As ice melts, Everest's 'death zone' gives up its ghosts

Mount Everest

In the high reaches of Mount Everest, climate change is causing snow and ice to recede, unveiling the remains of more than 300 mountaineers who perished pursuing their summit dreams since the 1920s. This season alone, eight lives were lost. Among them, a team undertook a perilous mission not for the peak but to recover five bodies, including skeletal remains, as part of Nepal's cleanup efforts. Led by Nepal's military and climbers, they faced treacherous conditions, using axes and boiling water to free bodies frozen in ice, a process taking hours for each. These efforts are intensified by global warming, which thins snow cover and exposes more bodies and debris, stark reminders in the climbers' sacred path. Despite challenges and costs, these efforts are deemed necessary to preserve Everest's sanctity and ensure future climbers' safety.