The world's most difficult mountain to climb: no one has reached the summit, and the death rate of those who try to reach the summit is 100%

Deep in the Himalayas, the Meili Snow Mountain stands silently, and although it is not the highest mountain in the world, it is more awe-inspiring than Mount Everest because no one has ever managed to reach the top.

In 1991, a team of Chinese and Japanese climbers, full of confidence and hope, tried to climb this sacred mountain, but unfortunately disappeared in the endless snow and ice, leaving behind a mystery that has not been solved to this day.

Seven years later, the melting glacier reveals the secret of being covered in snow and ice, but the truth of the matter becomes more elusive.

Is this a punishment from the mountain gods, or a cruel test by nature?

Located at the junction of Chayu County in Tibet and Deqin County in Yunnan Province, Meili Snow Mountain is a 150-kilometer mountain range with thirteen peaks over 6,000 meters above sea level, affectionately known as the "Thirteen Peaks of Taizi".

These peaks surround the main peak, Kawagebo, like stars surrounding the moon.

At 6,740 meters above sea level, although the height is not as high as Mount Everest, its unique pyramid shape and steep terrain make it very difficult to climb, and the mountaineering community generally believes that it is more difficult to conquer than Mount Everest.

However, for the Tibetan people who have lived here for generations, Meili Snow Mountain is not just a magnificent mountain, but also a sacred symbol, the most noble sacred mountain in their hearts.

Meaning "white snow-capped mountain" in Tibetan, Kawagebo is also revered as the "god of snow-capped mountains", and it is the first of the four sacred mountains of Tibetan Buddhism, and is regarded by Tibetans as the residence of the mountain god.

According to the legend of the Tibetan people, Kawagebo was not originally a holy mountain, but a demon mountain that brought misfortune.

Later, Guru Padmasambhava subdued him with the power of Buddhism and transformed it into a deity who blessed the local people, and the Tibetans were in awe of Kawagebo.

They strictly prohibit any activities that might disturb the peace of the mountain gods, such as climbing, cutting down trees, and grazing livestock.

Because in their beliefs, any desecration of the sacred mountain will trigger the wrath and punishment of the mountain god, and bring disaster.

However, for climbers from the outside world, its steep terrain and mysterious atmosphere ignite their desire to conquer it.

As early as the end of the 19th century, British explorers discovered the snow-capped mountain and used it as a training ground before climbing Mount Everest.

In 1902, a British mountaineering team attempted to climb the Kawagebo Peak, but encountered an avalanche halfway up the mountain and had to give up.

In the decades that followed, many mountaineering teams from all over the world tried to challenge Kawagebo, including the American team of Kronzi, but ultimately failed to reach the summit.

Japan's mountaineering teams are particularly keen to climb the Meili Snow Mountain, especially the Joetsu Mountaineering Association, and they have tried to challenge the mountain many times, but always failed.

To make matters worse, some Japanese scholars secretly posed as tourists and secretly inspected the Meili Snow Mountains for months, taking with them some very valuable samples of flora and fauna, such as four-tailed tricolor butterflies and yew branches.

This behavior has attracted the attention and displeasure of the Chinese side, as they have taken away the natural resources belonging to China without permission.

In 1990, the Kyoto University Mountaineering Team of Japan applied to climb Kawagebo Peak again, and the Chinese government coordinated with the establishment of the Sino-Japanese Joint Mountaineering Team.

The team is a strong team, bringing together 11 experienced Japanese team members and 7 elites in the Chinese mountaineering community.

The team was led by Jiro Inoue, a well-known Japanese meteorological expert, and Song Zhiyi, an experienced Chinese mountaineer, served as the deputy leader.

Thanks to the sponsorship of Japanese medical and biological companies, the mountaineering team had the most advanced mountaineering equipment and communication equipment at the time.

In order to ensure the success of the climb, the team made thorough preparations for two years, and they carefully surveyed the climatic characteristics, topography, geological structure and other information of Meili Snow Mountain, and finally selected the most suitable climbing route and time.

They seem to have thought through everything they can think of, and they seem confident that they will succeed.

However, the team's plan to climb was met with strong resistance from local Tibetans.

