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Everest Green Boots
Climbing Mount Everest is the ultimate objective for every mountain climber from all over the world. There are many success stories of climbers successfully trekking to the summit and tragic stories like Everest Green Boots.
Everest Green Boots is the tragic story of the despair and triumph of the climbers aiming to climb the world’s highest summit. The name comes from the mountain climber who passed away on the way to the summit and was struggling with cold and lack of oxygen as his body was withered, but what everyone’s eyes went to was his shiny green boots. So, let’s learn more about the story of Everest Green Boots.
Who is Green Boots?
The Climber with the Green Boots or the Everest Green Boots’s name was Tsewang Paljor. Before he became famous, Paljor was a veteran soldier in the Indian police regiment and was also a very passionate climber. Over the years, he trekked several hills and mountains across the globe, but his ultimate destination was, one day, climbing the summit of Mount Everest.
His birthplace was a small Indian village named Sakti, and his birthdate was April 10, 1968. He was surrounded by rugged peaks and mountains in his town and was often used to climbing mountains to bring supplies for his family to his home, which was also why he was so motivated to climb tall mountains. Immediately after he became an adult, he started climbing local mountains and peaks around India. Soon enough, climbing mountains became more than a hobby, as many people close to him believed it was his calling.
Tsewang Paljor was fearless, as he knew how to face challenges and difficulties during his expeditions to different mountains. Such fearlessness also led him to become the head constable of the Indo-Tibetian Border Police. This was his dream as he was able to protect his country and get close to some of the nearest mountains in Tibet, India, and Nepal, including his biggest dream, climbing Mount Everest.
The ITBP’s main job is to patrol and protect the 2,167-mile (3,488-kilometer) border between India and China. With his job, he can protect the illegal activities between the border and climb some of the tough terrains at high altitudes on the Indian-China border. This job was also appropriate for him to prepare for the ultimate expedition of Mount Everest, which he had dreamed of climbing since his teenage years.
How did Tsewang Paljor die in Mount Everest?
The Green Boots, or Tsewang Paljor, was one of the victims of the 1966 Everest expedition disaster. Paljor and seven other brave policemen decided to trek the most dangerous mountain in the world at the time, Mount Everest. This was the first attempt to climb the summit and succeed from the hazardous northern side of an Indian expedition team. The expedition was led by Commander Mohinder Singh and consisted of six members, including Tsewang Paljor, Dorje Morup, and Tsewang Smanla.
During the expedition towards the summit, the blizzard engulfed the mountains, leading to snowstorms and avalanches. The conditions for the trek were not suitable, and there was a high risk of continuing forward. Among the regiment, the three members, including Commander Mohinder Singh, decided to retreat toward the Base Camp, whereas Paljor and the other two decided to march toward the summit. It was not a good idea as the condition deteriorated even more. The three groups continued to March to the top of the summit, and around 4 pm, they informed their leader via radio that they had reached the summit.
However, due to poor visibility, they were misinformed about the exact summit and only reached the cave that was 400m below the summit. Just after the report on the radio, the communication became dead silent, and it was reported that the storm got even worse. They vanished into the storm and never reached the high camp; however, their teammates found their headlamps in the Second Step. The blistering combination of blizzards and avalanches in 1996 is still one of the most significant mishaps in Everest and is popularly known as the 1996 Everest Disaster.
Death Zone in Everest
At the highest points on Earth, there is an elevation where the human body cannot function properly for a long time. In the high elevation, mainly above the altitude of 8000, the death zone is where mountaineers planning to climb to the summit face life-threatening challenges. Please remember that humans can’t survive the external support systems in the death zone.
Even though air contains 21% oxygen at all altitudes, the lower air pressure at high altitudes allows the oxygen molecules to spread apart, referred to as Thin Air. At the summit of Mount Everest, the air pressure is only about one-third of that at sea level. This means there is only one-third of the oxygen available as there is at sea level.
The lack of oxygen is tough for the human body. Humans adapt to living at lower altitudes, with enough oxygen to sustain life. When exposed to the low-oxygen environment of the death zone, our bodies struggle because we need oxygen for vital bodily functions. Hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, is one of the most critical factors contributing to our health deterioration in the death zone.
