Rainbow Valley is the climbers' nickname for the slopes below Everest's northeast ridge, roughly 8,000 to 8,500 metres up on the Tibet side, where the bright down suits of climbers who died remain on the snow. It is no real valley and appears on no map. It lies inside the death zone, where the body can't recover and rescue is rarely possible. About 340 people died on Everest between 1922 and 2025, and more than 200 bodies are thought to still be on the mountain. Trekkers to Everest Base Camp (5,364 m) never see it.
- What it isInformal name, not a map location
- WhereBelow the northeast ridge, Tibet side
- AltitudeAbout 8,000 to 8,500 m
- ZoneInside the death zone (above 8,000 m)
- Everest deathsAbout 340 (1922 to 2025)
- Bodies still on EverestMore than 200 (estimate)
- Recovery costUSD 20,000 to 200,000
- Visible from the EBC trek?No
Rainbow Valley is the climbers' name for the stretch of Mount Everest just below the summit ridge, mainly on the northeast (Tibet) side above 8,000 metres, where the brightly coloured down suits of fallen mountaineers remain visible against the snow. The name sounds gentle. The reality is the opposite. It is not a valley at all but a slope inside the so-called death zone, and the colours are the red, yellow, orange, and blue jackets of climbers who could not be brought home. About 340 people died on Everest between 1922 and the end of 2025, and most of them died up here, on summit day, above the altitude where rescue is realistic. This article explains what Rainbow Valley actually is, how it differs from the death zone, why the bodies remain, and what is finally being done about it.
What Is Rainbow Valley?
Rainbow Valley is an informal nickname, not a place you will find on any official map of Everest. It refers to the area beneath the northeast ridge route, roughly between 8,000 and 8,500 metres, where climbers who died on summit day came to rest after falls or after being moved off the narrow path by later expeditions. Because modern expedition clothing is deliberately bright for visibility, the slope is dotted with colour, and passing climbers coined the name decades ago. Similar scenes exist below the south (Nepal) route near the South Col, and the nickname is sometimes used loosely for both sides.
The dead cannot be carried down from this altitude in most cases, so they stay, preserved by year-round sub-zero temperatures. Some have lain in place for decades, becoming grim landmarks that climbers use to track their progress, the most famous being Green Boots, the climber who rested in a limestone alcove at about 8,500 metres on the northeast ridge for nearly twenty years.
Rainbow Valley vs the Death Zone: What Is the Difference?
The death zone is a physiological boundary. Rainbow Valley is a place inside it. Above roughly 8,000 metres, air pressure falls to about a third of sea level and the human body can no longer acclimatise: it consumes itself faster than it can recover, no matter how fit the climber. Mountaineers can only survive there briefly, almost always with bottled oxygen, which is why every part of an Everest summit push above the South Col (south side) or Camp 3 (north side) takes place inside the death zone.
Rainbow Valley sits within that band on the north side descent. The two terms get mixed up online, but the distinction matters: the death zone explains why people die near the summit. Rainbow Valley is where many of them remain.
How High Is Rainbow Valley? Everest's Altitude Ladder
The gap between the trekking trail and Rainbow Valley is about 2,700 vertical metres. This ladder puts the trek's highest points next to the climbing route, so you can see where the death zone starts and where Rainbow Valley sits inside it.
| Point | Altitude | Metres | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everest Base Camp (trek) | 5,364 m | Highest point of the trek itself | |
| Kala Patthar viewpoint (trek) | 5,545 m | Best trekking view of the summit | |
| South Col, Camp 4 (Nepal side) | 7,906 m | Last camp before the summit push | |
| Start of the death zone | 8,000 m | The body can no longer acclimatise | |
| Rainbow Valley (Tibet side) | 8,000-8,500 m | Roughly 8,000 to 8,500 m, below the northeast ridge | |
| Green Boots cave (Tibet side) | 8,500 m | Landmark on the northeast ridge for nearly 20 years | |
| Summit | 8,849 m | 8,848.86 m, 2020 China-Nepal survey |
Why Do the Bodies Stay There?
Three forces keep the dead on the mountain. First, physics: a frozen body with gear weighs well over 100 kg, and at 8,000+ metres a rescuer can barely carry their own weight, so a recovery team needs six to ten strong climbers working in the death zone for hours. Second, danger: several rescuers have died attempting recoveries, and most expedition operators refuse the work outright. Third, cost: Nepali mountaineering officials told the Kathmandu Post in 2023 that bringing a body down can cost anywhere from USD 20,000 to 200,000, depending on how high it lies, and insurance rarely covers it. Families are usually left with a painful but honest choice: leave them where they climbed. Our guide on why Everest's dead cannot be brought down covers the full logistics.
