Mount Everest is a graveyard. That’s the blunt truth. When you see those glossy photos of climbers standing on the summit, bathed in golden morning light, you aren't seeing the frozen figures just a few feet off the main trail. Estimates vary because, frankly, counting is hard at 29,000 feet, but most experts and Himalayan database records suggest there are over 200 bodies still on Everest. Some say it's closer to 300.
It’s heavy.
People think of recovery as a simple logistics problem. It isn't. At the "Death Zone" altitude—anything above 8,000 meters—the human body is literally dying. Every breath provides about a third of the oxygen you get at sea level. Your brain swells. Your lungs fill with fluid. In that environment, moving a frozen body that weighs 150 pounds (but feels like 400 because it's a literal block of ice) is often a suicide mission for the living. So, they stay.
The Logistics of Why They Stay Put
Why don't we just bring them down? Honestly, it’s mostly about physics and the brutal economy of effort. To move one body down from the South Col or the Northeast Ridge, you need a team of about six to ten Sherpas. They have to chip the body out of the blue ice, which can take hours of grueling manual labor. Then, they have to sled it down technical terrain where one slip kills everyone on the rope.
It's a matter of risk.
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Families often want their loved ones back, understandably. But the cost of a recovery mission can easily top $70,000, and there is zero guarantee of success. In 1984, two Nepalese climbers died trying to recover the body of Hannelore Schmatz. She had been the first woman to die on the upper slopes of Everest. For years, her body remained sitting up, leaning against her backpack, eyes open, hair fluttering in the wind, visible to anyone taking the Southern route. Eventually, the wind just pushed her over the Kangshung Face. She’s gone now.
Nature has a way of "cleaning" the mountain, but it's slow. Very slow.
Famous Markers and the Ethics of the Trail
You’ve probably heard of "Green Boots." For nearly two decades, the body of an Indian climber—widely believed to be Tsewang Paljor, who died in the 1996 storm—served as a macabre distance marker. To get to the summit from the North side, you had to step over his neon green koflach boots. Imagine that. You're exhausted, oxygen-deprived, and your primary landmark is a dead man.
In 2014, "Green Boots" disappeared. Most believe he was moved or covered with stones by Chinese climbers to give him some dignity, or perhaps the wind finally claimed him.
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Then there’s Sleeping Beauty. Francys Arsentiev was the first American woman to summit Everest without bottled oxygen in 1998. On the way down, she became separated from her husband. Two climbers, Ian Woodall and Cathy O'Dowd, found her. She was still alive but fading fast. They stayed with her, giving up their own summit attempt, but they couldn't move her. She was too far gone. For nine years, she lay right where she died, visible to everyone. In 2007, Woodall returned, wrapped her in an American flag, and moved her out of the sight of the main climbing path.
Recent Changes and Climate Impact
Climate change is changing the math on how many bodies still on Everest. As the glaciers melt and the ice thins, bodies that have been missing for decades are literally popping out of the ground.
- The Khumbu Icefall: This is a moving river of ice. Bodies lost here often vanish into crevasses only to reappear years later at the bottom near Base Camp.
- The East Face: More remote, less traveled, but the melting permafrost is exposing gear and remains from early 20th-century expeditions.
- The South Col: This is essentially a high-altitude junk yard. It’s flat enough for bodies to accumulate alongside shredded tents and empty oxygen bottles.
The Nepalese government is in a weird spot. They need the permit money—roughly $11,000 per person just to start—but the "Death Cloud" reputation is bad for business. Recently, the Nepali Army has started annual "Clean Mountain" campaigns. They’ve brought down tons of trash and several bodies, but they can't get to the ones near the peak. Not safely.
The Reality of 2024 and 2025 Seasons
The last few years have been some of the deadliest on record. Overcrowding is a massive factor. When you have a "traffic jam" at the Hillary Step, people run out of oxygen. When they run out of oxygen, they stop moving. When they stop moving, they become part of the mountain.
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In 2023 alone, 18 people died. That is a staggering number. Some were recovered, but many were not. If you go today, you will see them. You might see a colorful puffer jacket poking out of the snow. You might see a boot. Most climbers just put their heads down and keep walking. It’s not that they’re heartless; it’s that if you stop to help someone who is already past the point of no return, you will die too.
What This Means for Future Climbers
If you're planning on heading to the Himalayas, you have to reconcile with the fact that you are entering a place where the normal rules of humanity are suspended. You are visiting a high-altitude cemetery.
The number of bodies on Everest isn't just a statistic for a trivia night. It’s a warning. It represents a failure of luck, a failure of equipment, or a failure of judgment. Most often, it's just the mountain being the mountain.
Actionable Insights for the Ethical Traveler:
- Respect the Remains: If you encounter a body, do not take photos. It sounds obvious, but "dark tourism" is a real problem. Treat the site with the same reverence you would a graveyard back home.
- Support Recovery Efforts: Organizations like the Himalayan Database track these statistics to improve safety. Donating to Sherpa-led initiatives that focus on mountain cleaning can help manage the environmental and human impact.
- Audit Your Guide: Before booking, ask about their body recovery policy. High-end outfits have protocols for what happens if a client (or staff member) passes away. Lower-budget "no-frills" expeditions often leave people behind because they lack the resources to do otherwise.
- Know Your Limits: Most deaths occur on the descent. If you are 100% spent at the summit, you are already a liability. Training specifically for "negative vertical" (descending while exhausted) is the best way to ensure you don't become part of the count.
The count of how many bodies still on Everest will likely continue to grow as more people attempt the peak with less experience. The mountain doesn't care about your permit or your social media following. It only cares about gravity and the cold. To climb Everest is to accept that you might stay there forever, becoming a landmark for the next person who thinks they can beat the odds.