[ music playing ]
[ man speaking native language ]
[ car horn honking ]
Patrick Stewart: A young mountain climber, Namgyal Sherpa,
has summited Everest six times.
The Death Zone defines the area above 8,000 meters,
26,246 feet,
to the summit of Mount Everest.
As of the end of 2009,
216 lives were reported lost on Everest.
Namgyal and Chakra organized to clean
an astonishingly rubbish-strewn Everest.
They gather a team of 20 climbing Sherpas
with 12 additional Sherpas
to make up the support team.
Along with the collection of rubbish,
the team will make an attempt
to recover at least one dead body.
The Sherpa are experienced enough to know
that they have to put their lives at considerable risk
to accomplish this task.
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: The team lands on the most dangerous airstrip
in the world, Lukla.
They will continue the journey on foot
for the next four to six days
to reach Everest Base Camp,
just over 38 kilometers,
24 miles away.
Each carry their own personal supplies.
However, the main bulk of the expedition equipment
will be carried to Base Camp on domesticated yaks.
[ speaking native language ]
Our team will travel from here, Lukla,
passing through several picturesque villages
along the way...
...to Namche Bazaar.
At Pangboche, they will pause at the monastery
for blessings by the lama.
Then onto their key destination,
Everest Base Camp at 5,380 meters
or 17,650 feet.
[ speaking native language ]
[ bell clanging ]
Interviewer: What are you feeling at this time?
You know...
You know very well that, you know...
Stewart: The Sherpa are a tribe indigenous
to the high valleys of Nepal.
Elite mountaineers,
they are indispensable to any expedition
by westerners to summit Mount Everest.
It is vital that the trek is paced properly
to avoid high-altitude sickness.
As the human body penetrates higher elevations,
it needs to acclimatize to the lower air pressure
and the lower percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere.
This simply means you are breathing in less oxygen
than your body needs for basic functions.
Over time, the body produces additional red blood cells
and capillaries to carry more oxygen to lungs
and muscles to compensate,
but this process takes time.
Severe consequence of high-altitude sickness,
or H.A.S., is death.
Namche Bazaar, the Sherpa capital.
The bulk of food supplies for the expedition
is bought here to be carried up to Base Camp.
The rubbish that the team collects in the Death Zone
will be carried out of Base Camp
and the recyclable items will be left here at Namche
for reuse.
The non-recyclable items
will be transported to Kathmandu
for proper disposal.
Making a documentary was a last-minute decision,
and Namgyal manages these added logistics
with the creative team in Kathmandu.
The Sherpa'’s enormous strength is legendary.
Some porters have been known to carry 200 pounds at a time
up the mountain.
They carry up building materials, food, gasoline,
and, as you can see,
sometimes help people.
The income is what most local Sherpas count on
to support their families and educate their children.
[ chanting ]
Stewart: The Lama Sangwa Dorje
established Buddhism 350 years ago
right here in Pangboche
where the oldest monastery in the Khumbu region still stands.
Buddhism, simply represented,
is a religion of peace and harmony
with all things living and not living.
Restoring harmony with the largest living entity we know,
the Earth, is a core inspiration
for this expedition.
The founder of Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Rinpoche,
was said to have hidden places as sanctuaries
in the Himalayan valley for future times
when people would need them.
Although there is heated debate
about the issue of global climate change,
nobody can deny the physical evidence
that some of the poles and glaciers are melting fast.
Perhaps one day this high point on the planet
will become the only land above water
and confirm Guru Rinpoche'’s predictions.
Everest Base Camp.
Prayer flags and tents splash bright color
across this white wonderland.
The levels of oxygen here are at 50%
of what the body is used to at sea level.
This seriously impacts everyone'’s energy levels.
Without stopping here for a period of time,
it would be dangerous to venture
into the even higher levels
in order to clean in the Death Zone.
The team finally arrives.
Although he is very tired,
Namgyal is eager to find out
what preparations have been completed.
The key issue is getting required government authority
and approvals to recover the dead body
of the Swiss climber Gianni Goltz.
