7,759 People Confirmed Dead in Nepal Earthquake

 On Saturday, April 26, 2015 shortly before noon (local time) Nepal and its bordering countries suffered a 7.8 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter just 50 miles northwest of Nepal’s capital city, Kathmandu. It was classified as a IX violent earthquake and lasted approximately 20 seconds,

 Thus far, 7,759 deaths have been confirmed, with 1,209 in Kathmandu alone; 3,000 deaths were reported in Sindupalchowk, the district of Nepal which suffered the most damage. In addition to the 7,652 deaths reported in Nepal, 78 died in India, 25 in China and 4 in Bangladesh. There were a total of 80 foreign casualties in Nepal from the countries of India, France, China, Germany, Italy, The United States, Canada, Russia, Australia, Estonia, The United Kingdom, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, New Zeland and Spain. Due to the seismic activity, Mount Everest experienced avalanches on Saturday which killed 19 people and made April 26, 2015 the most deadly day on Mt. Everest in history. Bodies of the deceased were able to be recovered by helicopters from base camps.

 A powerful aftershock occurred in the region on Sunday, which could be felt in Nepal, India and Bangladesh and led to more avalanches atop Mt. Everest. Twenty-nine districts throughout the area have been declared crisis zones and approximately 900 of the 1,000 homes in the Nepal villages of Laprak and Barpak were completely destroyed.

The Dharara Tower, a landmark which was constructed during the 19th century by rulers of Nepal, was also reduced to rubble by the earthquake, killing at least 180 people who were inside or nearby the tower when the earthquake struck. Many centuries-old building were destroyed, including several temples and churches which collapsed, killing those inside.

While rescue workers did all they could, many living and inured citizens remained trapped beneath crumbled buildings for several days. Rescue workers found survivors buried in the rubble as long as one week after the initial earthquake. Four men who were trapped beneath close to 10 feet (3 meters) of debris for several days were found alive thanks to new NASA technology known as ‘FINDER’, a heartbeat detection device. It is capable of detecting a human heartbeat through as much as 30 feet (9 meters) of rubble, 20 feet (7 meters) of concrete or 100 feet (30 meters) of open space.

  Countless have been left homeless in the wake of this natural disaster and are seeking shelter in refugee camps.

In the immediate aftermath, corpses were left lying on the street, covered by sheets, waiting to be identified or placed onto ferries traveling to hospitals in Kathmandu. Unfortunately, these hospitals struggled to keep up with both caring for the injured, and housing victims’ bodies.

Helicopters managed to retrieve injured climbers on Mount Everest that were able to make it to a base camp. Several roads paved across the base of the mountain have either cracked open or were buried in the avalanche and made routes impassable for rescue personnel. The April 2015 earthquake caused the most devastation this region has experienced since the Bihar-Nepal Earthquake in 1934 which killed 8,500 people.

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The Death Zone

 Climbing the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, is on the bucket list of countless adventurous individuals. Part of The Himalayas, Mount Everest’s peak towers at 29,029 feet (8,848 meters) above sea level and marks the border between the countries of Nepal, to the south, and Tibet to the north. In Nepal, Everest is known as “Sagarmatha” and in Tibet call the mountain “Chomolungma”. The cost of climbing Mount Everest is $25,000 – $60,000 (16,660 – 39,700 pounds) but ultimately, some pay with their lives.

  In recent years, Mount Everest has become notorious for an area known as “The Death Zone” which is the final resting place for over 200 climbers who lost their lives during their attempt to reach the mountain’s peak.

“The Death Zone” is located 26,000 feet (7,925 meters) above sea level where oxygen is so scarce, all but the most experienced climbers must breathe with the assistance of air-filled canisters. Only 1/3 of the oxygen available at sea level is present in the Death Zone; Therefore, climbers who attempt to summit without the aid of an oxygen bottle or those who run out will face oxygen depletion which can eventually lead to death. Oxygen depletion causes hallucinations and fatigue, often climbers suffering from a lack of oxygen will sit down and give up for no apparent reason, only to die hours later.

 Mount Everest partially punctures the stratosphere creating an environment which is in a constant state of subzero temperatures and can drop to -100 degrees Fahrenheit (-73 degrees Celsius). Jet stream winds reach speeds of 200 miles/hour (320 kilometers/hr), literally blowing climbers off the face of the mountain, never to be seen again.

