Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, draws climbers globally, yet presents a stark reality for those who perish on its slopes. A common question is whether bodies decompose in such an extreme environment. The unique conditions on Mount Everest significantly alter natural decomposition, leading to a different outcome for human remains.
Everest’s Extreme Environment
The environment on Mount Everest actively inhibits typical decomposition. Temperatures at the summit are consistently below freezing, often ranging from -16°C (3°F) to -60°C (-76°F). Such extreme cold drastically slows or halts the activity of bacteria and other microorganisms responsible for breaking down organic matter.
Beyond frigid temperatures, high altitude contributes to significantly reduced oxygen levels. At the summit, the oxygen available is roughly one-third of what is found at sea level. This hypoxic environment impedes aerobic bacteria crucial for efficient decomposition. Mount Everest also experiences high winds, frequently exceeding 160 km/h (100 mph), and low humidity, particularly outside the monsoon season. These factors collectively contribute to the rapid drying of exposed organic material, creating an environment inhospitable to decay.
The Science of Preservation
In the absence of typical decomposition, bodies on Mount Everest undergo natural preservation through processes like mummification and freezing. The dry, cold air, combined with high winds, causes rapid desiccation of tissues. This drying process effectively removes moisture necessary for bacterial growth and enzymatic activity, fundamental to decomposition. As a result, bodies become naturally mummified, with skin and tissues hardening and shriveling, yet remaining largely intact.
The constant sub-zero temperatures lead to cryopreservation, or freezing, of the remains. Freezing halts biological processes that cause tissue breakdown. When a body freezes, the water within its cells turns into ice crystals. While ice crystal formation can cause cellular damage, the sustained frozen state prevents microorganism proliferation and chemical reactions that drive decomposition, essentially suspending the body in a preserved state. This combination of desiccation and freezing explains why bodies on Everest can remain remarkably preserved, sometimes for decades, appearing much as they did at death.
Why Bodies Remain on Everest
Many bodies of climbers remain on Mount Everest primarily due to the immense logistical and safety challenges associated with their retrieval. The “death zone” above 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) presents an environment where the human body struggles to survive for extended periods due to extremely low oxygen and severe cold. Carrying a body, which can weigh over 136 kg (300 pounds) when frozen and encased in ice, becomes an extraordinarily difficult and dangerous task in this thin air.
Retrieval missions require multiple skilled Sherpas, specialized equipment, and favorable weather windows, making them both risky and expensive. The cost to retrieve a single body can range from $30,000 to over $100,000, and such attempts have sometimes resulted in additional fatalities among recovery teams. Given these extreme difficulties, many fallen climbers are left where they lie, a decision often made out of practical necessity and, at times, in accordance with the wishes of the climbers or their families to remain on the mountain.