FOR nearly three decades, one frozen figure in neon‑green mountaineering boots has become an unintentional waypoint on Everest’s Northeast Ridge. Now, for the first time, a recovery mission is being planned to return the fallen climber to his family, and to close one of the mountain’s most enduring and macabre chapters.
High on Everest’s Northeast Ridge, at almost 28,000 feet, lies a small limestone alcove that climbers have long referred to as ‘Green Boots Cave’ – a grim landmark named after the body that has rested there since the 1996 Everest disaster. The man’s identity has never been definitively confirmed, but his presence has shaped the experience of thousands of climbers who pass within inches of him on their way to the summit.
The body became one of the most recognisable and unsettling sights on the world’s highest mountain. For years, climbers used the alcove as a place to rest, check oxygen, or gather themselves before the final push. Some are forced to step over the corpse to continue their ascent.
Now, 30 years later, Indian authorities are preparing a complex and dangerous mission to recover the remains and repatriate them.
The story of Green Boots is tied to the infamous 1996 Everest disaster, when a sudden blizzard on May 10 claimed multiple lives and became one of the mountain’s deadliest chapters.
Among those caught in the storm were three members of an Indo‑Tibetan Border Police expedition – Subedar Tsewang Smanla, Lance Naik Dorje Morup, and Head Constable Tsewang Paljor.
The team had attempted to become the first Indian group to summit Everest from the Tibetan side via the Northeast Ridge. The three men, breaking away from the main group, radioed at 3:45pm to say they had reached the top, though later accounts suggest they may have been several hundred feet short in near‑zero visibility.
None of the three climbers returned to camp.
Who was Green Boots?
Most climbers and historians believe the body is Tsewang Paljor, a talented 28‑year‑old mountaineer from Ladakh, remembered for his agility, good humour, and skill.
But others argue the remains belong to Dorje Morup, citing eyewitness accounts of him struggling with frostbite and equipment near the same altitude.
Both men wore similar gear – including distinctive green boots – and without DNA testing, the truth may never be known.
As Everest’s popularity surged in the 2000s and 2010s, Green Boots became a grim but practical marker. Reaching the cave meant climbers were approaching 27,890 feet and the final technical obstacles.
Some climbers find the sight deeply disturbing; others see it as a stark reminder of the risks they are willingly embracing. Either way, Green Boots has become part of Everest’s mythology.
The mission to recover ‘Green Boots’
Indian authorities now plan to recover the body between now and September, coordinating with Chinese officials to move the remains across the Tibet–Nepal border and onward to Kathmandu before repatriation.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police has already invited tenders from specialist recovery teams
The operation will be extraordinarily dangerous. Helicopters cannot reach that altitude, meaning Sherpas and high‑altitude specialists must manually lower the body down difficult terrain while battling oxygen deprivation and unpredictable weather.
If successful, it will be one of the highest‑altitude body recoveries ever attempted.
Around 200 bodies remain on Everest, many unrecoverable due to the extreme risks involved. Some have been buried by avalanches, others lie in crevasses or remain visible on the main climbing routes.
We’re building outdoors communities!
Come join us on Reddit here… r/outdoorsnews.
Find us on Facebook… www.facebook.com/everwildoutdoors
You can follow Ever Wild Outdoors on Twitter… @EWO_tweets
And if Instagram is your thing, we’re there too… www.instagram.com/ever_wild_outdoors/
Check out our YouTube channel… Everwild Outdoors – YouTube
