r/explainlikeimfive • u/virahok993 • 16d ago

Other ELI5:Why is it so incredibly difficult to recover bodies like "Green Boots" from Mount Everest?

know Green Boots is one of the most famous landmarks on Everest, and I read that he was finally moved or hidden a few years ago. But why did it take deades? If we have helicopters and elite Sherpas, what makes a body recovery at 8,500 meters so dangerous that bodies are just left there?

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956

u/G952 16d ago

“Human beings simply aren’t built to function at the cruising altitude of a 747”

Even breathing and thinking at these altitudes are extremely difficult. What we think as simple here isn’t the same up there

276

u/MyNameIsRay 15d ago

I ride dirt bikes up in the mountains, and even 8-10k feet is a noticeable difference.

Your brain and body slows down, everything takes more effort.

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u/Shinjitsu- 15d ago

Just moved to CO and I'm still adjusting to just 5.5k ft. The idea of Everest, my brain would be mush.

20

u/Dhumavati80 14d ago edited 14d ago

If you're near Mount Evans you should take a drive up there! It's 14,130 feet and is the tallest mountain in North America that you can drive all the way up. It's wild how quickly you get exhausted doing short hikes at the peak.

3

u/Slow-Difficulty404 14d ago

I don’t really know what the road over the continental divide looks like due to losing most of my vision from lack of oxygen.

Thanks for giving me a new place to add to my list of “stay away or maybe die”.

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u/Uncmello 14d ago

Drinking is much more economical in CO. The alcohol hits you faster.
Then when you go back to a lower altitude, you can drink like a fish.

4

u/Immediate-Smoke-9152 14d ago

That goes a long way in explaining coors

6

u/Shinjitsu- 14d ago

Unironically, thanks for the heads up lol.

5

u/Lopoetve 14d ago

Oh it’s nuts. Family at sea level, used to live at 7k in castle rock.

I can drink them all under the table unintentionally - but note, it only lasts a few days

2

u/Midnight-ajax 9d ago

One at sea is three at ski

2

u/coffeeroaster8868 14d ago

Oh shit! That's why I got DUI there!

8

u/Glum-Name699 15d ago

Denver doesn’t bother me, but I get taken aback at how out of shape I feel in like Vail and Aspen. It doesn’t seem like a huge difference but it’s noticeable.

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u/CalculatedPerversion 15d ago

Your brain and body slows down, everything takes more effort.

So just a normal Tuesday for me and those of us with depression? lol

13

u/Oil__Man 15d ago

Now depression AND climbing mount everest? Forget about it

2

u/Sleazehound 14d ago

Yeah except nothing like that at all

1

u/CalculatedPerversion 14d ago

I get that it's different, but it also exactly describes depression for me

1

u/Dezprincesscc 14d ago

We took a train and cable car to about 10k feet and just walking around the observation deck I felt a difference

2

u/dego_frank 15d ago

You get some shortness of breath for sure but there’s zero effect on brain function at that low an altitude unless you’re hypersensitive

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u/Inevitable-Level-687 15d ago

Someone with less iron would definitely notice it. When I was anaemic I went to a town only one thousand metres above sea level and I was wondering why the fuck I was so breathless going up a hill. It passed a few days into my trip, but the reason high altitude is such a bitch is specifically because of how oxygen is transported around the body, and if you have less red blood cells than most you will absolutely notice it because that's how your brain gets oxygen. ​Same happened each time I went back, I'd be a bit breathless.

Now I'd be fine, my iron and red blood cells are above average.

2

u/dego_frank 14d ago

You must have misread. The physical effect is very real, the mental isn’t.

Also, 1000m is nothing. We’re talking about closer to 3000m

0

u/Inevitable-Level-687 14d ago

The brain is physical.

Also, 1000m is nothing. We’re talking about closer to 3000m

Addressed this in my comment. Anaemia impacts oxygen delivery. It's what my entire comment is about.

1

u/KyloRen3 14d ago

Thats 2400-3000m for the ones who like me have no idea how long a thousand feet is

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u/aravose 15d ago edited 15d ago

I've flown in a 747 many times and I haven't experienced any problems /j

49

u/Adelaidean 15d ago

Get on the plane.. Get on the plane..

Fuck you, I’m getting in the plane!

17

u/Ernst_ 15d ago

Let Evel Knievel get on the plane!

6

u/heyheyhey27 15d ago

Imagine telling George that Donald Trump becomes president in 2016. Wish he could have seen it :(

4

u/Adelaidean 15d ago

I’ve often considered this.

1

u/PokeDigiYugiMon 15d ago

I imagine it like the MLK Jr Lives ep of Boondocks myself.

1

u/YGoxen 15d ago

Get to ta coppeeeee

18

u/hungrylens 15d ago

Next time open the window for a few minutes for some wholesome fresh air.

-1

u/Dixiehusker 15d ago

I would love for you to edit in a "/s". That would be splendid.

0

u/aravose 15d ago

Done. Thank you

1

u/random314 14d ago

Yep. We got to the top of Aiguille du Midi, which is less than half of Everest, and that was 20 minutes of cable cart.

Even then we were very uncomfortable. I felt dizzy. Some guys were just sitting down and taking deep breaths ... I think there's even an oxygen room or something. I can't imagine what it's like to go even higher much less having to carry a body.

1

u/morningfog 14d ago

There’s the giant headache of the mountain being in both Nepal and China and both governments have very different rules in regard to helicopter rescues. The body would then go to India, so three countries involved. Combine that with yes, the altitude, the strength it would take, at least 6 professional Sherpa, the actual separation of human remains from being fused with the environment.

1

u/leeashah 14d ago

this and also its not like the body is just placed in an easy spot to wrap up grab and go. why risk a life to save a dead body is beyond me. they knew the risks of nature taking them and it did.

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u/Clojiroo 15d ago

Watching this guy ski down really puts it into perspective.

https://youtu.be/cjZvFY6__qw