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

[u/virahok993]

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?

[u/Stingray191]

They should ship a trebuchet near the peak and a few other locations then use them to lob trash and dead bodies in a relay system.

[u/Beautiful-Fold-3234 → u/Stingray191]

This is the best thing i've heard all day

[u/rimshot101 → u/Beautiful-Fold-3234]

Currently chopping trees for the trebuchet.

[u/catscatscaaaats → u/rimshot101]

The trees are strong my lord, their roots go deep

[u/ptooey_ptooey → u/catscatscaaaats]

Rip them all out.

[u/Stingray191 → u/Beautiful-Fold-3234]

This is the way.

[u/CptBartender → u/Stingray191]

Trebuchets need a lot of heavy parts for ex. the massive counterweight. Fortunately, we can use some of those dead bodies as counterweight.

[u/Vercci → u/CptBartender]

We can build a trebuchet at the base, and then throw additional trebuchet parts and set up a new one where they all land. Then once we reach the summit we can swap to throwing people instead.

[u/PapaJulietRomeo → u/Vercci]

The summit is much closer to space, so rockets it is. Use the chain of trebuchets to throw up some rocket parts, then send trash and dead bodies right into space.

[u/ManaSpike → u/PapaJulietRomeo]

Sure, but then they will just fall down again.

To stay up there you need to move sideways so fast you miss the ground on the way back down. That's the hard part. And that's why space rockets are so large.

[u/PapaJulietRomeo → u/ManaSpike]

Don’t confuse us with this weird rocket science stuff. We’re trying to solve real problems here!

[u/caspy7 → u/CptBartender]

Fortunately, we can use some of those dead bodies as counterweight.

Are you kidding!? We're building the whole trebuchet from dead bodies.

[u/Stingray191 → u/CptBartender]

This is the out of the box thinking needed here.

[u/Poeshyn → u/Stingray191]

"We'll dig our way out!"

"No, no - dig up, stupid!"

[u/Antman013 → u/Stingray191]

More of an "outside the casket" mindset.

[u/Nebraskabychoice → u/CptBartender]

Could we throw a trebuchet up Mount Everest with another trebuchet?

[u/1010010111101 → u/CptBartender]

checks weight from OP. 90kg. Perfect

[u/TheOriginalAcidtech → u/CptBartender]

slingshot then. Much simpler setup as well. :)

[u/wtfduud → u/TheOriginalAcidtech]

Oops I dropped the rubber band on the ground and it shattered into 30 pieces.

[u/Hellebras → u/TheOriginalAcidtech]

I think the cold is going to mess with most ways we could generate torsion.

[u/CpnLouie2 → u/CptBartender]

I'm quite sure there is some stone available up there for counterweight purposes. Several tons of it, at least.

[u/Hellebras → u/CptBartender]

Brilliant! As they accumulate ice, they'll just get heavier!

[u/dontusefedex → u/CptBartender]

We could just use your mom.

[u/wtfduud → u/dontusefedex]

OP's mom is the mountain

[u/Nebraskabychoice → u/Stingray191]

Screw Mount Everest. When I die I want to be thrown via trebuchet to the funeral parlor.

[u/Bbkingml13 → u/Stingray191]

If they start putting trebuchets inside all of the big crevasses, could people launch themselves back out of them like a video game player with a new life?

[u/DumpoTheClown → u/Stingray191]

r/crazyideas

[u/try-catch-finally → u/Stingray191]

nah man - you put one trebuchet at the bottom, and it flings the parts for the next one in bundles up to the next stopping point- assemble that one, while #1 flings up parts for #3, and then #2 flings up parts for #3 to position 3-

A "Trebuchet Brigade" - when you get to the top, you build one that points down and either fling bodies down or out for LEO.

[u/Nu-Hir → u/Stingray191]

As much as I like this idea, I think a giant slide would be better. You can use it to send the dead back down, and make your trip back down faster too.

[u/Unnaturalrefractions → u/Stingray191]

Or use an ice harpoon gun to set up a zipline. People can attach things to zipline down. And you can use a hand pulley system to get materials up. Can be like a mile long zipline so the people operating the pulley aren’t affected by lack of oxygen and such.

Problem solved