Thirty years after a severe blizzard claimed his life near the summit of Mount Everest, the climber known only as 'Green Boots' may finally be brought home. A new expedition, launched by Indian authorities, plans to retrieve the body from its resting place in a small limestone cave within the notorious 'death zone', an area above 8,000 metres where human survival is severely challenged. This mission not only seeks to repatriate the remains but also to definitively confirm the climber's identity, which has been a subject of speculation for decades.
For years, it was widely, though unconfirmed, reported that 'Green Boots' was Tsewang Paljor, an Indian climber who died during a storm in 1996. However, a recent tender document outlining the recovery plan has challenged this long-held belief. The document, seen by The Guardian, explicitly identifies the climber as Dorje Morup, another Indian climber who perished on Everest on the same day as Paljor. Both men were part of an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) expedition attempting a historic first Indian ascent of Everest from the north side.
'Green Boots', named for his distinctive lime-coloured Koflach boots, has become a macabre yet unavoidable landmark for climbers ascending the north-east ridge route from the Tibet and China side of the world's tallest mountain. His body, fully clothed and curled as if resting under a rocky alcove at approximately 8,500 metres above sea level, is just 350 metres from the 8,848-metre summit. Climbers have frequently used him as a marker of their progress, often radioing back to base camp upon reaching his location, or even seeking temporary shelter alongside the body.
The recovery mission is expected to be incredibly arduous and dangerous, even for the most experienced Sherpa teams. Above 8,000 metres, where only a third of the oxygen available at sea level exists, physical exertion is immense, and decision-making can be severely impaired. An iced-up body, still clad in heavy climbing gear, can weigh significantly, making its descent a gruelling task. The Indian tender document requires specialist teams with at least six Sherpas who have summited Everest multiple times, demanding evidence of the mission's success and the body's transport to Delhi by October.
The reason behind the sudden push to retrieve 'Green Boots' now, and the clarification of his identity, remains somewhat unclear from the tender document. However, for the families of the approximately 200 climbers whose bodies still remain on Everest, such efforts offer a glimmer of hope for closure. Recovering bodies from such extreme altitudes is often prohibitively difficult and expensive, and helicopters cannot safely operate at these heights, leaving many to rest permanently on the mountain.