Mapped: The deadly geography of Mount Everest
Mapped: The deadly geography of Mount Everest
Some bodies are known landmarks, as Green Boots used to be: “The German” on the second step of the north face route, the “Saluting Man” near the south summit, the “Icefall Body”, in the Khumbu glacier field, and “Sleeping Beauty” on the southeast ridge, until she too was removed from view in 2007.
Zooming out from individual casualties to the overall death toll, the dead of Everest start to form a morbid geography of sorts, which does more than simply horrify. As these maps show, patterns emerge, and lessons can be learned.
The most obvious one is from the sheer number of dead: to be highly motivated is not enough. To climb Everest and make it down alive, you must also come highly trained and prepared, be of sound mind and judgment, and have an appreciable dose of good luck.