India Plans Mission to Recover Everest’s “Green Boots”

India is seeking high-altitude specialists for a hazardous mission to recover the remains of a climber from about 8,500 m on Mount Everest. Known for decades as “Green Boots”, the body has lain beneath a rock overhang near the summit since 1996.

The remains, named after the climber’s distinctive green mountaineering boots, became a landmark on Everest’s northern route. They were long believed to belong to Tsewang Paljor, but Indian authorities now believe the climber was Dorje Morup, a member of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Morup was part of a six-member ITBP expedition attempting to reach Everest’s summit from the Tibetan side in May 1996. He continued toward the summit with Tsewang Smanla and Tsewang Paljor after three other climbers turned back as conditions deteriorated. All three died during their descent in a severe snowstorm.

The recovery operation would take place in Everest’s so-called death zone, where temperatures can fall to -40C and oxygen levels are about one-third of those at sea level. The northern side of the mountain also offers fewer evacuation options than the more frequently climbed route from Nepal.

The ITBP is seeking a specialist team capable of retrieving the frozen remains and bringing them down from the mountain. The force hopes to complete the operation by September.

If the mission succeeds, the remains are expected to undergo DNA testing to confirm their identity. If confirmed as Morup, they will be returned to his family in Ladakh for a funeral.

(bbc, bak)