How Many People Have Died on Everest?
About 340 people died on Everest between the first recorded deaths in 1922 and the end of 2025, according to Himalayan Database figures compiled by Alan Arnette. The recent years show the pattern: 11 deaths in 2019, 18 in 2023 (the deadliest year on record), 8 in 2024, 5 in spring 2025 and 5 in spring 2026. The 2026 season also set a record of 492 permits, with preliminary counts of roughly 950 to 1,000 summits. Most deaths happen on summit day, above 8,000 metres, from falls, exhaustion, exposure, and altitude illness, which is exactly why the area below the summit ridge holds so many of the mountain's dead. The full year-by-year picture is in our article on Everest's death toll, and the crowding dynamics behind the modern numbers are covered in the real price of five minutes on top of the world.
| Season | Deaths on Everest | Number | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 11 | The traffic-jam season | |
| 2023 | 18 | Deadliest season on record | |
| 2024 | 8 | ||
| 2025 | 5 | Spring season | |
| 2026 | 5 | Spring season, record 492 permits |
Figures are for the Nepal and Tibet sides combined, from Himalayan Database counts and season reports. Most of these deaths happened on summit day, above 8,000 metres.
The People Behind the Colours
Each suit in Rainbow Valley belonged to someone with a story, and a few have become part of Everest's collective memory. Green Boots, identified in 2026 by DNA as the Indian climber Dorje Morup, died in the 1996 blizzard and became the north side's most famous landmark. Francys Arsentiev, the Sleeping Beauty of Everest, died in 1998 just after becoming the first American woman to summit without oxygen. Her body was moved out of sight in 2007 by one of the climbers who had stayed with her in her final hours. Writing about this place respectfully means remembering that: these slopes are graves.
Is Anything Being Done? The Cleanup Campaigns
Yes, and the pace has picked up. The Nepali Army has run an annual Mountain Cleanup Campaign since 2019, and the 2024 operation, 12 soldiers supported by 18 Sherpas, recovered 11 tonnes of garbage, four bodies, and one skeleton from Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse. The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee removed a further 90,329 kg of waste from the Everest region in spring 2026, about 9,750 kg of it from above Base Camp. In December 2025 Nepal brought in its first five-year Everest Cleaning Action Plan (2025-2029), which proposes a team of Mountain Rangers to watch the high camps and suggests using cargo drones to fly rubbish down from above Base Camp. Recoveries from the death zone itself are still rare and dangerous, but less is being left where it falls.
Will Trekkers to Base Camp See Rainbow Valley?
No. Rainbow Valley lies above 8,000 metres on the climbing routes, far beyond anything visible from the trekking trails. The classic Everest Base Camp trek reaches 5,364 metres at Base Camp and 5,545 metres at the Kala Patthar viewpoint, in a completely different world from the death zone: no technical climbing, no bottled oxygen, and none of the mountain's grim upper reaches in view. Trekkers see Everest's summit pyramid from a respectful distance, which is exactly how most people should meet this mountain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where exactly is Rainbow Valley on Everest?
Below the northeast ridge route on the Tibet side, roughly between 8,000 and 8,500 metres, on the slopes where fallen climbers came to rest. The name is informal and is sometimes applied to similar areas above the South Col on the Nepal side.
How long can you survive in the death zone?
Without bottled oxygen, consciousness at the summit can fade in minutes for an unacclimatised person. Even acclimatised climbers on oxygen plan summit day around a 16-to-20-hour window. Beyond about 48 hours above 8,000 metres, survival odds collapse regardless of equipment.
How many bodies are in Rainbow Valley?
No official count exists for the area itself. Across the whole mountain, more than 200 of Everest's roughly 340 dead are believed to remain, most of them above 8,000 metres on or near the two main routes.
Is Rainbow Valley on the Nepal side or the Tibet side?
Mostly the Tibet side, on the slopes below the northeast ridge. China issued no Everest permits for spring 2026, so almost no climbers passed through Rainbow Valley that year. The Nepal route has its own fallen climbers near the South Col and the Balcony, and some people use the nickname for those slopes too.
Can the bodies be removed?
Occasionally, at great risk and cost (USD 20,000 to 200,000 by official estimates), and almost never from the highest slopes. The 2024 army campaign recovered four bodies and a skeleton, and Nepal's new five-year plan aims to make such recoveries more regular.
Related Reading
This article is part of our series on the human history of Everest: how many people die on Everest each year, why the bodies cannot be brought down, the story of Green Boots, Francys Arsentiev, the Sleeping Beauty of Everest, why Everest gets deadly traffic jams, the 1996 Everest disaster and the clean-up of the Everest trail.