Without permission, the body cannot be retrieved
and brought to Base Camp.
Stewart: The news is not encouraging,
and Namgyal is concerned,
but cognizant that this man is not responsible
for the delays and difficulties that lie ahead.
At this moment, there are over 1,000 people
living at Base Camp.
Mountaineers, with their support teams,
will spend the whole season here
to prepare for the climb to the summit.
Others are here on official government business
or to perform environmental studies.
Some non-profit groups are doing a great job
cleaning up decades of rubbish at Base Camp,
but for the first time in history,
Namgyal and the team will attempt to clean
in the Death Zone where, alongside over 150 dead bodies,
lies abandoned an estimated 100,000 pounds of rubbish
generated over time by the 4,000 or so climbers
since the historical ascent of Hillary and Tenzing in 1953.
Man: Hold on.
Stewart: Oxygen tanks are the literal lifeline
of any expedition,
and many deaths occur from oxygen deprivation.
In this hostile environment,
morality is sometimes exchanged for survival.
Climbers tell sad tales of stolen oxygen tanks.
Stewart: Arguments are fierce
about the causes of global climate change,
but undisputed documented agreement
is that the mean global temperature is currently rising.
What percentage of warming is caused by man
and what by natural cyclic weather patterns
may be debatable,
but two key measurable culprits
are carbon dioxide and black carbon.
Black carbon, that dark stuff spewing out of motorcars
and factories from across Asia
is being deposited on the Himalayan range.
Black carbon absorbs heat in the atmosphere,
reduces the ability to reflect sunlight,
and when deposited on snow and ice,
causes the glacier ice to rapidly melt.
Erik Solheim, Norway'’s environment minister,
said people in the Himalayas must prepare for a tough
and unpredictable future.
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: Slaughtering of animals above Lukla is not legal,
supporting Buddhist tradition,
so all meat, along with other food,
is physically carried up the mountain.
Base Camp cook will prepare hearty meals
to fatten the Sherpas for the quest ahead.
It is expected that each Sherpa
will lose between 11 and 22 pounds of body weight
during their time here because, at this altitude,
the body is incapable of digesting nutrients properly.
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: Long Dorjee'’s fears are not unfounded.
His concern over the lack of acclimatization is valid.
Usually the team would travel up and down the slope
several times before they attempt to spend
any significant time in the Death Zone.
Instead, our team will climb to Camp 2
within two days of their arrival
to set up a mountain base.
Some will remain for up to 29 days.
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
Cameras were recently donated by GoPro,
and Long Dorjee has a hard time figuring out how they work.
Purna is obviously not so happy, either.
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: The relationship between Purna
and the GoPro camera is now a source of camp humor.
It is impossible, both logistically and financially,
to have a seasoned cinematographer keep up
with this all-Sherpa team.
The Sherpa will film this event by themselves.
The Puja ceremony for our team'’s success
is the purview of this lama, a Buddhist priest.
[ speaking native language ]
[ singing in native language ]
Stewart: The personal items of the climbers
are placed around the chorten,
an altar for blessing.
All equipment, ice axes, harnesses,
crampons, and banners are purified of evil spirits.
Purity is synonymous with the survival of the team.
[ wind howling ]
The Puja is a prayer ritual to communicate with the gods,
asking permission to step on the mountain
and for safe passage.
The Sherpas are very sensitive to actions
that are disrespectful to Chomolungma,
the goddess that is Everest.
They believe she is a living entity,
capable of anger if disrespected
and grace when cared for.
This prayer ceremony is deadly serious to all climbers.
Many things can go awry.
Weather changes may drop oxygen levels
to the point of an unavoidable death.
Along with high winds and over-exertion,
it is not unusual for fingers, toes, and limbs
to require amputation due to frostbite.
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
Prayer flags are unfurled
and the colorful Puja flagpole is raised.
Thousands upon thousands of flags
adorn the mountain from its base to its peak.
