Everest's death zone is a grim reminder of danger

He was on his way to the summit of the world's highest mountain when he found a climber clinging to the rope.

The death zone was a large area near the summit of Mount Everest, where temperatures are extremely low and there is no oxygen to breathe for more than a few minutes.

The climber, from Malaysia, had nothing to do and was about to die, said Nepali mountain guide Anderson Cooper in an interview Thursday. No one was helping him, no friends, no oxygen, no sherpas with him, no guides, so this is quite dangerous for him. Other climbers and guides just concentrated on the summit, he added, wary of stopping at an altitude where the body is rapidly deteriorating and where many Everest deaths occur.

The Nepali government has said 12 dead and five missing on Everest are due to the end of the spring climbing season.

Gelje Nepali sherpers, who usually go by their first names, was guiding a client to the 8,849 - meter 29032 feet summit when he made a decision: they would abandoned their journey in a bid to save the Malaysian climber.

It was a near-impossible task: Gelje had to strap the climber to his back and carry him down 600 meters 1,900 feet for about six hours before another guide joined the rescue.

The climber then took turns carrying the climber, wrapped in a sleeping mat, before reaching a helicopter that carried them down to the base camp.

The rescue, which took place on May 18, was massively difficult, Gelje said. She said the sherpa has carried out more than 55 rescues, some very long operations, but said this was the hardest in my life. The rescuer was flown home to Malaysia when his condition improved, according to the Nepali government. His name has not been released to the media.

This climbing season in Nepal has been one of the deadliest on record, according to Bigyan Koirala, an official at the Nepal tourism department.

Although some mountaineers may be able to climb Everest during the fall season, spring is the best time to do so. After mid-May, there is a brief window of time, usually after mid-May, when temperatures are warmer, and the high-altitude winds known as the jet stream have moved away from the mountains.

This spring, four Nepalis and eight foreigners have died on Everest, according to Yubaraj Khatiwada, a director at the tourism department.

Of the five missing, three are Nepalis and two are foreigners.

This spring, the climbing season is over. There are no more climbers left. We only have the search and rescue mission left, he said.

The sherpa said there were a few likely reasons why this season has been so deadly. The weather has been extremely cold and poor, and some climbers lack enough skill to perform at such a high altitude.

As death tolls have increased on the mountain, climbers and experts have also warned about the dangers of overcrowding. A single trail to the summit means that there can be delays, with a single photo in 2019 capturing hundreds of climbers huddling on an exposed ridge to the summit, in a long queue to reach the top all in the critical area known as the death zone. A mountain guide at the time told CNN that even with bottled oxygen, there are only so many hours the human body can survive in the death zone, making traffic jams potentially fatal.

According to the department's data, Nepal has issued permits for a record 478 climbers on this season's expeditions to Everest.

Although Everest has become a destination for international tourists, it has also become a popular destination among those who live in the United States. The world's second-tallest mountain, K 2 in Pakistan, just had its busiest season ever.