Why has Everest been exposed to death for 70 years?

For decades, mountain climbers from around the world have risked their lives to conquer Everest. Many people successfully reach the “roof of the world” and return safely, many people stay forever. Their bodies were scattered across the slopes of the highest mountain on the planet.

Since humans first conquered Mount Everest in 1953, the planet’s highest mountain has recorded hundreds of deaths. According to data from Himalayan Database, a website specializing in recording climbing trips in the Himalayan region of Nepal, as of the beginning of the 2026 climbing season, at least 344 people have died on Everest.

Ms. Billi Bierling, director of the organization, said 232 deaths occurred on the Nepal side, the rest on the Tibetan side. She noted that these numbers are still not the most complete statistics. Due to the specific terrain and weather, most bodies still lie on slopes at an altitude of more than 8,000 m.

Most bodies on Everest cannot be returned due to dangerous and expensive search campaigns. Experts say that the process of repatriating the body is no less arduous than the journey to conquer the summit, and more difficult than saving the life of a person in distress. Many victims remain in the “death zone” at an altitude of 8,000 m, where oxygen levels are so low that even basic movement causes exhaustion. Over the years, the bodies were buried under layers of hard snow and ice.

Mr. Alan Arnette, a climber and a historian of Everest, said that a body removal operation requires a minimum team of 6-10 people and the logistics process is extremely complicated. Rescuers must navigate treacherous technical slopes while carrying a body, all in an environment that limits human physical strength.

In June, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) launched a campaign to bring back the body of “Green Boots” after 30 years lying on the snow-covered mountain top. The campaign is planned to be carried out during the June-September climbing season. ITBP is looking for an experienced rescue team to participate in the operation, coordinating with Chinese authorities to move bodies from Tibet to Nepal and then back to India.

The “Green Shoes” repatriation campaign is considered difficult because the body is located north of Everest, near the route between the first and second steps (First Step and Second Step), two cliffs located in the “death zone” on Everest. After 30 years, Green Boots’ body was “fossilized” and stuck to the mountain.

“The rescue team will have to use ice axes to separate the body from the frozen mountainside, this process will be very harsh,” Mr. Arnette added.

The rescue team had to continue taking the body over the second cliff step, a 30 m high cliff with an aluminum ladder. Climbing vertical cliffs at an altitude of over 8,500 m, wearing bulky protective clothing, thick gloves and oxygen tanks is an extreme challenge.

Procedures and transportation barriers in areas controlled by China are also difficult problems. Unlike Nepal, the use of rescue helicopters in Tibet is strictly limited in terms of licensing, and helicopters cannot fly to the height of this cliff.

The campaign requires large resources of personnel, oxygen, and specialized ropes with estimated costs ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 USD.

Impacting the body also affects religious faith. Many people involved in supporting the campaign are Tibetan Buddhists. Mr. Arnette pointed out that using an ice ax to impact the body could be considered a violation of the local Buddhist taboo on respecting the dead, unintentionally conflicting with the ITBP’s original humanitarian goals.

In the past, many plans to bring back bodies had to be cancelled. In 2010, a project to bring bodies down the southern slope of the mountain was stopped in response to the wishes of the victims’ families, who wanted their loved ones to be laid to rest where they fell.

Everest also has other famous “stayers”. The body of American athlete Francys Arsentiev, known as “Sleeping Beauty”, lay for many years near the northeast slope before being moved. The remains of British climber George Mallory were found in 1999, 75 years after he disappeared in 1924. Although he was identified by the name tag on his clothes, it was still decided to let him rest on this mountain.