  Any exposed skin will immediately become frostbitten which can lead to gangrene and in many cases, amputation. Due to the incredibly severe conditions this high above sea level, when a climber is in danger, not much that can be done to help. Often times, assisting a fellow climber in a deadly situation could led to your own death.

 In 2006 the death of British climber David Sharp caused quite a bit of controversy in the media. Despite the fact that at least 40 people climbing the mountain that day passed directly by him on their way to the summit while he was still alive, only a few stopped to help. He was severely frostbitten and suffering from oxygen depletion. According to those who stopped to tend to him, he was far beyond help. Eventually, he had to be left behind on the mountain to die. The media called the actions of these climbers who left David Sharp “callous”. While it is certainly easy to sit in a temperature-controlled environment in judgement of those who left a fellow summiter to die, only those who were there will ever know if anything could have been done to save him. Conditions on the mountain are so deadly, each hopeful summiter must sign a “body disposal” form which asks the preferred choice for your body, should you die at any point during your climb; Return home, return to Kathmandu (capital of Nepal) or remain on the mountain.

  Surprisingly, many choose for their body to remain on the mountain where they died. In fact, when local Sherpas, who believe leaving dead bodies on the mountain to be disrespectful to the mountain gods, attempted to remove several of the deceased, two families came forward asking that their loved ones remain where they met their demise. Many times, those who were with them on their fatal climb will return to give the body a “burial”, usually moving the body out of view from the mountain’s path or concealing their corpse with large stones.

 Many times, bodies cannot be recovered from the Death Zone. A recovery attempt would require 5-10 highly experienced Sherpas, even then, recovery may be impossible and the effort could easily claim another life. It costs approximately $30,000 to return a corpse to its native country.

 The south side of the mountain is considered to be “cleaner”. Most bodies on the southern, Nepalese side of the mountain have, at the very least, been removed from the main path. Only recently, helicopters have become able for use in the recovery of bodies; However, the body must be moved as far as a base camp on the south side of the mountain. The north side, which is controlled by the Chinese government, does not allow helicopter use for any purpose. The north side is notorious for being the more dangerous route with a far higher death rate than the south. On the northeastern side of the mountain lies “Rainbow Valley”. Despite its Care Bear-esque name, the area was dubbed as “Rainbow Valley” for the numerous corpses dressed in multicolored down jackets which line the main path.

  David Bashears, five time summiteer of Everest confessed, “There had been nothing in my training to prepare me to pass through the open graveyard waiting above.”

Did You Know?
On May 29th, 1953 Sir Edmond Hillary and his Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, became the first known people to reach Mount Everest’s summit. When Hillary died, his family wished to have his cremains scattered from atop the mountain, but the Nepalese government intervene and would not allow it.

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Hannelore Schmatz “The German Woman”

Hannelore Schmatz was a German mountaineer born on February 16, 1940. On October 2, 1979 she became the first woman, and the first German citizen to die on the upper slopes of Mount Everest. Her husband, 50-year-old Gerhard Schmatz was the leader of the expedition, becoming the oldest person to have summited Mount Everest up to that time.

Gerhard Schmatz, Hannelore’s husband.

It is common on Everest for expedition teams to split up into smaller groups, having a few summit at a time as the rest remain at base camp. Hannelore summited that day with Swiss-American Ray Genet and a Sherpa, Sungdare.

Ray Genet

After a successful summit, Schmatz and Genet were exhausted and decided to stop for the evening to bivouac (stay in a temporary camp without cover, such as a sleeping bag, as opposed to returning to a base camp) at 27,200 feet in the Death Zone despite their Sherpa urging them against it. During the night, there was a severe snowstorm and early the following morning, Ray Genet died of hypothermia. His body was eventually buried by the snow. Shortly afterwards, Hannelore succumbed to exhaustion and the cold, dying only 330 feet (100 meters) away from base camp. Reportedly, her last words were “water, water”. Sungdare stayed with Hannelore, even after she was deceased, and ss a result, lost one finger and most of his toes to frostbite. In 1984, a Sherpa and a Nepalese police inspector attempted to recover the body of Hannelore Schmatz; Both fell to their death during the recovery effort. For years, Hannelore remained in plain view of the mountain’s Southern Route, still leaning against her backpack and known to most as only, “The German Woman”.

