Did You Know?

Mount Everest has about 200 dead bodies on it, which are now landmarks on the way to the top.

Mount Everest, is Earth's highest mountain. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. Its peak is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level and is the 5th furthest summit from the center of Earth. The international border between China and Nepal runs across the precise summit point.
Mount Everest attracts many highly experienced mountaineers as well as capable climbers willing to hire professional guides. There are two main climbing routes, one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal (known as the standard route) and the other from the north in Tibet. While not posing substantial technical climbing challenges on the standard route, Everest presents dangers such as altitude sickness, weather, wind as well as significant objective hazards from avalanches and the Khumbu Icefall.

An experienced mountaineer will tell you, ascending Mount Everest demands skill, experience and a deep knowledge of the mountain and your own limitations.

The climb is so perilous that the vast majority of those who attempt it fail to achieve their objective.

Worse, the bodies of those who could not descend in time, who made a crucial mistake or simply suffered bad luck remain littered across Everest's treacherous path, a grim warning to others who would aspire to reach its peak.

As Sandra Leduc, a climber following the same route as her ill-fated fellow Canadian, Shriya Shah-Klorfine, tweeted, the path was strewn with "lots of dead or dying bodies," adding, "Thought I was in a morgue."

While fatalities can occur because of accidents and falls, many lose their lives in what is called "the death zone," the area of the mountain that stretches higher than 8,000 metres above sea level.

The low oxygen levels at that height can cause a sense of deep fatigue, lulling the inexperienced into a sleep that they never emerge from.

Alan Arnette is a well-known mountaineer from Fort Collins, Colo., who has managed to complete the challenge of the seven summits climbing the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents.

He successfully summited Everest in May 2011, following three failed attempts over the previous decade. He confirmed the dangers of the mountain to CBC News and of reclaiming the bodies of those who have died on its slopes.