Everest Death Zone explained: Hyderabad resident Arun Kumar Tiwari last week fulfilled a long-standing dream — summiting Mount Everest. However, he had barely begun the descent when his health failed and he died. His family has decided to leave his body there to honour his love for the mountains.

Along with Tiwari, his 47-year-old fellow mountaineer Sandeep Are also died on the same day, on May 21. Are’s body could be recovered as he died lower down on the mountain.

In Tiwari’s case, the family has made an informed decision. But bringing a body back from Everest is notoriously difficult and expensive.

In fact, bodies have lain on the mountain for years, serving as a landmark and warning for climbers every year. One of the most well-known is Green Boots, believed to be the body of Ladakhi climber Tsewang Paljor, lying on the Everest route for 30 years, his bright green boots clearly visible. Another is Sleeping Beauty, the remains of American climber Francys Arsentiev, who died in 1998.

Over the past few years, the Nepal government has taken up massive cleaning operations in the Himalayas, as more and more people try to climb Everest and the mountain becomes more crowded and littered. While the government has also brought down some human remains, over 100 people are still believed missing.

Arun Kumar Tiwari was part of an expedition managed by India’s Hyderabad-based Boots and Crampons and Nepal’s Pioneer Adventure. Pioneer Adventure’s Executive Director Nivesh Karki told The Indian Express, “Tiwari died around 8,790 metres, just below the Everest summit, which stands at 8,848 metres. Retrieving a body from that elevation is almost totally impossible. There are technical and financial challenges, but the rescuers are also at risk themselves.”

The region beyond 8,000 metres is known as the Death Zone. Only about one-third of the oxygen we breathe at sea level is available there. People in the Death Zone can experience light-headedness, brain swelling (High-Altitude Cerebral Oedema), or fluid buildup in the lungs (High-Altitude Pulmonary Oedema). The latter two can be fatal. Rescuers in these areas are thus putting themselves in serious danger. To add to this, the terrain is challenging, with steep, slippery rock faces. Temperatures are freezing, and frostbite is very common.

While all this is valid even when climbing the mountain, rescue workers face additional challenges. At that height, a body freezes quickly. Getting it back down means digging it out of the ice in conditions where tool use is extremely difficult. Then is the task of carrying down a heavy load in tricky terrain with little oxygen. Bodies are heavier in death and often frozen stiff in unnatural positions.

“You need 8-10 trained sherpas for this. Also, the body has to be effectively pulled down on a sheet with ropes. Conventional stretchers can’t be used in such conditions. Passages are so narrow — only around two feet— that one person can barely stand. The cost of such an operation can go up to Rs 1 crore, but as far as I know, almost no one has been brought down from the height at which Tiwari died,” Karki said.

Everest climbers are supposed to get insurance to pay for their rescue in case they get stuck or lost. “But no insurance provider pays for manual rescue, they only pay for transportation. And helicopters can barely operate in the Death Zone, the air is too thin,” Karki said.

With dangers aplenty and rescue extremely difficult, the Nepal government has put in place various rules about acclimatisation, safety, etc. In the 2026 season, one norm being enforced more strictly is the 2 pm rule.

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Ram Adhikari, Managing Director of Nepal Gateway Trekking Pvt Ltd, told The Indian Express, “More people die climbing down from Everest than going up, because they push themselves to reach the summit even when they are struggling. The 2 pm rule is that you must start climbing down at 2 pm, no matter how close to the summit you are.”

Leaving in the afternoon is crucial as weather that high in the mountain is tricky — a storm can gather and darkness fall very quickly, making the already risky descent much more dangerous.