DNA Analysis Confirms Mount Everest 'Green Boots' Is Dorje Morup

The long-standing enigma regarding the identity of the climber known as 'Green Boots' on Mount Everest has been resolved following a definitive DNA analysis. For nearly three decades, the frozen remains of the individual, preserved in the ice high on the world's highest peak, served as a grim waypoint for thousands of summit aspirants. The body was colloquially named for the bright green mountaineering boots that remained visible protruding from the snow. Authorities have now confirmed the individual is 47-year-old Indian climber Dorje Morup.

This conclusion dispels a widespread misconception that persisted for decades, during which many mountaineers assumed the body belonged to fellow Indian climber Tsewang Paljor, 28. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officially validated the identification, a step taken in preparation for a potential recovery mission. Officials are currently soliciting a specialized high-altitude rescue team capable of executing the dangerous operation from the Tibetan side of the mountain later this summer.

Morup was a member of a six-person ITBP expedition attempting to ascend Everest via its north face on May 10, 1996. When a severe blizzard struck near the summit, three members of the group turned back while Morup pressed on alongside Tsewang Paljor and Tsewang Samanla. All three perished on the mountain. In total, eight climbers lost their lives during the infamous 1996 disaster.

Expedition logs indicate that the three climbers contacted their team leader at approximately 3:45 pm Nepal time to confirm they had reached the summit. Subsequent reports, however, suggested that poor visibility likely obscured their exact location, raising the possibility they were still approximately 430 feet below the true peak. Conditions on the mountain deteriorated rapidly shortly after these communications.

Ferocious winds battered the mountain, temperatures plunged, and visibility shrank to almost nothing. From below, members of an expedition reportedly spotted two headlamps moving above the Second Step at an altitude of around 28,000 feet. It would be the last sign of the climbers being alive, as the three would never return to High Camp.

Because recovering bodies from such extreme altitudes is considered exceptionally dangerous, Morup's remains were left where he died, with snow and ice preserving them for decades. Sheltered within a small cave-like recess, his body is curled on its side, apparently after seeking refuge from the mountain's relentless conditions in his final moments.

The location sat deep within Everest's so-called 'death zone' – the area above 26,000 feet where the lack of oxygen places immense strain on the human body and survival can become a minute-by-minute battle. The identification was confirmed by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) following a DNA comparison ahead of plans to recover the body from Everest's notorious 'death zone' at an altitude of more than 8,000 metres.

The corpse remained where it lay, and over time, passing expeditions began referring to the site as Green Boots Cave. His distinctive green boots made the body instantly recognisable and turned it into one of Everest's most haunting landmarks, passed by countless climbers on the mountain's north-east route to the summit.

As Everest expeditions increased during the years that followed, Green Boots became an unsettling but practical point of reference. Climbers ascending the North-east Ridge knew that reaching the cave meant they had arrived at around 27,890 feet and were approaching the mountain's final challenges. Many paused there briefly to rest or check oxygen supplies, and discarded oxygen cylinders accumulated around the site.

Veteran climber Noel Hanna later said: 'It's hard to miss the person lying there.' For some, encountering Green Boots became one of the most disturbing aspects of climbing Everest. For others, the sight reinforced the brutal reality of the challenge they had chosen to undertake.