This person is known as the “green boots man” on Everest.
In 1996, a group of men were climbing Everest, aiming to become the first Indians to climb the mountain on its eastern side (which is much more difficult).
Once they got to the top, a huge blizzard hit. They kept pushing on, and one of the men was this “Green Boots.”
In short, they stayed too long at the top of Everest, despite terrible conditions and not enough oxygen, and this man lost his life. This man, who is believed to be Tsewang Paljor, joined the 200+ bodies that are still believed to be on the mountain. Many of them stay preserved because of the incredible cold.
Many of those bodies got there through similar actions—defying warnings, staying at the top to take pictures, or praying to their respective gods. And they paid the ultimate price.
Here’s the thing: you can survive weeks without food, and days without water.
But if you go a few minutes without oxygen, you can die.
If you stay on top of Everest, in the danger zone where oxygen is incredibly thin, you are playing a very dangerous game of chicken with your biology. You’ll likely lose consciousness and be stuck in a zone where you aren’t getting sufficient oxygen, which will cause your body to gradually shut down and organs to fail. It isn’t pretty.
I’ve come to believe climbing Everest is no longer an impressive feat. It’s an extremely expensive rich person’s hobby (it costs $100K–$200K to do), just to brag about doing it. The mountain is now littered with so much trash, debris, and bodies of wealthy people.
Take that money and give it to someone who actually needs it. Skip the unnecessary risk.