The Valley of Death

 

The Valley of Death

Awful sight ain't it. Well its more malicious than how it looks like in the image. The even horrifying thing is that every year more than 200 people die in this Valley. Before I stop creating anymore suspense, let me just tell you that out of all the deadliest place in this planet, this Valley is unlike anything else. Here people die the most unlikely death of all. The Valley which I am talking about, is none other then, The Rainbow Valley.

Although the name might not sound that menacing, it still haunts mountaineers who have reached the summit of Everest. That's right, this valley is situated right beside Mount Everest. The reason why its called "Rainbow Valley" is quite spine- chilling. You see, the summit of Mount Everest lies in the Death Zone, a place where the air is extremely thin and the lack of oxygen causes diseases like hypoxia, hypothermia, frostbite, summit fever, etc. Even the oxygen cylinders can do no good when you are near the summit. the immense amount of atmospheric pressure causes our blood vessels to burst in very crucial areas like the nose, eye and many other parts of the body.

These causes a person to eventually die and they fall into the Valley, and once you die, your body is left there, because it is impossible to bring it back. Because of the innumerable number of climbers dying there their brightly colored cloths litter which gives the valley a rainbow tinge. Hence the name. 

Not only death due to natural causes, but there is another reason that when you reach Everest, fogs tend to create a major problem. It causes mountaineers to lose their life by getting lost in the fog. In 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared while climbing to the summit of Mount Everest. They were last seen on The Northeast Ridge, 800 feet from the summit, before being engulfed by clouds. After that, they never reappeared. The event sparked a long standing debate about whether they reached the summit, a feat that would have predated Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's 1953 ascent. But, in 1999, a research expedition called, The Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition, found Mallory's body at 8156 meters (more than 2000 feet below the summit) almost near the Valley. However, this did not provide a conclusive evidence of whether they had reached the summit or not. Sadly, Irvine's body was never found in the expedition and a boot, believed to be his, was discovered last year on a glacier near Everest.

Even today, many mountain climbers die in this Valley. Some die on the way to and they are used as trail markers for the next expedition group. Although climbing Mount Everest will be a very triumphing moment, this dark truth still haunts the survivors and mountaineers who have climbed Everest. With all this death, the mountain has been given the unofficial title, "The World's Highest Graveyard."

As for the Valley, it always remains as a reminder that Death is inevitable, when someone steps foot over there, and you never know when it can strike.

                                                                                                        ~ Antareep Sinha