(Source-quora)
The Mt. Everest. Imagine yourself looking at it with the sound of a cold breeze gushing over your ears. The serenity, the calm, witnessing each breath of yours as you keep staring at the peak, and simultaneously feel a bit scared as you want to return home safe. In the midst of all this, your group head calls out to you, and BOOM.. you’re out of your thoughts. Cursing him in your mind you start climbing while you gasp for breath. As you keep walking, you feel a numbness in your lower limb as you’re in extreme cold conditions.
A fellow climber approaches you from behind and asks about any stories you’ve heard about Mt. Everest. You say no, as you aren’t in the mood to strike up a conversation with anyone at the moment.
The fellow climber increases pace to approach another person ahead and overhear him asking the same question to that person and you just shake your head in irritation. As you keep walking, gasping continuously, the group head announces to halt right there in your respective positions for a short break. Some days before your trek to Mt. Everest, you remember you’d read about the Green Boots, and the controversy surrounding it.
People have also told you that there are some horror stories which prevail on the mountain. Scared of your thoughts you swallow your saliva to wet your dried throat. While you’re resting your group head yells, “Guys, we’re going to the Northeast ridge of Mt. Everest tomorrow to see the Green Boots. All of you be ready tomorrow at 4.30 AM”.
But, what exactly is this thing called Green Boots?
- Story 1:
Green Boots is the body of an unidentified climber who was wearing green Koflach boots on the day he and two of his colleagues attempted to climb Mt. Everest. Tsewang Paljor is believed to be the name of the person who was wearing green boots on that day. A total of eight climbers died in the Everest Disaster in 1996. Five climbers from two mountaineering companies and three climbers from the Northeast route were on the list of the deceased. All these 8 people were caught in a blizzard, while they were attempting to summit.
- Story 2:
Another possibility is raised in line with the green boots theory. The green boots are also anticipated by Dorje Morup, a climber in the group. In a 1997 article titled “The Indian Ascent of Qomolungma by the North Ridge” was published in the Himalayan Journal. P. M. Das, the deputy leader of the journal wrote that- by the lights of their head-torches at 19:30- two climbers were spotted coming down. Unfortunately, they couldn’t be seen later. On the next day, the leader of the second summit group radioed the base camp that he’d witnessed Morup moving slowly between the First and Second Steps. He had refused to wear gloves over his frost-bitten hands.
More often than not, there are horror stories revolving around such famous scenic beauties. The tallest mountains are surrounded by haunting tales. Mt. Everest and K2 are no exceptions. These 8000-meter peaks have a dark side for climbers. We also get to hear stories of hardships, defeats, and deaths on the summit. The environment up there on the hill is somewhat unpleasant. For climbers, death is a constant possibility. More than 220 people have died while climbing Everest and have not been retrieved. As the circumstances aren’t that favorable, many bodies lie over there, frozen. The hill is sometimes referred to as a high-altitude cemetery due to the bodies lying over there.
Let’s go through some mysterious and creepy events on the Mt. Everest:
1. Sleeping beauties:
The sight on the Everest is appalling. Not only due to the environment but also because of the hundreds of frozen corpses. Carrying a body down is dangerous and expensive, so most of them are simply left on the mountain only to be converted into mummies. The most famous body is the sleeping beauty. Their actual name is Francys Arsentiev, she was a Hawaiian woman, the first female to scale Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen. But, she became exhausted from oxygen deprivation and collapsed on the slope.
2. The Vanishing Snowboarder:
Imagine riding down on a snowboard on Everest. Yes, this is true. A person named Marco Siffredi did this adventure as he rode down to Advanced Base Camp at North Col. Then he rode down the Norton Coulior for two hours. The following year he wanted to achieve something more. So he decided to tumble down the more challenging Hornbein Couloir for two hours straight. The local Sherpas tried their level best to persuade Siffredi to not go as he was exhausted but he went anyway, to never return.
3. Everest Rainbow Valley:
The Everest Rainbow Valley sounds like a place that is colorful, beautiful, and full of fun. But in reality, it isn’t the case. No doubt the place is colorful, but where do these colors from? A horrible number of deaths of climbers who lost their lives in terms of ascending or descending over the peak. It is a part of the peak that lies in the Everest Death Zone. The place looks colorful because of the jackets worn by the climbers during their voyages.
4. Constant debris:
As the levels of global warming are increasing day by day, the snowfall is getting lesser. As a result, the mountain sheds a layer of ice and rock which collapses from the mountain. Everest isn’t a regular mountain, you need to be aware of some technicalities to survive and dodge any stuff that is thrown by the mountain at you.
5. Reaching the summit is an early experience:
Many people think reaching the top would be an experience to die for. But, it gives the feel of death in real. You feel way out of help, as no one is around, oxygen levels are minimal, and an unfriendly vibe. The wind adds to the suspense, due to low oxygen levels all you care is about yourself at the moment. You want to reach down safe and sound is what goes on in your mind.
When was Green Boots discovered?
Green Boots was discovered in 2001 for the very first time. The Sherpas initially thought that the body belonged to a Chinese mountaineer who had passed away some 6 months earlier. Quite later it came to notice that the body was of an Indian who passed away in 1996, due to a landslide that claimed the lives of 8 climbers. Rumors followed that Tsewang Paljor who was a member of the first Indian expedition team that attempted to climb Everest, was Green Boots.
He was a 28-year-old Indo-Tibetan climber from Sakti, a small mountain town in North India. He was a climber, and a border officer grown up in the Himalayas. Due to his job as a border police, he was pretty confident about himself in successfully climbing Everest. Not only reached the summit, but he aimed to become the first Indian to climb Everest from the North side. Despite being informed that the weather conditions are worsening up there, Paljor and two of his co-workers decide not to give up. The rest is history which we know in the name of Green Boots.
Conclusion:
As we have tried our best to unlock the mystery behind Green Boots, we hope NOT to witness any more such incidences. A request to all mountaineering enthusiasts: please follow all the safety precautions and come back safe. You guys are the pride of the nation and we respect you for your dedication, but safety and precautions also should come into the priority list. The story of the green boots remains a mystery for most of us, but we hope we’ve cracked it right for our readers.
One needs exceptional courage and grit to face dangers like climbing a difficult terrain, but that is what keeps the mountaineers going, isn’t it? Adrenaline levels shoot up just by the thought of it! To the mountaineers reading this article, climb that mountain you aspire to, but be safe, follow instructions, no impulsive decisions, and do not underestimate the weather. All the best and happy climbing!!!
