{"id":15371,"date":"2026-07-03T10:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T10:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15371"},"modified":"2026-07-03T10:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T10:35:10","slug":"the-mission-to-bring-everests-green-boots-body-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15371","title":{"rendered":"The Mission to Bring Everest\u2019s \u2018Green Boots\u2019 Body Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>The Indian government has definitively identified the mountain&#8217;s most famous dead body. Now comes the dangerous, expensive reality of hacking him out of the ice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"border-border-light border-t py-base-tight\">\n<div class=\"flex h-4 justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex gap-x-base-tight\">\n<div class=\"\"><button class=\"inline-flex shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full cursor-default bg-bg-surface hover:bg-bg-light focus:bg-bg-dark text-primary border border-solid border-border-light aria-pressed:bg-brand-primary aria-pressed:text-text-surface py-very-tight px-base-tight gap-tight font-semibold font-utility-2 opacity-50\" aria-label=\"Loading audio\" aria-pressed=\"false\" id=\"article-listen-button\" disabled=\"\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" viewbox=\"0 0 18 18\" fill=\"none\" class=\"\"><title>Listen to this article<\/title><path d=\"M12.5265 16.2C12.2326 16.2 12.0122 16.1265 11.7184 16.053C11.2775 15.9061 10.9102 15.6122 10.6898 15.2449C10.4694 14.8775 10.3959 14.4367 10.5428 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14.2898L5.17958 10.6898C5.17958 10.6163 5.10611 10.5428 5.10611 10.4694C5.03264 10.4694 4.95917 10.3959 4.8857 10.3224C4.81223 10.3224 4.73876 10.249 4.66529 10.249C4.59182 10.249 4.51836 10.249 4.44489 10.249H4.37142C3.9306 10.3959 3.63672 10.6898 3.41631 11.0571C3.26938 11.351 3.19591 11.7184 3.26938 12.0857C3.34285 12.3061 3.34284 12.5265 3.41631 12.6735L3.71019 13.849ZM13.2612 10.3224C13.1877 10.3224 13.1877 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224C13.1143 10.3224 13.0408 10.3224 12.9673 10.3959C12.8939 10.4694 12.8204 10.4694 12.8204 10.4694C12.7469 10.5428 12.7469 10.6163 12.7469 10.6898L11.7184 14.2898C11.6449 14.4367 11.7184 14.5837 11.7918 14.7306C11.8653 14.8775 12.0122 14.951 12.0857 15.0245C12.3796 15.0979 12.5265 15.0979 12.7469 15.0979C12.9673 15.0979 13.1877 15.0245 13.3347 14.8775C13.5551 14.8041 13.702 14.6571 13.849 14.4367C13.9959 14.2898 14.0694 14.0694 14.1428 13.849L14.5102 12.6735C14.5837 12.5265 14.5837 12.3061 14.6571 12.1592C14.7306 11.7918 14.6571 11.4245 14.5102 11.1306C14.2898 10.7633 13.9959 10.4694 13.5551 10.3224H13.4816C13.3347 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224 13.2612 10.3224Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"hidden sm:inline\">Listen<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">For nearly 30 years, climbers ascending the Northeast Ridge on Mount Everest walked past Green Boots, a universal, chilling landmark<!-- --> (Photo: Public Domain)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published July 3, 2026 04:33AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Indian government is planning a high-risk extraction mission to the Tibetan side of Mount Everest in summer 2026 to finally bring home the remains of a world-famous dead body known simply as \u201cGreen Boots.\u201d The plan involves an elite team of Sherpas to hack his body from a block of ice at 28,000 feet in an area known as the Death Zone\u2014and then carry him home.<\/p>\n<p>For nearly 30 years, climbers ascending the Northeast Ridge on Mount Everest shared a universal, chilling landmark. Deep within the hypoxic vacuum of the Death Zone, an area where oxygen is too low to sustain human life, there\u2019s a route that passes a rock alcove. Curled up as if taking a brief nap lies the frozen body of a climber wearing bright green mountaineering boots. Over the years, this body has become the most famous of the 200-some corpses on Everest.<\/p>\n<p>The body of Green Boots and others that fell to a similar fate<b> <\/b>are left on the side of the mountain because it\u2019s both too dangerous and expensive to recover them, experts say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reality of body recovery is that it\u2019s all about money,\u201d Everest guide Willie Benegas told <em>Outside<\/em>. The Argentinian-American mountaineer\u00a0has summited the mountain 14 times, first in 1999 and most recently in 2025, and has also participated in rescues and body recovery operations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt costs a lot of money to bring someone down, and if the family doesn\u2019t have the money, no one\u2019s going to do it,\u201d Benegas added.<\/p>\n<p>For years, no one knew exactly who Green Boots was, and no one could foot the bill for a recovery operation. So, his body stayed on the mountain. Until recently, experts believed he was either Tsewang Paljor or Dorje Morup, two Indian soldiers and members of the country\u2019s Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) who disappeared trying to climb the peak on May 10, 1996.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, the Indian government<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>identified the body as Morup, and now <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/eprocure.gov.in\/eprocure\/app?component=view&amp;page=WebTenderStatusLists&amp;service=direct&amp;sp=S6iSog%2F%2FznG2Q7vMtJkzOfw%3D%3D\">government documents show<\/a> that the ITBP is hiring an expedition team to bring his body home.