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
The purpose of the flags is to send prayers
from the Puja blessings,
carried by the wind across the magnificent peaks,
green signifying water,
red for fire,
white representing clouds,
blue for the sky,
and yellow for the earth.
[ singing and chatter in native language ]
The Lama Rinpoche teaches
you must follow the path of Padmasambhava,
the eight-year-old child who was reincarnated
into a lotus blossom.
He possessed great wisdom and insight
and had mastery of the elements,
so like a potter manipulating basic clay
and turning it into beautiful pots,
he was able to transform harmful action and substances
into something positive and beneficial.
The rubbish and dead bodies on the mountain
is a past act of harm by humans.
Cleaning this mess is the positive action
that the team is going to undertake
as a benefit and example for mankind.
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: The plan is to get the supplies from Base Camp to Camp 2
as quickly as possible,
there to set up the mountain base of operations.
To accomplish this,
the team must cross the Khumbu Icefall,
an ever-moving glacier
and one of the most unforgiving parts of the climb.
The team members who base out of Camp 2 for almost a month
will suffer extreme conditions for several weeks.
From Camp 2, the team will go out daily
to collect rubbish in this part of the mountain,
the summit to Camp 2, the Death Zone.
The body of Gianni Goltz
is laying here in the South Col.
And the dead body of a Russian climber, Sergei Duganov,
rests here on the icy Lhotse face.
[ speaking native language ]
[ music playing ]
Stewart: Purna has finally figured out
how to operate the GoPro cameras.
Without an experienced cinematographer,
nobody knows what to expect,
but getting the cameras working
is definitely a reason to celebrate.
[ woman singing in native language ]
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
Stewart: As the team departs tonight,
each person is acutely aware of their mortality.
Crossing the Khumbu Icefall
is one of the most treacherous sections of the climb.
More people die here
than in any other part of the mountain.
Our climbing team leave Base Camp
before the sun rises to avoid the dangers
that come with the heat.
Melting snow and ice can shift
to form deep glacier crevasses.
Areas that seem stable can crack,
and a climber can fall to his certain death
hundreds of feet into the more than icy abyss.
[ music playing ]
[ labored breathing and chatter]
Stewart: Frequent fatalities occur because of broken bones
caused by tripping on ropes from past expeditions
hidden buried in the snow.
It is unlikely that a climber with a broken leg
will get help to come back down the mountain
from anyone but a Sherpa.
As callous as it seems,
helping another climber in distress
can quickly threaten your own survival.
[ ladder clattering ]
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: Huge towers of ice called serac
can suddenly break off and fall,
starting an avalanche which sends any climber in its path
tumbling down the mountain
to be entombed deep in the snow,
to slowly die from hypothermia or suffocation.
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
Man: Good.
Well done, well done.
[ speaking native language ]
Everybody okay?
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
[ coughs ]
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: The dawn breaks revealing an alien landscape,
and our team continue to make their way across the Khumbu.
It is now 6:00 a.m.
The team have covered only a portion of the Khumbu
and still have a fair way to go.
Base Camp, which can be seen in the distance,
is full of activity.
And at Base Camp,
Chakra interviews Indra Bahadur Rai.
[ speaking native language ]
[ water running ]
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
Stewart: Reports from Base Camp
confirm the death of three climbers
who were caught in the path of the avalanche.
Chakra is still waiting to hear from our climbing team.
There'’s no answer.
[ ladder clattering ]
After a heart-wrenching few hours,
Chakra finally locates our team
and is immensely grateful that each one of them is alive.
Ah.
[ music playing ]
Stewart: It has taken over six hours
of mind-numbing climbing to get to this point,
the end of the Khumbu Icefall.
They now have to walk past Camp 1 and on to Camp 2.
This area is the hostile Death Zone,
the landscape in which our team need to survive
as they collect rubbish for the next 29 days.
The icy terrain of Camp 2 is a welcome sight
for these exhausted men,
but there is still work to do.
They have to set up the tents
before taking that well-earned rest.
