Hampir tiga dekade setelah kematiannya di zona kematian Everest, identitas pendaki yang jenazahnya dikenal sebagai "Green Boots" akhirnya terjawab secara resmi. Pemerintah India mengonfirmasi melalui tes DNA bahwa jasad tersebut milik Dorje Morup, anggota ekspedisi polisi India yang tewas pada 10–11 Mei 1996 di lereng utara Everest. Kini Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) membuka tender bagi tim ahli untuk menurunkan jenazah itu dari ketinggian sekitar 8.500 meter dan mengantarkannya ke Delhi sebelum Oktober 2026.

Nearly three decades after his death in Everest's death zone, the identity of the climber whose body is known as "Green Boots" has been officially confirmed. The Indian government announced through DNA testing that the remains belong to Dorje Morup, a member of an Indian police expedition who perished on May 10–11, 1996, on the north side of Everest. Now the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has issued a tender for specialist teams to bring down the body from approximately 8,500 meters and deliver it to Delhi before October 2026.

Nama "Green Boots" lahir bukan dari identitas sang pendaki, melainkan dari sepatu boots berwarna hijau limau bermerek Koflach yang dipakainya — sebuah detail yang begitu mencolok hingga selama bertahun-tahun menjadi penanda orientasi bagi para pendaki yang melintasi Northeast Ridge jalur Tibet. Jenazah itu berbaring meringkuk di cerukan batu kecil di bawah First Step, sebuah rintangan teknis awal di jalur tersebut. Banyak tim yang secara rutin melaporkan ke Base Camp saat melewati lokasi tersebut, menjadikannya semacam titik kilometer di jalur mematikan itu.

The nickname "Green Boots" arose not from the climber's identity but from his unmistakable lime-green Koflach mountaineering boots — so distinctive that for years they served as a navigation reference point for climbers traversing the Northeast Ridge on the Tibetan side. The body rests curled in a small rocky alcove just below the First Step, one of the route's technical early obstacles. Many teams routinely radioed Base Camp upon passing the location, effectively treating it as a kilometer marker on the deadly ridge.

Kisah di balik jenazah ini berawal dari tragedi yang nyaris tidak terekspos oleh media internasional. Saat dunia terpaku pada bencana sisi selatan Everest tahun 1996 — yang diabadikan dalam buku Jon Krakauer dan berbagai film — drama tak kalah kelam berlangsung di sisi utara. Ekspedisi polisi India yang dipimpin Mohinder Singh mencoba mencapai puncak dari jalur Tibet dalam apa yang seharusnya menjadi pencapaian bersejarah: pendakian pertama India dari sisi tersebut. Pada 10 Mei, tujuh pendaki berangkat menuju puncak. Empat berbalik di ketinggian 8.500 m karena badai dan kelelahan. Tiga yang tersisa — Tsewang Smanla, Dorje Morup, dan Tsewang Paljor — terus mendaki.

The story behind the body began with a tragedy that received almost no international media attention. While the world was riveted by the catastrophe on Everest's south side in 1996 — immortalized in Jon Krakauer's book and multiple films — an equally harrowing drama was unfolding to the north. An Indian police expedition led by Mohinder Singh was attempting the summit via the Tibetan route in what was meant to be a historic achievement: India's first ascent from that side. On May 10, seven climbers set out for the top. Four turned back at 8,500m due to storm and exhaustion. The remaining three — Tsewang Smanla, Dorje Morup, and Tsewang Paljor — pressed on.

"Memulangkan jenazah ke keluarga memberikan kedamaian — selama tidak membahayakan orang lain secara tidak semestinya."

"Bringing remains home to families brings closure, as long as it's not putting other people at undue risk."

