Skurbuchan, Ladakh: For three decades, the body of an Indian climber known as “Green Boots” has remained beneath an overhanging rock at about 8,500 metres on Mount Everest. The lime-green boots worn by the climber became a grim landmark for mountaineers approaching the summit.
India is now seeking a specialist high-altitude recovery team to bring the remains down from the mountain’s northern, Tibetan side. Authorities believe the body is that of Dorje Morup, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) soldier who died during a 1996 expedition.
Morup’s family in Ladakh has spent years waiting for his return. “On some days, before I went to sleep, I would think that there’d be a knock on the door tonight and that when I opened, he would be there,” his wife, Konchak Yangskit, BBC News quoted her, as saying.
“When he comes home, I will ask him: ‘Where were you all these years?’”
A Fatal Expedition
Morup, a lance naik, or lance corporal, was among six ITBP climbers attempting to become the first Indian expedition to reach Everest’s summit from the Chinese side. Three members turned back during a snowstorm, but Morup and fellow climbers Tsewang Smanla and Tsewang Paljor continued towards the 8,849-metre summit.
The three reached the top but were killed by a blizzard while descending. For years, the body known as “Green Boots” was believed to be Paljor’s. However, accounts from surviving expedition members, the location of the climbers’ final radio contact and the equipment found on the remains have led officials to identify it as Morup’s body.
“We never forgot him. It was only a matter of time,” an ITBP official told BBC News Hindi, on condition of anonymity.
India plans to confirm the identity through DNA testing after the remains are recovered. The ITBP is funding the operation and hopes to complete it by September.
A Family’s Long Wait
Yangskit said she never saw Morup’s body and struggled to accept his death. “I only knew there was a storm on the mountain. Even though we organised cremation prayers at home, my heart refused to believe he had died,” she said.
“I didn’t see his dead body, so it was difficult for me to believe it.”
If the recovery succeeds, the family plans to hold a funeral near Martyrs Park in Leh. Morup’s son, Punchok Dorjai, said his father and his teammates should be remembered as martyrs.
“We are planning to keep the Green Boots,” he said.
