As the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest, standing at 8,848.86 meters, is considered the ultimate challenge for countless mountaineering enthusiasts. However, the climate in the Everest region is harsh, with extreme cold and low oxygen levels. Many have lost their lives in the quest to conquer Everest, leaving them forever resting on its slopes.
According to statistics, from 1921 to 2021, a total of 305 people have died while attempting to summit Everest. Among them, one of the most famous victims is “Green Boots.” For over 20 years, many climbers have spotted “Green Boots” on their way to the summit, but no one has ever managed to bring him down.
“Green Boots” is not the victim’s real name, but he was given this name because, upon his death, he was wearing a red climbing suit, blue climbing pants, and green mountaineering boots, with his arms crossed over his chest and legs curled up, covered by a thick blanket of snow and ice.
The climber appeared to be sleeping. He lay on his side, sheltered under a rock, with his hood pulled over his face, arms crossed in front of his chest as if to ward off the cold.
The true identity of “Green Boots” has not been officially confirmed by any country. However, for a long time, the outside world often believed that “Green Boots” was 26-year-old Tsewang Paljor from India.
Tsewang Paljor was born at the foot of the Himalayas and grew up to become a border police officer. In 1996, he used his savings to buy a mountaineering kit, joined a professional climbing team, and began the challenge of summiting Everest.
Initially, the climbing team followed a fixed route, and everything seemed to be going well. However, at an altitude of 7,000 meters above sea level, Tsewang Paljor became exhausted. Due to a lack of systematic physical training, his fatigue was not surprising.
As his teammates moved faster, Paljor fell behind, and soon he found himself separated from the group. Previous experiences indicated that losing one’s teammates on the way to Everest often led to dire consequences.
Indeed, not long after being separated, Paljor was caught in a snowstorm. The blizzard obscured the path ahead, and the extreme cold left him utterly exhausted. He could only find a spot against the cliff to avoid the storm and rest to recover his strength.
The harsh environment at the summit of Everest exceeds human imagination.
He curled his legs up, hugging his chest, trying to maintain his body temperature as best as he could. However, he was so tired that he wanted to sleep for a while.
Surprisingly, after falling asleep this time, Paljor never woke up again. Due to the year-round snow and ice covering Mount Everest, and the extremely low temperatures, Paljor’s body has been remarkably well-preserved.
For over 20 years, every summer, a large number of climbers pass by, and upon seeing “Green Boots”, they can only silently pray for him, unable to do anything to help.
Determined climbers on Everest.
Why Can’t They Bring Him Down When They Descend?
In fact, the harsh environment at the summit of Everest exceeds human imagination. At altitudes above 7,000 meters, the air is extremely thin, about 30% less than at normal ground level. In such extreme cold, “Green Boots” has essentially turned into a block of ice and his weight may far exceed what it was when he was alive. In such harsh conditions, many people even find it difficult to breathe normally, let alone carry a heavy frozen body down the mountain.
From a practical standpoint, if you want to bring “Green Boots” down, you would need to form a professional mountain rescue team and bring specialized equipment to complete the task. However, such an operation requires a significant amount of money, and who would be willing to shoulder this financial burden?
The Everest climbing permit costs $11,000 for foreigners and 75,000 Rupees for Nepalese. Climbers have to pay between $50,000 to $90,000 to reach the summit of Everest. An experienced mountain guide can earn up to $12,000 during a 45-day climbing season each year.
It is said that many years later, Paljor’s brother learned that his brother had died on Everest, and he also considered bringing his brother’s body down. However, as soon as he inquired about the climbing costs, which were already a significant amount, he had no choice but to abandon this intention, as ordinary families simply cannot afford such high expenses.
In addition to “Green Boots”, there are two other famous bodies on Mount Everest, one is “Sleeping Beauty” on the north slope, and the other is “Rester” on the south slope.
“Sleeping Beauty” is an American climber named Francys Distefano-Arsentiev. In 1998, she and her husband reached the summit of Everest; however, on the way down, she lost the ability to move due to a lack of energy. Francys’s husband decided to continue the descent alone to prepare supplies for her rescue. Unfortunately, Francys could not wait for him to return, as her husband fell into a deep crevasse on his way back. In the end, Francys rested there forever.
“Rester,” whose real name is Sharp, was a British mountaineer. In 2006, Sharp took two 4-liter oxygen tanks to summit Everest. Under normal circumstances, climbers should carry five oxygen tanks of the same specifications. When he was 300 meters from the summit, Sharp suffered from oxygen deficiency and difficulty breathing. At that time, 40 people passed by him, but no one offered to help. Thus, Sharp died from lack of oxygen.