When the team arrived at the village of Mingyong at the foot of the mountain, they were warmly received at first, but when they learned that they wanted to climb the Kawagebo Peak, the villagers' attitudes immediately changed.

They tried to dissuade the mountaineers from abandoning their plans to take the risk, and they also talked about the legends and taboos of the mountain gods, and solemnly emphasized that climbing the mountain would lead to disaster.

Source: Facing the Snow Mountain, Be in Awe2022-08-14 Southern Metropolis Daily

In order to stop the mountaineering team, the Tibetans organized themselves and went to the temple together to hold a grand blessing ceremony, hoping that the mountain god would protect the sacred mountain and prevent the climbers from successfully reaching the summit.

In the face of the opposition and prayers of the Tibetans, the members of the mountaineering team felt a little unsure, but they felt that this was just a traditional belief and did not pay much attention to it, and still acted according to the original plan.

In December 1990, the Sino-Japanese joint mountaineering team officially began to climb Mount Everest.

In order to adapt to the high altitude, they set up several camps at 3,400 meters, 4,900 meters, 5,100 meters, 5,300 meters and 5,900 meters above sea level.

When choosing the specific location of the 5,100-meter camp, the Chinese and Japanese team members had different opinions.

The Chinese team members were more safety-conscious and proposed that the camp be built in an open area away from the ridge.

The Japanese team, hoping to save time on the climb, preferred to set up camp on a ridge closer to the summit.

After negotiations, the two sides adopted a more balanced approach, and finally built the camp in the middle of the two program locations.

Not long after the camp was built, a terrible avalanche occurred in Meili Snow Mountain, and a large amount of snow poured down, instantly submerging the ridge.

Fortunately, the advice of the Japanese team was not taken at the time, otherwise they might have suffered an unimaginable disaster, and the avalanche seemed to be a warning from nature to the danger, but unfortunately they did not fully realize that the danger was imminent.

In order to ensure safety, the mountaineering team selected five elite commandos led by the captain Jiro Inoue to try to reach the summit when they climbed to an altitude of 5,900 meters.

But when they reached an altitude of 6,470 meters, only 270 meters from the summit, a sudden and strong snowstorm forced them to abandon their plans to reach the summit and return to the base camp to rest and wait.

On 3 January, the team attempted to reach the summit again, however, the previous section was completely covered with snow up to 1.5 meters thick.

It took the team three days to reach the altitude of 6,400 meters above sea level, where they set up camp and planned to continue their assault on the summit the next day.

That night, they made one last contact with the base, and after that they were completely lost, and they were never heard from again.

After the accident, the rescue began immediately, but the snowstorms did not stop and avalanches were frequent, which brought great difficulties to the rescue.

Helicopters were unable to get close to Kawagebo Peak due to bad weather, and search and rescue teams on the ground had difficulty entering the mountains to conduct searches.

It wasn't until 22 January that the weather finally improved, and helicopters went to reconnoiter and found that the entire Kawagebo peak was covered in a thick layer of snow, and it seemed that no one had survived.

Since the search and rescue operation was finally halted, the fate of the seventeen climbers is unknown, and their whereabouts remain a mystery.

Seven years later, in July 1998, a group of herders found scattered human remains and mountaineering equipment in the glacier at an altitude of 3,800 meters.

After identification, it was determined that these were the relics of the members of the Sino-Japanese joint mountaineering team who disappeared that year, and among these relics, a mountaineering diary was found, which recorded the last days of the team.

The diary mentions that they experienced some strange things in the mountains: the team members had a high fever and talked nonsense, often heard some incomprehensible sounds, and saw unexplained shadows and other anomalous phenomena.

The last few pages of the diary are filled with fear and helplessness, as if to foretell that something terrible is about to happen.

This diary is essential for us to understand the truth about the mountaineering accident, but at the same time, it also raises more questions about the whole incident.

I thought I could find the answer in it, but it pointed to a darker, more incomprehensible future, which is unsettling.

It records not only the experience of the climber, but also a gradual approaching fear.

The author thinks

The accident in Meili Snow Mountain is not only a failure of mountaineering, but also makes us seriously think about the relationship between man and nature.

It reminds us that in the face of the vast expanse of nature, human power is very limited, and we should revere nature, obey its laws, and not just think about conquering it.