The brain and other organs are affected by oxygen levels, and their functioning is seriously impaired when they don’t get enough. As humans go up to higher altitudes, they experience various complications. They may have mild symptoms of altitude sickness like dizziness, headaches, and shortness of breath. However, as they go further into the death zone, the effects become more serious, leading to impaired judgment, confusion, loss of consciousness, and, eventually, death. The seriousness of these effects depends on how long and how much oxygen is lacking.
Why Green Boots is the Famous Body?
When Tsewang Paljor went missing after the 1996 blizzards in Everest, many rescue teams were sent to find his condition or find his body. However, it took five years till his body was resurfaced near the cave where his body was beneath a huge rock surrounded by snowfall, but his green boots were visible clearly. At first, the rescue team thought it was thought to be a Chinese climber who lost their life in 1996, but later, it was confirmed to be the head constable Paljor.
When the news of the body found on Mount Everest wearing Green Boots spread across the media, many climbers and expedition experts wanted to check out the body. He became famous for the term “Everest Green Boots” or just Green Boots due to the visible footwear. Over the years, the Green Boots became a landmark, so much so that the cave near his body is now referred to as the Green Boots Cave. Many climbers reach the cave and plant flowers in honor of brave policemen. Lots of oxygen supplies around the cave show climbers might often rest briefly there and change their oxygen supplies to continue climbing to the summit.
What has happened to Green Boots’s body?
A different theory is going on about what has happened to the Green Boots body. In 2014, it was highly reported that the body was not visible anymore, so trekkers believed that it was moved from the original location by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association, which manages the north side of Everest. The experts thought that this was done to respect the honor of the deceased, and also, many trekkers were visiting the body site to examine what was disturbing the body.
However, in 2017, climbers started seeing the Green Boots’ body again beneath the massive rock with many small pebbles around it. It was then concluded that if the climbers took the body and decided to bury it in the original location or it was just from the natural forces. Other people also believe that in 2014, when the body became invisible, it got buried under heavy snow, which is why it was not found.
Furthermore, removing the body from its original place and then burying it back in the same place is very risky as it can result in natural disasters. Hence, the Green Boots body is still near its original site, the Green Boots Cave and trekkers still pay respect to the legendary climber.
What are the dangers of removing bodies from Mount Everest?
Many trekkers successfully climb the summit of Mount Everest. However, some are not so lucky; they perish when climbing or descending from the summit. Not many people know these bodies are left on the slopes of Mount Everest, as it is perilous to remove the bodies from the peaks for multiple reasons.
Fatigue and Exhaustion
One of the reasons that bodies are not removed from Mount Everest is the physical exhaustion of the removers themselves. The trek to the summit of Mount Everest or descending back takes a toll on your body, and removing the body from the pile of heavy snow is also very daunting.
Harsh conditions
The area above the Everest Base Camp, especially in the “Death Zone” above 8,000 meters (around 26,247 feet), has very harsh conditions. This includes frigid temperatures, thin air leading to a lack of oxygen, and unpredictable weather. These conditions make survival hard and even harder to recover bodies.
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More risks
The effort of removing the body from the top of Mount Everest creates additional risks for the trekkers. Using shovels or other tools to retrieve the body from the slopes of mountains creates a huge risk of avalanches, which creates risk for the trekkers and settlements below Mount Everest, including Everest Base Camp. The cost of removing the body is also quite expensive.
Conclusion
Hence, Everest Green Boots is the sad but legendary story of the highly reputed Tibet Indian Border Patrol officer Tsewang Paljor. The story of the Green Boots is quite inspiring as he was always looking for mountains to conquer, and his ultimate goal was to climb the majestic Mount Everest.
To this date, the body of Green Boots is still visible on the way to the summit. For some, the body may seem like a threatening challenge and provide a harsh reality of the condition, whereas, for some, the body denotes the sacrifice to achieve something he loved the most. We hope the story of Everest Green Boots has inspired you a lot.
