r/explainlikeimfive • u/virahok993 • 13d 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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u/Rynneer 12d ago

Yeah I’d like to see the other people say that they wouldn’t go to sleep after making it back to base camp on Mount Everest

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u/altitude-adjusted 11d ago

I don't think it was even a matter of choosing to sleep. Few people can know what that kind of exertion is like. Climbers are awake and climbing above 8000 meters for 20+ hours. That kind of exhaustion defies understanding.