Image source, Tshering Gangpo Sherpa
- author, Rama Parajuli
- Role, BBC Nepali
Tshering Jangpo Sherpa can’t forget the body he saw just metres from the summit of Mount Lhotse in the Himalayas more than a decade ago.
The Nepali was working as a guide for a German climber trying to climb the world’s fourth-highest mountain in May 2012. The body blocking their path was believed to be Milan Sedlacek, the Czech mountaineer who had died a few days earlier.
Mr. Sherpa was curious to know why the Czech climber had died so close to the summit. One of the gloves that had been on the frozen body was missing.
“His bare hand probably slipped off the rope, and he probably died after losing his balance and hitting the rock,” the guide says.
The body remained in place – and every climber who climbed Lhotse after that had to step over it.
Mr Sherpa, 46, had no idea then that he would be returning 12 years later to recover the climber’s body, as part of a team of 12 military personnel and 18 Sherpas deployed by the Nepalese army to clear the high Himalayas.
More than 300 deaths have occurred in the Everest region since climbing records began a century ago, and many of those bodies still remain. The death toll continues to rise: Eight people have been killed so far this year; 18 have died in 2023, according to Nepal’s tourism department.
The government first launched the cleanup campaign in 2019, which included removing some bodies of dead climbers. But this year was the first time authorities set a goal of recovering five bodies from the so-called “death zone,” above 8,000 metres (26,247 feet).
In the end, the team – which relied on water, chocolate and satu (a mixture of chickpea flour, barley and wheat) – was able to recover four bodies.
A skeleton and 11 tons of rubbish were removed from low altitudes after a 54-day operation that ended on June 5.
“Nepal has gained a bad reputation for garbage and dead bodies that pollute the Himalayas on a dangerous scale,” Major Aditya Karki, commander of this year’s operation, told BBC Nepal.
The campaign also aims to improve safety for climbers.
Major Karki says many are shocked to see the bodies – last year, a climber was unable to move for half an hour after seeing a body on his way up Mount Everest.
Image source, Tshering Gangpo Sherpa
Cost and Difficulty
Many people cannot afford to recover the bodies of their relatives who died in the mountains of Nepal. Even if they can afford it, most private companies refuse to help recover bodies from the death zone because it is too dangerous.
The military has set aside five million rupees ($37,400; £29,000) this year to retrieve each body. It takes 12 people to lower a body from a height of 8,000 metres, and each of them needs four cylinders of oxygen. A cylinder costs more than $400, so the oxygen alone costs $20,000.
Each year, there is only a window of about 15 days during which climbers can ascend and descend from an altitude of 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 locating the bodies, the team mostly worked after dark because they did not want to disturb other climbers. In the Everest region, which also consists of Mount Lhotse and Mount Nuptse, there is only one ladder and one rope for people ascending and descending from base camp.
“It was very difficult to bring the bodies back from the death zone. I vomited acidic water several times. Others kept coughing and others had headaches because we spent hours and hours at very high altitudes,” Sherpa says.
At 8,000 meters, even the strongest Sherpas can only carry 25 kilograms (55 pounds), less than 30% of what they can carry at lower altitudes.
Image source, Tshering Gangpo Sherpa
The body, found near the summit of Mount Lhotse, 8,516 metres (27,000 feet) high, had discoloured after being exposed to sun and snow for 12 years. Sherpa says the body was half buried under the snow.
The bodies of the four climbers were found in the same position they died in. Their frozen state meant that their limbs could not be moved, making transport even more difficult.
Nepalese law states that all bodies must be kept in the best condition before being returned to authorities – and any damage could result in penalties.
The cleanup team arranged a rope system to lower the bodies gradually, as pushing them from behind or pulling them from the front was not possible. Sometimes the bodies stuck in the icy rocky terrain, and pulling them back was a laborious task.
Mr Sherpa said it took 24 hours to transport the body, believed to be that of the Czech climber, to the nearest camp, about 3.5 kilometres away. The team then spent another 13 hours transporting the body to a lower camp.
The next stop for the bodies was a helicopter flight to Kathmandu, but the crew was stuck in Namche for five days due to bad weather. They arrived safely in the capital on June 4.
identification
The four bodies and the skeleton were kept in a hospital in Kathmandu.
The military found identity documents on two bodies – Czech mountaineer Milan Sedlacek and American climber Ronald Yearwood, who died in 2017. The Nepalese government will contact the respective embassies.
The identification of the other two bodies is now underway.
Sherpa climbers and guides are keen to track the locations and identities of the missing climbers, so they have provided possible information about some of the bodies. They believe all the bodies are foreigners, but the government has not confirmed this.
About 100 Sherpas have died in the Himalayas since records began, so many families have been waiting for years to perform the last Buddhist rites for their loved ones.
Authorities said they would bury the bodies if no one came forward to claim them within three months of identifying them, regardless of whether the bodies were foreign or Nepali.
Mr. Sherpa first climbed the Himalayas when he was 20 years old. During his career, he has climbed Mount Everest three times and Mount Lhotse five times.
“He says that mountaineers have gained great fame through mountaineering. The Himalayas have given us many opportunities.”
“By undertaking this special mission of recovering bodies, it is time to give back to the great Himalayas.”
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