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2746595\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"This picture taken on May 16, 2010 a corpse of a mountaineer being retrieved by unseen Nepalese sherpas during the Everest clean-up expedition\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2746595\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2152780422.jpg?width=1080&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x, https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2152780422.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2152780422.jpg?width=2048&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">This picture taken on May 16, 2010 a corpse of a mountaineer being retrieved by unseen Nepalese sherpas during the Everest clean-up expedition<\/span> (Photo: Namgyal Sherpa\/AFP via Getty Images))<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Why Is It So Difficult, Dangerous, and Expensive to Recover a Body on Everest?<\/h2>\n<p>For most climbers, the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.climbing.com\/travel\/how-much-does-it-cost-to-climb-everest-in-2025\/\">financial burden of climbing Mount Everest<\/a> is the more daunting\u00a0obstacle than the thin air, freezing temperatures, and steep climb. In 2025, it cost an average of $58,000 to attempt the world\u2019s highest peak. Coming from the north in China is more expensive than entering from southern Nepal, and climbing with an international guiding company is more expensive than hiring a local guide. Luxury expedition packages can cost even more\u2014routinely <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expedreview.com\/blog\/how-much-does-it-cost-to-climb-mt-everest\">upwards of $200,000<\/a>\u2014and even as high as $1 million.<\/p>\n<p>Paying to recover a climber\u2019s dead body can also be more expensive than climbing the mountain in the first place. In 2024, <em>Outside<\/em> spoke with local guides and rescuers about the arduous task of body recovery on Everest. Nepali Army Major Aditya Karki, who led an expedition that year to recover five bodies from the peak, estimated the cost for each body to be around $75,000 to $80,000 at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Recovering a body is far more difficult and dangerous than simply reaching the summit, Karki said. Even carrying a ten-pound oxygen canister to the top of Everest is exhausting. Hacking a frozen, 180-pound body out of the snow and ice, then lugging it down steep, technical terrain, sometimes under high winds or freezing temperatures, is another story.<\/p>\n<p>Body recoveries are particularly difficult on the Chinese side of Everest, where Green Boots is located. This route is harder than the standard South Col route from Nepal, and the Chinese permitting process is stricter and more complex. In 2026, for example, the Chinese government inexplicably closed the entire mountain to all international expeditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the north side, it\u2019s logistically harder to get a body down,\u201d Benegas said. \u201cHistorically, the bodies have stayed up there, especially if they\u2019re above Camp IV, like Green Boots. It\u2019s really technical on the ridge up there. You can\u2019t just drag a body; they have to be carried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Body recovery isn\u2019t just a physically demanding task, but a psychologically demanding one, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t think about it as just handling a dead body,\u201d Tshiring Jangbu, one of Karki\u2019s team members, told <em>Outside<\/em> in 2024. \u201cWe have to be respectful and safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2746599\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Map shows the route from Base Camp to the summit of Mount Everest\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1439\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2746599\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1316972212-scaled.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1316972212-scaled.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\"><span class=\"article__caption\">Map shows the route from Base Camp to the summit of Mount Everest<\/span> (Photo: Naeblys\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>What\u2019s Next for Dorje Morup?<\/h2>\n<p>As part of its recovery mission, the ITBP is seeking a highly specialized private agency with a proven track record in high-altitude logistics. A publicly issued government contract requires that the operational team consist of at least six elite Sherpas who have successfully summited Everest multiple times. Their mandate: extract the remains from the death zone, navigate the complex geopolitical bureaucracy of the Chinese side of Everest, and then deliver the body to Delhi, India\u2019s capital, no later than October 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The mission will be a dangerous one. By scheduling the extraction window between June and September 2026, the recovery team will work during Everest\u2019s monsoon season. This is a time when virtually all commercial expeditions have long since abandoned the mountain due to volatile, blinding storms that can dump feet of destabilizing snowfall onto the upper ridges within hours.<\/p>\n<p>It won\u2019t be easy, but if the ITBP team succeeds this summer, it will strip away the most macabre landmark in Himalayan climbing and finally bring a fallen climber home.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/everest\/everest-green-boots-body-recovery-dorje-morup\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Indian government has definitively identified the mountain&#8217;s most famous dead body. Now comes the dangerous, expensive reality of hacking him out of the ice. Listen to this articleListen For nearly 30 years, climbers ascending the Northeast Ridge on Mount Everest walked past Green Boots, a universal, chilling landmark (Photo: Public Domain) Published July 3,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}