[ device beeps ]
[ speaking native language ]
[ singing in native language ]
[ footfalls in snow ]
Stewart: Some members of the support team
travel back and forth from Camp 1 to Camp 2
to bring in the supplies required for the expedition.
As they make their way across the snow-covered ground,
they come across an abandoned backpack.
They fan out,
looking to see if the owner is anywhere in sight
and if he needs help.
What they find instead is a body lying in the snow
a short distance away.
Death is an accepted consequence
of climbing Mount Everest,
but the Sherpas believe
that until the soul has been released
through cremation or other burial rites,
it stays, restless, near the body,
searching for a path toward the next life.
[ speaking native language ]
[ wind howling ]
Stewart: No one got any sleep this night.
A fierce windstorm whips across the mountain face,
tearing the camp apart.
The wind chill factor drops temperatures down to minus 40.
The Sherpas'’ energy diminishes dangerously
with the cold and lack of sleep,
causing serious doubts as to the success of the expedition.
[ speaking native language ]
[ thunder ]
[ speaking native language ]
[ coughing ]
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: Today, the team will set out
to recover the body of Gianni Goltz,
the 44-year-old expert Swiss mountaineer
who died of exhaustion in the Death Zone.
Goltz was part of an Everest expedition in 2008,
who were, ironically, making a documentary on the Sherpa.
The second body that the team has agreed to recover
is that of the Russian climber Sergei Duganov,
from St. Petersburg, who died a few days ago
on the eighth of May.
Recovering Sergei'’s body was not part of the original plan,
but Namgyal believes that they will be able to bring him down.
His family want his body returned to them.
The slope at Camp 3 is a steep 65 degrees,
and the surface is so icy
that the team have to stay
hooked onto the rope at all times.
That includes while they sleep,
eat, and relieve themselves.
If they fall, there is nothing to stop them
from tumbling down the slope to their death.
Every step is a struggle
to dig a foothold with their crampons.
It is exhausting trying to survive here,
and people die because their bodies just simply give out.
The team to recover the body of Sergei Duganov
walk towards the location of his abandoned campsite.
They will climb past Camp 4
and on to the treacherous Lhotse slope.
[ thunder ]
Unexpectedly, a dangerous storm descends on the mountain.
The goddess seems to be angry.
We can hear her roar across the peaks
and into the icy slopes.
Namgyal and the others struggle
to stay on the slippery surface.
The wind seems to want to blow them off the mountain.
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
Finally, all the team members
except Namgyal and Samden have to turn back.
Both are very experienced climbers,
and they decide to keep going despite the storm.
Purna finds three members of the Duganov body recovery team
back in Camp 2.
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: At this point,
Namgyal begins to have serious doubts.
He'’s not sure if the goddess sent the punishing storm
because she is angry with him
for attempting to take away the dead body.
He wonders if perhaps she considers the fallen climbers
a sacrifice that belongs to her,
but he'’s resolved and is willing to risk dying
to accomplish the mission of returning Sergei to his family.
The body of Sergei Duganov lies a few yards from his tent.
Blinded by exhaustion and lack of oxygen,
he fell just footsteps away from safety.
The scene is a surrealistic reminder
of that thin line between life and death
recurrent in this unforgiving terrain.
Namgyal finds that half of Sergei'’s body
is encased in ice.
He has to use his ice pick to release him
from the grip of the unyielding mountain.
For two exhausting hours,
Namgyal crashes his ice pick into the ice,
consuming precious energy and time,
his window for survival closing rapidly.
[ labored breathing ]
Finally, Namgyal is able to move the body,
but this is only the beginning of the task.
He now has to drag the body,
400 pounds of fully frozen weight
down the steep slope all by himself.
[ labored breathing ]
It has been 12 cruel hours
since Namgyal left Camp 2.
Purna and a western climber, searching desperately,
discover him laying in the snow, exhausted.
[ speaking native language ]
[ grunts ]
[ clears throat ]
Yeah.
[groans]
Ah!
Stewart: Namgyal returns to Camp 2
and the emotions are a mixture of guilt,
gratitude, and forgiveness.