Hannelore Schmatz’s body on Mount Everest

Her eyes still open, hair blowing in the fierce winds, and well-preserved in the consistent subzero temperatures on the deadly mountain. Eventually, the strong winds pushed her body over the mountain. While her eternal resting place remains a mystery, she has finally received some form of a burial.
The following photos are of Hannelore Schmatz’s fatal expedition to Mount Everest from the private collection of Gerhard Schmatz, Hannelore’s widower.

   Photos courtesy Gerhard Schmatz. Read his account of Hannelore Schmatz’s fatal expedition and view more photos from this and other expeditions on his website.

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Who is “Green Boots”?

The body of “Green Boots” inside “Green Boots’ Cave” in the Death Zone of Mount Everest. One of the few photos in which his boots actually appear to be green.

The Everest Disaster of 1996 refers to a blizzard that occurred on May 10th & 11th which led to the loss of eight lives. The blizzard caused the deadliest day and deadliest year on Mount Everest until the 2014 Mt. Everest avalanche which resulted in 16 casualties. The Nepal Earthquake which occured in April 2015 and caused an avalanche on the mountain that killed 19 people is now holds the record for the deadliest day in the mountain’s history. On May 10, 1996 a team of six Indian climbers from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police expedition were attempting to summit when the blizzard began. Just short of the peak, three of the six chose to continue with the summit while the others returned to base camp. Climbers Subedar Tsewang Samanla, Lance Naik (Lance Corporal) Dorje Morup and Head Constable Tsewang Paljor contacted the three team members who had returned to base camp via radio to notify them they had reaced the summit and would be descending shortly. The three men left prayer flags, Khatas (traditional Tibetan Buddhist ceremonial scarfs) and placed pitons (metal spikes used in mountain climbing as anchor points to prevent a fall and aid in climbing) atop the mountain. Samanla, who was the leader of the expedition instructed Dorje Morup and Tsewang Paljor to begin descent as he remained behind to conduct a religious ceremony from the mountains peak.

Tsewang Samanla

Tsewang Paljor

What happened next remains a mystery; All that is certain is that the three men died in the 1996 Everest Disaster. The team did not make any additional radio contact with their team members at base camp and never returned. Evidence suggests they may have never even made it to the actual summit, appearing to have stopped 430 feet (150 meters) short due to confusion from poor visibility.   A team of Japanese climbers their summit may have seen one or more of the Indian climbers but failed to assist them because they were unaware the three climbers had been reported missing. The Japanese team claimed during their descent they saw a person on a fixed rope and a second unidentifiable object which may have also been a human. One team member from the Japanese expedition even greeted another unitentified climber, possibly a missing member of the Indian expedition.   Although the Japanese team aided the unitentified climber in transitioning to their next set of ropes, the climber did not otherwise seem to be in need of assistance. Eventually, a body was discovered under the overhang of a boulder along the Northeast Ridge Route at 27,890 feet (8500 meters), near Camp 6. The corpse was found lying next beside a rucksack with clothing intact but no gloves on.

Oxygen bottles lying next to Green Boot’s body.

Green boots worn by the deceased climber led people to refer to him simly as “Green Boots” and the limestone alcove he was discovered in as “Green Boots Cave”.

Green Boot’s Kolflach boots appear to be more yellow than green in many photographs. This is most likely due to lighting. Over time, the boots may have faded as well.

People have long believed the body in the small cave was that of Tsewang Paljor who had been wearing a pair of green Koflach boots when he was last seen alive.

An article published in the Himalayan Journal in 1997 put forth the theory that the body is actually Dorje Morup and Paljor’s body was never discovered. According to Morup’s team he “refused to put on gloves over his frost-bitten hands” and during the ascent, before the group spilt up, he was already struggling and “was finding difficulty in uncoiling his safety carabiner at anchor points”.
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If you enjoyed this article, you might also like The Death Zone, George Leigh Mallory, Hannelore Schmatz, Nepal Earthquake, Pray the Decay Away: Natural Postmortem Preservation, The Seven Stages of Decomposition, Everybody Poop: The Post-Mortem Edition, Germanwings Crash: Andreas Lubitz Suicide was a Mere Side Effect to the Murder of 149 People and Possible Relatives: Tina Enghoff Photographs Homes of the Recently Deceased

Francys and Sergei Arsentiev

Francys Arsentiev

Francys Yarbro was born on January 18, 1958 in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1992 she married Russian mountaineer Sergei Arsentiev and together, they summited many peaks in Russia including ‘Peak 5800m’.

