India eyes a risky Everest mission to recover the body of "Green Boots"

Indian authorities are hoping to launch an operation to recover the frozen body of a climber who died on Mount Everest nearly 30 years ago in one of the deadliest disasters ever seen on the world's highest peak. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is soliciting bids from high altitude recovery agencies for a mission to retrieve the remains of a climber long known only as "Green Boots" from the mountain's northern slope. A tender document says the contracted team must bring the body to Delhi by October. It would be one of the most technically demanding recovery operations ever attempted on Everest — "double the danger of normal climbing," according to Tshiring Jangbu Sherpa, the founder of Nepal-based Everest Sherpa Expedition. "For the whole rescue team this is high risk," Sherpa told CBS News. Tshiring has reached Everest's summit multiple times, and he led expeditions in 2024 to recover five bodies from various mountains in the region. He told CBS News it could take a highly-trained, 10-person team up to a week to recover Green Boots' body. He added that, in his opinion, it would be impossible to even attempt the operation until the spring due to the weather conditions, which raises questions about the Indian authority's June-October timeframe noted in the tender document. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police did not reply to CBS News' request for comment on the plans. …