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For nearly three decades, climbers on Everest’s north side knew him less as a man than as a marker. The body in bright green boots, lying high on the mountain near one of the main summit routes, became part of Everest’s dark geography. People passed him on the way up. Some used him to understand where they were. Others tried not to look too closely. Over time, a dead climber became a landmark, and a person became a nickname.