— Guy Cotter, pemimpin ekspedisi dari Selandia Baru, dikutip The GuardianNew Zealand expedition leader, quoted by The Guardian

Sore harinya, mereka melaporkan lewat radio bahwa telah mencapai puncak. Namun awan tebal, salju, dan jarak pandang nol membuat tinjauan selanjutnya mempertanyakan apakah mereka benar-benar berdiri di titik tertinggi, atau berhenti sekitar 150 meter di bawahnya. Himalayan Database mencatatnya sebagai pendakian sah. Saat malam tiba dan badai makin ganas, ketiganya terjebak di zona kematian. Mereka bertahan semalam menanggung angin berkecepatan badai dan suhu ekstrem. Keesokan harinya, tim Jepang yang melewati rute yang sama menemukan ketiga pendaki India masih hidup namun dalam kondisi kritis akibat radang beku parah. Tim Jepang itu melanjutkan pendakian tanpa memberikan bantuan berarti — sebuah keputusan yang kemudian memicu kontroversi etika yang masih diperdebatkan hingga kini.

That afternoon, they radioed that they had reached the summit. But heavy cloud, snow, and zero visibility meant later reviews questioned whether they had truly stood at the top or stopped some 150 meters short. The Himalayan Database registers the summit as valid. As night fell and the storm intensified, the three were trapped in the death zone. They endured a night of hurricane-force winds and freezing temperatures. The next day, a Japanese team climbing the same route found the three Indian climbers still alive but in critical condition with severe frostbite. The Japanese team continued their ascent without rendering substantial aid — a decision that triggered an ethical controversy still debated today.

Misi evakuasi yang kini direncanakan bukan perkara mudah. Tender ITBP mensyaratkan setidaknya enam Sherpa yang telah mencapai puncak Everest berkali-kali, rekam jejak yang terbukti dalam operasi serupa, dan durasi misi hingga 40 hari — mempertimbangkan betapa sulitnya bekerja di zona kematian selama musim panas dan awal musim gugur. Pemimpin ekspedisi Selandia Baru Guy Cotter, yang pernah mengoordinasi pengangkatan jenazah di Everest pada 1997, menegaskan bahwa operasi semacam ini "seharusnya sudah dilakukan jauh lebih awal." Namun ia juga mengingatkan risiko nyata: "Ada situasi di mana evakuasi jenazah justru merenggut lebih banyak nyawa. Ini adalah garis yang sangat tipis." Sekitar 200 jenazah diperkirakan masih berada di Everest, banyak di tempat yang terlalu berbahaya atau terlalu mahal untuk dijangkau.

The planned evacuation mission is no straightforward undertaking. The ITBP tender requires at least six Sherpas who have summited Everest multiple times, a proven track record in similar recoveries, and a mission duration of up to 40 days — accounting for the extreme challenges of operating in the death zone during summer and early autumn. New Zealand expedition leader Guy Cotter, who coordinated a body retrieval on Everest in 1997, stated that such an operation "would have been a good thing to have done a long time before now." But he also cautioned against underestimating the real risks: "There have been situations with body recoveries where more people have died. It's a very thin line." Around 200 bodies are believed to still lie on Everest, many in locations too hazardous or costly to reach.

Bagi keluarga para pendaki yang tewas dalam ekspedisi India 1996, misi ini membuka kemungkinan pemakaman yang bermartabat setelah hampir 30 tahun penantian. Apakah tim yang kompeten akan maju, dan apakah cuaca berpihak dalam jendela musim yang sempit, akan menentukan apakah operasi ini benar-benar terlaksana tahun ini. Yang pasti, kontroversi seputar etika pertolongan di gunung tinggi — dan pertanyaan tentang hak atas jenazah di zona kematian — terus relevan bagi komunitas alpinisme global.

For the families connected to the 1996 Indian expedition, this mission offers the possibility of a dignified burial after nearly 30 years of waiting. Whether qualified teams come forward and whether weather cooperates within the narrow seasonal window will determine if the operation proceeds this year. What is certain is that the ethical debate around high-altitude rescue obligations — and questions about the right to the dead in the death zone — remains deeply relevant to the global mountaineering community.