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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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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