The Haunting Truth Behind The "Sleeping Beauty Everest Face Photo" And Her Final Resting Place

The "Sleeping Beauty Everest face photo" is one of the most haunting and enduring images associated with the dangers of high-altitude mountaineering, yet the full story—and the crucial update on the climber’s final resting place—is often overlooked. For years, the sight of this body, eerily preserved by the extreme cold of the Death Zone, served as a grim landmark for climbers ascending the world's highest peak, Mount Everest. As of December 10, 2025, the body is no longer visible on the main route, thanks to a dedicated 2007 expedition focused on restoring the dignity of the deceased. The tragic figure behind the nickname is Francys Arsentiev, an American mountaineer whose ambition to achieve a historic feat ultimately led to her demise high on the mountain's slopes. Her story is a poignant reminder of the fine line between triumph and tragedy in the hostile environment above 8,000 meters, where the lack of supplemental oxygen can rapidly lead to fatal errors in judgment. The legacy of her climb, her husband’s heroic attempt to save her, and the controversial photograph itself, remains a powerful testament to the mountain’s unforgiving nature.

Francys Arsentiev: The American Dream and Tragic Biography

The story of the "Sleeping Beauty" is the story of Francys Arsentiev, a determined and experienced climber who sought to etch her name into mountaineering history. Her life was marked by a passion for the mountains, culminating in a fateful expedition to the summit of Mount Everest in 1998.

• Full Name: Francys Distefano Arsentiev (née Yarbro).
• Born: January 18, 1958, in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
• Nationality: American.
• Spouse: Sergei Arsentiev (Russian mountaineer).
• Major Feat Attempted: To become the first American woman to summit Mount Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen.
• Summit Date: May 22, 1998. She successfully reached the summit, achieving her goal.
• Death Date: May 24, 1998. She died during the descent.
• Cause of Death: Exhaustion, exposure, and severe altitude sickness (likely High-Altitude Cerebral Edema or HACE) in the Death Zone.
• Nickname Origin: Her body was found lying on its side, relatively intact, giving the impression of someone peacefully "sleeping."

Francys and her husband, Sergei Arsentiev, were a formidable climbing pair. Their ascent was successful, but they were forced to spend a second night in the Death Zone on their descent due to a late summit. This prolonged exposure to the extreme altitude, where the atmosphere contains only one-third the oxygen of sea level, proved catastrophic. Separated from Sergei, Francys was found by a team of Uzbek climbers, and later by British climber Ian Woodall and his partner, Cathy O’Dowd. Despite their efforts, rescuing her from the treacherous altitude of the Northeast Ridge Route was impossible, forcing them to make the harrowing decision to leave her. Sergei, who had descended to retrieve oxygen and returned to find her, tragically disappeared and was later found dead lower on the mountain. [cite: 4, 10 (from first search), 12 (from first search)]

The Haunting Origin of the "Sleeping Beauty" Image

The enduring image of "Sleeping Beauty" is not a picture of Francys alive, but a photograph of her body, frozen in time and exposed to the elements for almost a decade. The very existence and circulation of the "face photo" became a central point in the ongoing ethical debate surrounding mountaineering tourism. The Death Zone, located above 8,000 meters (26,000 ft), is a region where human life cannot be sustained for long. The combination of intense cold (often below -30°C), low atmospheric pressure, and severe hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) means that bodies of deceased climbers are often perfectly preserved. Francys’s body, clad in a distinctive purple and black summit jacket, lay on her side, still clipped to a climbing rope. [cite: 15 (from first search)] Her appearance, though marked by frostbite and exposure, was notably peaceful compared to other bodies on the mountain, which is what earned her the tragic nickname. [cite: 5 (from first search), 9 (from first search)] The controversial nature of the photograph stems from the moral dilemma faced by climbers: whether to respect the dead by averting their gaze or to document the brutal reality of the mountain. For years, climbers, including those on the popular Northeast Ridge Route, were forced to pass her body. The circulation of the "face photo" online spurred a wider conversation about the ethics of using human remains as morbid landmarks or subjects for sensationalist photography. Many argued that the use of bodies like Francys’s and the famous "Green Boots" (believed to be Tsewang Paljor) as route markers was a profound insult to the deceased and their families. [cite: 13 (from second search)]

Restoring Dignity: The 2007 "Tao of Everest" Expedition

The most critical and often overlooked chapter in the story of the "Sleeping Beauty" is its resolution in 2007. The presence of Francys Arsentiev’s body, and the knowledge that he had to leave her nearly a decade earlier, deeply affected British climber Ian Woodall. Woodall, who had witnessed her final moments in 1998, felt a moral obligation to return and restore her dignity. [cite: 8 (from second search)] In 2007, Woodall initiated and led a private expedition he named "The Tao of Everest." The primary, and highly dangerous, objective of this mission was not to summit, but to give Francys a proper, dignified burial out of sight of the main climbing path. [cite: 6 (from second search)] The logistics of a burial in the Death Zone are immense. Removing a body from that altitude is a massive undertaking, costing tens of thousands of dollars and putting the lives of the recovery team at extreme risk due to the thin air and treacherous terrain. Instead of a full removal, Woodall and his team located Francys's body, wrapped it in an American flag, and then moved it to a lower, less visible location on the face of the mountain. This act effectively removed the "Sleeping Beauty" landmark from the main climbing route, providing a measure of peace and closure for her family and for the climbing community. [cite: 4 (from second search), 6 (from second search)] This action represents a significant shift in the ethical landscape of Everest mountaineering, moving away from the morbid acceptance of bodies as landmarks toward a greater respect for the deceased.

The Ethical Quandary of Everest's 'Graveyard'

Francys Arsentiev’s story is intrinsically linked to the broader ethical dilemma of the Mount Everest Graveyard. It is estimated that over 340 people have died attempting to climb Everest, with approximately 200 bodies still remaining on the mountain, mostly concentrated in the Death Zone. [cite: 15 (from second search)] The reason so many bodies remain is simple: the extreme altitude makes rescue or recovery nearly impossible. The effort required to move a body can endanger the lives of multiple Sherpas and climbers. This reality has led to the grim phenomenon of bodies receiving nicknames and becoming navigational aids, such as "Green Boots" near the North Ridge, who marked the 8,500-meter level for decades. [cite: 10 (from first search), 13 (from second search)] The Arsentiev tragedy, however, highlighted the human cost and the moral imperative to do better. The visibility of bodies like the "Sleeping Beauty" served as a constant psychological strain on ascending climbers, forcing them to confront their own mortality. The 2007 effort to move Francys's body, and similar efforts to conceal or remove other remains, signaled a growing commitment within the mountaineering community to prioritize dignity over utility. The risks associated with the Death Zone—including rapid onset of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), and the catastrophic effects of hypoxia—mean that the mountain will continue to claim lives. However, the legacy of Francys Arsentiev and the controversial image of the "Sleeping Beauty Everest face photo" have helped to foster a new standard of respect, ensuring that future tragedies are met with a greater sense of humanity, even in the most inhospitable environment on Earth. Her story is a permanent reminder that the summit is only half the journey, and that the mountain’s beauty is matched only by its ruthless power.