Photo by wikipedia editor Maxwelljo40
Mount Everest is of course the highest peak in the world towering at a mighty 8,848 metres or 29,029 ft above the Tibetan plateau. Despite access to the mountain being well documented and the various assents to the peak well known it is still a very dangerous task to climb the mountain which have led to numerous deaths over the years.
The dangers are manifold. First the risk of dying of hypothermia is obvious the altitude of the mountain means that at short notice freezing storms sometimes as low as -30 degrees Celsius and never rising above. Hypothermia can lead to confusion and the belief that you are actually really very hot. This confusion can be lead to rash decisions or just purely giving up any attempt to descend. Oxygen deprivation is another factor. The lack of Oxygen can cause respiration problems and put the body under extreme duress again this can cause confusion.
There is also the risk of falling and notoriously dangerous spots are common including the infamous ladder of death.
So what happens to those who tragically die on the mountain. Well, they stay there. Of the over 200 fatalities that have occurred on the mountain in the modern era only 4 bodies have been recovered. Mostly because of the extreme danger involved and extraordinary cost.
Many bodies are in open view and some have become tragic landmarks on the ascent to the peak. One such body is "greenboots" shown in the picture at the top of this post. Greenboots lies near the peak and has been since the 1990s a sign to those climbing that they have nearly made it.
The actually mortality rate of climbers is 1.6% which is around the same risk as having a triple coronary bypass. People will continue to try and reach the roof of the world and people will die. The attempt to conquer the extreme is for sure part of our human nature.