As he approached the 29,000-foot (8839m) peak of Mt Everest, climber Rodney Hogg discovered the frozen body of his old friend, Peter Kinloch – a 28-year-old from Scotland who died of frostbite and exhaustion scaling the same path just months before. He told The Mirror:
“He was just lying there, his body preserved immaculately by the ice.
“When I saw him I instantly knew it was Peter. You could see his face. It was just like he was lying on his back taking a rest.”
Kinloch was an IT specialist who was attempting the “Seven Summits Challenge” to climb the highest peak on each continent. He made it to the top of Everest, the highest of all, last June, but bad weather set in on his descent. Despite the best efforts of his Sherpa, he died.
Before embarking on his own climb, Kinloch’s parents asked Hogg to retrieve their son’s camera if he should find him. Sadly, Kinloch was out of reach.
“The Sherpas did everything they could. Before he died, they clipped Peter to a fixed line on the mountain side, so his body is likely to remain up there forever unless it’s cut free.”
There are approximately 200 bodies along the path to Everest’s peak, some as old as 50 years. Many of them are given names like “Green Boots” and are recognisable landmarks. They can’t be recovered because helicopters can’t function safely at that altitude. There’s photos of Green Boots and others on this message board, if you’re morbidly inclined. Pretty fascinating. [The Mirror, photo via Shutterstock]