to die

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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The phrase, “Kick the Bucket” was first mentioned in The Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue, published in 1785, and defines it as simply meaning, “To die.”. This idiom, which may imply a hanging death either by one’s own hand or execution is of unknown origin, though there are many theories on what spawned the widespread use of this popular saying.
Again in 1823, the phrase was published, this time in John Badcock’s Slang Dictionary along with a brief, plausible explanation: “One Bolsover having hung himself from a beam while standing on a pail, or bucket, kicked the vessel away in order to pry into futurity and it was all UP with him from that moment: Finis.” This anecdote about a Bolsover (Bolsover is a town in England, in this instance the word is used to describe a resident of Bolsover) hanging himself with the aid of a bucket may be the actual origin story of the phrase, or just an early example of an incredibly crass and morbid joke. Either way, it would make perfect sense to most that the term, “Kicking the Bucket” would come from a person dying at the end of a noose once a bucket is removed, or kicked out from underneath them. However, many more obscure explanations have been offered up over the years.
Alternatively, in past centuries, the word “bucket” has been used interchangeably with the words “beam” and “yolk”, therefore, it is speculated that the saying refers to the “beam” or “bucket” on which pigs are hung to be slaughtered. In this instance, “Kick the Bucket” would describe the struggling, suspended pigs kicking the beam they are hung on before death.
It could even date as far back as the 16th century, to a Latin Proverb known as ‘Capra Scyrica’. Found in the Emblemata, a collection of Latin Proverbs published by Italian writer and jurist Alciati in 1524, ‘Capra Scyrica’ reads, “Because you have spoilt your fine beginnings with a shameful end and turned your service into harm, you have done what the she-goat does when she kicks the bucket that holds her milk and with her hoof squanders her own riches.”. This, of course, is a more metaphorical interpretation regarding the death of one’s reputation, as opposed to one’s actual demise; However, it is possible the phrase did arise from a less literal origin.
Catholics insist this phrase came from their religion’s traditional use of holy water buckets, postmortem. In Relics of Poetry, The Right Reverend Abbot Horne explains, ” After death, when a body has been laid out… the holy water bucket was brought to the church and put at the feet of the corpse. When friends came to pray… they would sprinkle the body with holy water.” As you may already know, when people die, their muscles relax completely which would inevitably cause them to stretch out their legs. Reverend Horne confidentially asserted, “It is easy to see how such a saying as “Kicking the Bucket” came about. Many other explanations of this saying have been given by persons who are unacquainted with Catholic custom.”

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