These men depend on each other for survival,
but yet each knows that they are ultimately alone
and have to live or die by their own choices and actions.
This is the unwritten code of a climber.
For the next 24 hours,
a relentless blizzard covers the whole mountain
with an abundance of fresh snow.
Except for a few strong Sherpas,
most people stay warm in their tents
and wait for the mountain to stop weeping.
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: The body recovery is back on.
One team will head out to bring down Gianni Goltz'’s body
from the South Col and the other will finish the job
of bringing Sergei Duganov'’s body
down from where Namgyal left it.
The Sherpas reach the body of Gianni Goltz,
already protected with the hard shell
of the rescue carrying equipment.
Goltz was a charismatic 44-year-old
experienced multiple summiteer
who, in 2008, decided to climb Everest without oxygen.
He succeeded in reaching the summit,
but on his way down,
he lost a battle with high-altitude sickness
and died.
The massive weight of Duganov'’s body--
part body, part ice--
makes moving the Russian climber
a dangerous and difficult exercise.
It requires the enormous strength and focus
of several members of the team
to carefully lower the body down the slope to Camp 2.
If they slip or make a mistake,
the body could very easily slide down the mountain
and be lost forever.
Stewart: The team now realizes how treacherous it was
for Namgyal to have moved the body down a steep slope
on his own for 500 long meters,
but he did.
The helicopter, which will take the bodies to Base Camp,
is on its way.
The thin air at this height
makes the lift for the helicopter blades
unpredictable and risky.
The window of suitable weather conditions
is short and closing rapidly.
This recovery mission depends on the fickle weather.
If it holds, they will be successful.
If not, all this work has been for nothing.
[ helicopter blades whirring ]
The heavy helicopter slides dangerously
on the slippery ice.
This recovery is filled with unexpected problems.
Everyone has to move fast now.
[ speaking native language ]
The pilot decides that Duganov'’s body
is too heavy for the cable
and will have to be loaded inside the cockpit
for a solo trip.
The helicopter will need to come back a second time
to airlift Gianni'’s body.
[ music playing ]
[ speaking native language ]
Ah!
Oh, my God!
Stewart: During every season,
there are very few windows of suitable weather conditions
for the climb to the summit.
When those conditions materialize,
many climbers from all over the world
head out to the summit at the same time.
Dozens and dozens of climbers and their guides
make their desperate pilgrimage up the mountain.
Precious hours go by,
waiting for all the climbers to ascend,
one painful step at a time.
The longer it takes to get up to the summit,
the less time the team will have to collect rubbish.
The Sherpas make their ascent to the summit,
not as individuals achieving a personal goal,
but as a team of men who love this mountain,
who climb to cleanse her.
The final distance to cover before the summit
is the Hillary Step.
The oxygen level here near the summit
drops to less than 30% of what is available at sea level.
Every breath is precious and vital.
Every step is hard earned.
Time is not anyone'’s friend.
[ labored breathing ]
Stewart: Namgyal and the team finally make it to the summit,
the highest point on the planet.
Man does not conquer.
Man is only given passage.
There is a toll to pay
or the passage will close for man.
[ man singing in native language ]
The team can only savor their triumph for a few minutes
and they immediately begin the process of collecting
and carrying down the tattered remains of prayer flags,
discarded old oxygen tanks, and other manmade items
abandoned by nature-loving climbers.
There is much wisdom in some sayings,
and humanity today should care to remember
this one in particular.
"Take only pictures,
steal only time,
leave only footprints."
[ speaking native language ]
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
Stewart: If you are wondering how this situation could possibly exist,
how mountain climbers, nature-lovers
can contaminate the purity of the environment
with apparent disregard,
ask yourselves, is what we are all doing
to the rest of the planet any different?
As with any destructive habit,
cognizance and admission of the offensive behavior
is a vital beginning for simple,
workable solutions to be found and executed.
Here on the mountain,
the use of biodegradable toilet bags
to be returned to Base Camp for proper treatment
and disposal should be a personal choice
made without the need for enforcing laws.
