the luxury of morality at an altitude of more than 8,000 meters”
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, sick people caught in a high-altitude storm. The Japanese passed by. A few hours later, all three died.

“You can’t continue climbing, maneuvering between corpses, and pretend that this is in the order of things.” . Alexander Abramov.

The mountain kills different ways, sometimes sophisticated, but every year an increasing number of climbers go to its foot to test their fate and their strength.

Common causes of death at such altitudes:

– cerebral edema (paralysis, coma, death) due to lack of oxygen,
– pulmonary edema (inflammation, bronchitis, rib fractures) due to lack of oxygen and low temperatures,
– heart attacks due to lack of oxygen and high stress,
– snow blindness,
– frostbite, the temperature at such altitudes drops to -75,
– but the most common thing is exhaustion from exertion, because... At such an altitude, the human digestive system almost does not work; the body eats itself, its muscle tissue.

Frostbite:

Tina Sjogren

Climber Beck Withers was twice abandoned on the mountainside, believing he was frozen to death, but he survived, remained disabled and wrote the book Left for Dead (2000).

As early as 1924, Everest climbers noted that after nine weeks spent at intermediate altitudes, a person can rise to 8530 m and sleep two or three nights at an altitude of up to 8230 m. Ascents in free balloons were first shown in the seventies of the last century An unacclimatized aeronaut, having risen to such heights, quickly lost consciousness and died. If people are exposed to reduced pressure in a pressure chamber at sea level, then at a pressure corresponding to an altitude of 7620 m, they lose consciousness after 10 minutes, and at a pressure corresponding to an altitude of 8230 m, after 3 minutes.

The highest known altitude at which there is a permanent population is 5335 m. In the Andes at this altitude there is a mine village called Aconquilcha. They say that the miners prefer to rise from this height to 455 m every day and not live in a special camp built for them by the mine administration at an altitude of 5790 m.

Everest climbers also noted that during the process of acclimatization, their physical condition improved up to a height of 7000 m. Above that, rapid and serious exhaustion of the body occurred, manifested in progressive weakness, drowsiness, the inability to restore lost strength and gradual muscle atrophy.

At altitudes of 6500-7000 m there is a slow depletion of the body, but this is smoothed out by the process of acclimatization, so that headaches and other symptoms of mountain sickness disappear, and for some time the climber’s health improves. But over time, appetite disappears, tissues begin to deplete, energy and performance decrease. The table below shows the longest stays of climbers on Everest at various altitudes:

Climbing to a height of more than 8000 m requires such colossal stress that it is unlikely that anyone is able to repeat it during the same expedition. Full recovery It takes many weeks to regain strength after such an ordeal.

Many ordinary people ask the question with horror: “Why aren’t the corpses removed from the mountain and buried?” But how can you explain to a person who has not been there what kind of mountain it is? That from a height of more than 8,000 thousand there are not many chances to descend on your own, and to remove a corpse you need to organize an entire expedition, which will cost a lot of money. But the main problem is that most of these corpses are unknown whereabouts.

Rescue work on Everest

Camp after the storm:

Many books have been written on the topic of Everest, many films have been shown. And yet, NS statistics do not decrease every year.

In 2006, there were 11 fatal accidents out of 450 successful ascents (2.4% mortality rate), and the overall (1922-2006) mortality rate is 6.74%.

Division by year:

1922-1989; 285/106 (37.19%)
1990-1999; 882/59 (6.69%)
2000-2005; 1393/27 (1.94%)
1922-2006; 3010/203 (6.74%)

Despite such chronological data, there were quite a lot of successful expeditions to Everest. Thus, the first successful ascent of a group of two people took place on May 5, 1982. The leader of the expedition, Evgeniy Tamm, identified the first assault group consisting of V. Balyberdin and E. Myslovsky. Phenomenally resilient and resistant to oxygen starvation, Balyberdin led a relatively weak participant. Myslovsky’s ascent was difficult: to some extent, the doctors’ conclusions were justified. He dropped his oxygen equipment, suffered severely from the cold, and was suffocating. His partner gave him his oxygen mask and supported him psychologically in a dramatic moment. The assault on the top of the world by this first group was successful.

Somewhat later, nine members of the expedition climbed Everest. And their rise was dramatic. Very serious help had to be provided to the climber V. Onishchenko: at an altitude of 7500 meters he had an attack of acute mountain sickness with sharp drop blood pressure. He needed resuscitation. Myslovsky with frostbite on his fingers and toes, and V. Khreshchaty, who made a night climb to the summit with frostbitten feet, had to be urgently taken out of the base camp by helicopter. Climber Moskaltsev fell into a crack and received a traumatic brain injury. Everest was reluctantly conquered by athletes. Nevertheless, this massive ascent took place.

The 1982 expedition was an outstanding achievement in world mountaineering. The participants were awarded government awards. Balyberdin and Myslovsky received the Order of Lenin. But, unfortunately, later the record-breaking conquest of Everest was completely forgotten.

Summit 8844 m

And despite everything, Everest remains one of the most beautiful eight-thousanders in the world. But we must always remember that we cannot conquer the mountain, it can either let us in or not. And we can conquer our weakness and cowardice. And I immediately remembered the words from V. Vysotsky’s song...

If a friend suddenly turns out to be
And neither friend nor enemy, but so...
If you don't understand right away,
Whether he is good or bad,
Pull the guy to the mountains - take a risk,
Don't leave him alone
Let him be in conjunction with you -
There you will understand who he is.

If a guy is in the mountains - no,
If you immediately become limp - and down,
The step stepped onto the glacier - and wilted,
I stumbled and screamed
This means there is a stranger next to you,
Don't scold him, drive him away:
They don’t take people like that up here either
They don't sing about people like that.

If he didn’t whine, didn’t whine,
Even though he was gloomy and angry, he walked
And when you fell off the cliffs,
He moaned, but held on
If I followed you as if into battle,
Standing at the top, drunk,
So, as for yourself,
Rely on him.

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