Bodies of climbers finally recovered from ‘death zone’

Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa can’t forget the dead body he saw just metres from the top of Mount Lhotse in the Himalayas more than a decade ago.

The Nepalese man was serving as a guide for a German climber attempting to climb the world’s fourth-highest mountain in May 2012. The body blocking their path is believed to be that of Milan Sedlacek, a Czech climber who had died just days earlier.

Mr Sherpa was curious why the Czech climber had died so close to the summit. One of the gloves on the frozen body was missing.

“His bare hand could have slipped off the rope,” the guide said. “He could have died after losing his balance and hitting the rock.”

The body remained in place – and any climbers wishing to summit Lhotse thereafter had to step over it.

Little did Mr Sherpa, 46, know that 12 years later he would return to retrieve the climber’s body, as part of a team of twelve soldiers and 18 Sherpas deployed by the Nepalese army to clear the high Himalayas.

More than 300 people have died in the Everest region since recorded climbing there a century ago, and many of those bodies are still visible. The death toll continues to rise: Eight people have died this year; and 18 will die in 2023, according to Nepal’s tourism department.

The government first launched a cleanup campaign in 2019, which included retrieving some of the bodies of deceased climbers. But this year is the first time authorities have set a target of retrieving five bodies from the so-called “death zone”, at an altitude of over 8,000m (26,247 feet).

Eventually, the rescue team – who lived on only water, chocolate and sattu, a mixture of chickpeas, barley and flour – found four bodies.

One skeleton and 11 tons of trash were cleared at lower altitudes after a 54-day operation that ended on June 5.

“Nepal has been given a bad name because of the garbage and dead bodies that have polluted the Himalayas to such an extent,” Major Aditya Karki, who is leading this year’s operation, told BBC Nepali.

The campaign also aims to improve safety for climbers.

Major Karki said many people were shocked to see the body – last year a climber was left unable to move for half an hour after seeing a body on his way to the summit of Everest.

Many people cannot afford to retrieve the bodies of loved ones who have died in the mountains of Nepal. Even if they could afford it, most private companies refuse to help retrieve bodies from the death zone because it is too dangerous.

The army has allocated five million rupees ($37,400; £29,000) this year to bring each body out. It takes twelve people to lower a body from 8,000m, each requiring four oxygen tanks. A tank costs more than $400, meaning $20,000 is needed for oxygen alone.

There are only about 15 days a year when climbers can ascend and descend from 8,000 meters, because the wind slows down during the transition between wind cycles. In the death zone, wind speeds often exceed 100 kilometers per hour.

After finding the bodies, the team worked mostly after dark because they did not want to disturb other climbers. In the Everest region, including Lhotse and Nuptse, there is only one ladder and cable car for climbers to and from base camp.

“It was very difficult to bring the bodies back from the death zone,” said Sherpa. “I threw up sour water many times. Others were coughing continuously and others had headaches because we had been at such a high altitude for hours.”

At 8,000m, even healthy Sherpas can only carry a maximum of 25kg (55 pounds), less than 30% of their capacity at lower altitudes.

The body near the summit of Lhotse, 8,516m high, had discoloured after 12 years of exposure to sunlight and snow. Mr Sherpa said half the body was buried in snow.

All four bodies of the climbers were found in the same position as when they died. Their frozen state meant their limbs were immobile, making transport more difficult.

Nepalese law requires that all bodies must be in good condition before being returned to authorities – any damage can result in punishment.

The cleanup crew arranged a rope system to gradually lower the bodies, as it was impossible to push them from behind or pull them from the front. Sometimes the bodies got stuck in the rocky, icy terrain and pulling them out was a difficult task.

It took 24 hours non-stop to bring the body believed to be that of the Czech climber to the nearest base camp, just 3.5km away, Mr Sherpa said. The team then spent another 13 hours bringing the body down to another lower camp.

The bodies’ next stop was a helicopter ride to Kathmandu, but the crew was stuck in the town of Namche for five days due to bad weather. They arrived safely in the capital on June 4.

Four bodies and skeletons were kept at a hospital in Kathmandu.

The army found identification papers on two bodies – Czech climber Milan Sedlacek and American climber Ronald Yearwood, who died in 2017. The Nepalese government will contact relevant embassies.

The process of identifying the remaining two bodies is still underway.

Climbers and Sherpa guides keep track of the possible locations and identities of lost climbers, so they have provided potential information about some of the bodies. They believe all of the bodies are foreigners, but the government has yet to confirm this.

About 100 Sherpas have died in the Himalayas since records began, leaving many families waiting years to perform the final Buddhist rites for their loved ones.

Authorities say they will bury bodies if no one comes forward to claim them within three months of identification – regardless of whether the bodies are foreign or Nepalese.

Mr. Sherpa first climbed in the Himalayas when he was 20. During his career, he climbed Mount Everest three times and Lhotse five times.

“Mountaineers have become famous for climbing. The Himalayas have given us so many opportunities,” he said.

“By doing this special job of collecting dead bodies, it is time for me to give back to the great Himalayas.”