Francys and Sergei Arsentiev

The Arsentievs became the first people to ascend this peak, naming it “Peak Goodwill”. Francys became the first American woman to ski down Mount Elbrus and had summited both its east and west peaks. Francys dreamt of becoming the first American woman to climb Mount Everest without the aid of an oxygen bottle and on May 17, 1998, Francys and her husband, Sergei, set out to make it happen. Francys’s son from a previous relationship, who was eleven at the time, had final say as to whether his mother would go on the expedition to Mount Everest and attempt to summit without the aid of an oxygen bottle. During the 1998 expedition, Francys and Sergei made several attempts to summit which were aborted due to dangerous weather conditions. Finally, on May 22, 1998, Francys became the first woman from the United States to ascend Mount Everest without the aid of an oxygen bottle. Unfortunately, the couple had summited very late in the day and were forced to spend the night in the Death Zone (above 8,000 meters/feet) without supplemental oxygen. At some point in the evening, Francys and Sergei became separated; It is believed Francys was experiencing snow blindness, possibly oxygen depletion, and wandered off without him. When Sergei awoke on the morning of the 23rd to find Francys was gone, he made his way down the mountain to base camp.

Sergei Arsentiev

After failing to find her there, he gathered oxygen bottles and medicine and set off on his own to find his wife. Meanwhile, Francys encountered a Uzbek team of climbers the same morning who were in the final stretch of their summit. According to the team, she was frostbitten and appeared to be half-conscious, deprived of oxygen and unable to move on her own. The Uzbek team administered oxygen to Francys and carried her down the mountain with them as far as possible. Eventually, they had depleted their supply of oxygen and were too fatigued to continue the rescue effort. The team left Francys with a few oxygen bottles and returned to base camp without her. On their way, they encountered Sergei, who was on his way back up the mountain (in the direction Francys lay alone), in search of Francys. It was the last time Sergei Arsentiev was ever seen alive. The following day, on the morning of the 24th, another team of Uzbek climbers, along with British climber Ian Woodall and Cathy O’Dowd of South Africa noticed Francys on their way to the summit.

Cathy O’Dowd and Ian Woodall at Mount Everest’s peak in 1996. Photo courtesy Cathy O’Dowd’s private collection.

She was discovered where she had been left the previous evening, clipped to a guide rope on the mountain, lying on her side. Russian-made oxygen bottles were lying next to her, Sergei’s rope and ice axe were found nearby, but no Sergei. It was Cathy O’Dowd who insisted she and her team abandon their own summit attempt to tend to Francys. Ian Woodall came to the aid of Cathy and Francys as the remainder of the team continued with the summit. Cathy O’Dowd, who first approached Francys, discovered her lying in an inverted ‘V’, which caused Francys to appear as though her spine were broken. She was jerking in an unnatural way and had no motor control, her skin appeared waxy and white. She had removed her gloves and although her purple dow jacket was stikl on her body, her arms were not inside the sleeves. No visual signs of trauma were present and her unnatural positioning was found to be caused by muscular limpness. As they attempted to re-dress her, she did not assist, nor did she fight she only repeated, “I am an American. I am an American.”. O’Dowd and Woodall quickly realized she was not talking to them. As Cathy O’Dowd put it, Francys’s though and speech patterns were like that of a “stuck record”. The same Uzbek team who had assisted Francys previously passed by . When Cathy noticed them, she asked they come help but they responded, “We tried to help yesterday. We left her with oxygen. She is too far gone to help.”, and advised they leave her before leaving themselves. Cathy O’Dowd and Ian Woodall remained with Francys for over an hour and the decision to leave her was a difficult one which was only made after much discussion.