A few extra dollars paid by each of the mountaineers
should cover the cost of one or two extra Sherpa
per expedition to carry their rubbish
back down the mountain.
Responsible climbers should insist that this criterion
be a part of the climbing package.
By doing so, we can stop further contamination,
a giant step towards a cleaner Everest.
Insurance policies are currently required
to climb the mountain.
In case of death,
the policy should be activated
for the bodies to be brought back off the mountain.
Existing laws in Nepal
already require that the rubbish be brought down
from the mountain.
It also requires that dead bodies are retrieved.
These laws should be put into practice.
[ speaking native language ]
Everest is an icon of the world.
Should any one person have the right
to insist on leaving their body exposed,
deteriorating, and contaminating the water source
of over a billion other people?
We are actively destroying our environment,
and with its demise,
we will disappear as a species.
We must evolve into better caretakers
or we will turn planet Earth
into one giant Death Zone.
[ music playing ]
Many members of our team will make this journey
across the Khumbu Icefall up to eight times
to carry the rubbish back to Base Camp.
During each trip, they will carry
between 50 to 100 pounds of rubbish on their backs.
[ speaking native language ]
Stewart: The Sherpas arrive at Base Camp at their own pace.
The kitchen tent and a hot cup of chai
will be their first stop.
Chakra is there to welcome Long Dorjee
who, despite his earlier concerns
of the success of the mission,
returns with an infectious smile.
[ speaking native language ]
Man: O-ho!
[ coughing ]
Stewart: 4,000 pounds of rubbish,
1,800 kilos collected from the Death Zone
has been carried by our team members to Base Camp.
The estimate is that 75% of the abandoned rubbish
from the South Col area has been cleared
by this group of Sherpas.
The spirits of two fallen climbers recently recovered
will find peace in the afterlife.
There is a little less contamination
of a major water source
and Chomolungma, mother goddess of the Earth,
is happier for a short while.
Our team of Sherpas hope that their success
in cleaning in the Death Zone
will send an inspirational message across the globe
to each man, woman, and child to do their part,
to clean up their own areas,
those mini Death Zones everywhere on the planet.
[ speaks native language ]
[ camera shutter clicks ]
[ overlapping chatter in native language ]
[ cheers and applause ]
Stewart: At the request of Namgyal and Chakra,
an astonishing total of 80 marathon runners
chose to carry small bags of rubbish
from Base Camp to the finishing line in Namche Bazaar
as a symbol of their support of cleaning the mountain.
In a sport where each extra ounce of weight
takes away from speed,
these athletes unselfishly reached out
to create a chain of action towards a cleaner planet.
[ overlapping chatter in native language]
[ talking indistinctly ]
[ music playing ]
[ shouting ]
[ whistle blowing ]
[ cheering and chatter ]
Stewart: Namgyal and Chakra have dedicated
the rest of their lives to clean Mount Everest
and other peaks in the Himalayas.
They hope that their work will bring about
much needed awareness that human beings
can and should be collectively and individually responsible
to clean up the man-made mess we have created.
Over one billion people depend on the Himalayan range
as their source of water.
Keeping this water clean
starts within the heart of Mount Everest.
Keeping the planet clean starts within the heart
of each one of us.
[ music playing ]
♪ Together for the mother, yeah ♪
♪ La, la, la, la, la
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la
♪ Yeah, ain'’t no pumpin' ♪
♪ Ain'’t no future teller ♪
♪ But I see my Mother Earth and I do feel her ♪
♪ I go to the crew turn it over to oppression ♪
♪ Month after month our future looks dark ♪
♪ Today'’s the day we might be late ♪
♪ We'’ve got to think about the changes in the primate ♪
♪ You and me together you see
♪ Working together for the future to be ♪
♪ Yeah
[ woman singing in native language ]
♪ La, la, la, la, la
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la
♪ La, la, la, la, la
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la
[ woman singing in native language ]
♪ La, la, la, la, la
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la
♪ La, la, la, la, la
♪ La, la, la, la, la, la