The Death Zone

October 1, 2015 — 4 Comments

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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If you enjoyed this article, you might also like Pray the Decay Away: Incorruptible Corpses and Other Forms of Postmortem Preservation, Nepal Earthquake, The Seven Stages of Decomposition, Rasputin’s Pickled Penis, Burying the Dead is Killing the Planet, and German Wings Crash: Andreas Lubitz Suicide was a Mere Side Effect to the Murder of 149

George Leigh Mallory

October 1, 2015 — 5 Comments

George Herbert Leigh Mallory

George Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer born in Mobberley, Cheshire, England on June 18, 1886. During Mallory’s 3rd expedition to Everest in 1924 he, along with his climbing partner, Andrew “Sandy” Irvine went missing and never returned.

George Mallory (right) and Andrew Irvine

In 1999, a team of climbers searched Mount Everest for the bodies of the two lost explorers who may have in fact been the first people to have ever reached the mountain’s peak. During this expedition, the team discovered the remains of George Mallory on May 1st with a rope, which would have at one time connected Mallory and Irvine to one another, still tied around his waist.

Mallory’s body as it was discovered on Mount Everest. The team who went in search of him buried Mallory after documenting evidence of his identity.

He was discovered at 27,000 feet (8,230 meters), in the Death Zone and only 800 feet (150 meters) short of the summit. He was found to be mummified by the consistent subzero temperatures on Mount Everest and his body was fused to the mountain itself. He was identified by a tag inside his clothing with the name “G. Mallory” sewn onto it. It is possible that the body, believed to be Mallory’s, is actually that of Andrew Irvine who perhaps borrowed his climbing partner’s shirt on the day of his fatal climb. However, experts are nearly certain the body does belong to George Mallory. The guiding rope found tied around Mallory’s waist appeared as though it had been cut off with a knife. This piece of evidence led the team to believe Mallory had suffered a fatal fall while tied to Irvine.

Angulated fracture observed by the team who discovered Mallory’s body

Andrew Irvine was able to sever the rope which connected them and continue on the journey. Of course, Irvine perished on the mountain as well, though his remains have never been discovered. Unfortunately, neither was discovered the camera Mallory and Irvine had taken on their 1924 expedition. It is believed this camera, if found, could contain evidence that at least Irvine, or perhaps both men, had reached the peak before their demise. Although Mallory had explored the mountain on two previous occasions, the expedition in 1924 was his first attempt at summiting the mountain. Mallory, who was 37 at the time of his death, believed the 1924 expedition would be the last to the mountain, citing he was becoming too old; He confidentially proclaimed he and Irvine would reach the peak. Mallory was quite a popular man in the early 20th century, Lytton Strachey, a friend of Mallory’s (who seemingly had a steaming hot bromance with him) wrote in 1909, “Mondieu! -George Mallory! …He’s six foot high, with the body of an athlete by Praxiteles, and a face- of incredible- the mystery of Botticelli, the refinement and delicacy of a Chinese print, the youth and piquancy of an unimaginable English boy.” In 1914, ten years before his death, George Mallory married Ruth Turner and together had three children. When he died, he left behind his wife along with their two daughters, aged 9 and 7, and a 4-year-old boy. Mallory was well-remembered for his courage, a memorial to Mallory and Irvine at the Chester Cathedral in Chester, England reads, “To remember two valiant men of Cheshire, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Corman Irvine who among the snows of Mount Everest adventured their lives even into death ‘Ascensiones in corde suo disposuit'” (translates to “Ascensions in his own heart” in Latin). George Leigh Mallory is believed to have died on the 8th or 9th of June in 1924.
The following is an excerpt from a documentary on the 1999 Mallory and Irvine expedition. Watch the team discover George Mallory’s body 75 years after he went missing on Mount Everest and give him a long-awaited “Death Zone” burial.