Body of Francys Arsentiev. Photo courtesy of GoreGrish.com

Ultimately, they knew there was nothing the two of them could do to help and that Francys’s best chance was for them to return to base camp, find assistance, and return with a team. Francys begged, “Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me.”, after one again assuring her they would return, Francys’s last word to them were, “Why are you doing this to me?”. Although they did return a they had promised, it was too late. Francys died on May 24, 1998 at the age of 40. In 1999 Jake Norton, a member of the Mallory & Irvine expedition team discovered the body of Sergei Artsentiev nearby the location of his wife’s body. He had perished farther down the mountain’s face and believed to have been attempting to rescue Francys when he sustained a fatal fall. Ian Woodall lead an expedition in 2007 known as “The Tao of Everest” which aimed to discover and burry the bodies of Francys Arsentiev, “Green Boots”, and David Sharp. Cathy O’Dowd, who married Woodall in 2001 played an integral role in “The Tao of Everest”. It was she and Ian who eventually rediscovered the area in which they had left Francys Artsentiev, reached her body which rested on a steep slope and gave her a proper Death Zone burial. Her body was wrapped in an American flag along with a note from her son.

 They then lowered her body further down the mountain’s face and out of sight from the main path. In 1999 Cathy O’Dowd returned to Mount Everest and became the first woman to summit the mountain from both its north and south route.

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If you enjoyed this article, you might also like The Death Zone, George Leigh Mallory, Hannelore Schmatz, Who is Green Boots?, Pray the Decay Away: Incorruptible Corpses and Other Forms of Natural Post-Mortem Preservation, The Seven Stage of Decomposition Week, Everybody Poops: The Post-Mortem Edition, Nepal Earthquake, Rasputin’s Pickled Penis on Public Display, GermanWings Crash: Andreas Lubitz Suicide was a Mere Side Effect to the Murder of 149 People and Possible Relatives: Tina Enghoff Photographs Homes of the Recently Deceased

David Sharp

David Sharp

British engineer and mountaineer David Sharp was born February 15, 1972. In 2006 he attempted to summit Mount Everest solo with no oxygen, Sherpa, guide or radio. It is presumed he did reach the summit and was descending when he became imparted due to environmental conditions and was possibly experiencing oxygen depletion. David Sharp took refuge in “Green Boots’ Cave“, next to the body of the unidentified Indian climber refered to by the nickname “Green Boots“. Sitting with his arms clasped around his legs, Sharp was passed by at least forty climbers who mistook him for the infamous “Green Boots“.

The body of David Sharp in Green Boot’s Cave on Mount Everest

Believing his was already deceased, David Sharp received no assurance until it was too late. A team making their way to the summit around 1AM noticed David but were unable in the conditions to conduct a rescue at night. He told them, “My name is David Sharp and I am with Asian Trekking.”. The team instructed David Sharp follow a trail of LED lights which led back to base camp before continuing their summit. Nine hours later, as the same team was descending the mountain they noticed David Sharp was still huddled beneath the alcove know as “Green Boots Cave“. The team administered oxygen and tried to help David move for over an hour but he was unable to do much as stand on his ow to rest on another climbers shoulders. At this point, David Sharp was experiencing advanced hypothermia; his arms, legs and face were severely frostbitten and black. Long icicles were hanging from his nose and he was suffering from altitude sickness. The team Ho attempted to help was running dangerously low on oxygen and with David unable to stand on his own, they were forced to leave him behind and return to camp to report their findings. Although this story caused quite a bit of controversy in the news, David’s mom, Linda Sharp, supported the difficult decision made by the team to leave her son behind. She stated, “David had been noticed in a shelter. People had seen him but thought he was dead. One of Russell’s [Russell Brice, expedition manager to the team which tried to help David]. Sherpas checked on him and there was still life in there. He tried to give him oxygen but it was too late. Your responsibility is to save yourself- not try to save anybody else.”. Russell Brice has a long history of rescues on Mount Everest; In 32 years of climbing, (prior to 2006) he had rescued 15 climbers in need of aid. Those who were on the team which left David stand by their decision, citing that in the incredible off-chance he had survived, David Sharp would have been severely brain-damaged and would have required the amputation of both his arms and legs.
The following video is an excerpt from National Geographic’s Dying for Everest in which the body of David Sharp and “Green Boots” is clearly visible

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If you enjoyed this article, you might also like The Death Zone, George Leigh Mallory, Hannelore Schmatz, Who is Green Boots?, Francys and Sergi Arsentiev, Pray the Decay Away: Incorruptible Corpses and Other Forms of Natural Postmortem Preservation, The Seven Stages of Decomposition, Everybody Poops: The Post-Mortem Edition, Nepal Earthquake, and GermanWings Crash: Andreas Lubitz Suicide was a Mere Side Effect to the Murder of 149