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- [Narrator] Few places on Earth can claim
to have a genuine otherworldly feel to it
than Mount Everest in the Himalayas.
With a peak sitting at an
altitude of 29,029 feet,
it's the highest recorded point
above sea level on the planet
and as such has been the ambition
of the most daring climbers in the world
who want to lay claim
to having conquered it
since it was given its name
by the Royal Geographical Society in 1865.
For those brave enough to attempt it,
they enter an environment
wholly hostile to Human beings
with temperatures often dropping
to minus 20 degrees centigrade,
the never-ending threat of an avalanche,
surviving a barren wasteland
and even having to bring oxygen tanks
in order to breath properly near the top.
For these reasons,
there have been nearly
300 deaths on the mountain
as of the end of 2017
with many of the bodies
of those who have died
still unrecovered.
But there is another side
to this incredible feat of nature,
one that is steeped in
mysticism and the paranormal.
The local Sherpa population,
many of whom are often
employed as guides or laborers
for expeditions to the top
tell of stories of
strange, ape-like creatures
that live on the side of Everest,
the Yeti.
Ghost sightings are also a
surprisingly common occurrence
on Everest
with many witnesses claiming
to have encountered the
spirits of those who died
attempting to reach the top.
Most incidents are often
dismissed as misidentification
or a combination of exhaustion
and lack of oxygen playing
tricks on the mind.
However, in 2018, the
internet became abuzz
with news of a UFO having
been caught on camera
from the Mount Everest base camp
where every year, hundreds of climbers
set off on their attempt
to conquer the mountain.
The object was captured unknowingly
by mountaineer and filmmaker
David Breashears in 2012.
Breashears was an experienced climber
having tackled Mount Everest
himself numerous times,
including in 1996 when
eight climbers were killed
in a blizzard that struck the mountain.
Breashears was in the
process of constructing
a stunning two-billion pixel
photo of the mountain range
as part of the project
on the effects of global climate change.
This involved stitching
together 477 separate images
into a super high definition
mosaic composition
on one of which is the strange object
which can be viewed when
zoomed in to a specific point.
The story of the Everest UFO
was picked up by the
YouTube channel UFO TODAY
who after uploading it on March 24th 2017
said the following.
"The object resembles a
flying disc of some sort,
"and it's clearly there since
we can see its silhouette.
"Judging its height from Mount Everest
"it's safe to say this object
is flying way above the height
"where helicopters or
drones would operate.
"We do not have any additional
information on the object,
"but it's interesting to see it flying
"above one of the highest
mountains in the world."
The story went largely unnoticed
beyond the channel's regular subscribers
until it began to trickle
through to the mainstream media
in February 2018 after
which the image went viral,
as well as fueling conspiracy
theories surrounding UFOs.
In their video description,
UFO TODAY even mentioned the theory
that Mount Everest is home
to an underground UFO base
that has been repeated in some UFO circles
for several years.
Although it sounds hard to believe,
the sighting was by no
means the first to be made
on Earth's tallest peak.
In 1933, British climber Frank Smythe
was making his first solo
effort to reach the peak
when at approximately 28,100 feet
up on Everest's North Ridge,
he observed two UFOs in the sky.
Recalling the event later he said,
"They strongly resembled
kite balloons in shape,
"but one possessed what
appeared to be squat,
"under-developed wings,
"and the other a protuberance
suggestive of a beak.
"They hovered motionless but
seemed slowly to pulsate,
"a pulsation incidentally much slower
"than my own hearts-beats."
If that wasn't enough, Frank claimed
that despite his solo effort,
he believed some unknown being
made its presence known
to him as he climbed.
He was so sure of the being's presence
that he even took a slice
of cake from his pocket
to share with this companion.
Two other climbers would report
a similar experience in 1975.
Dougal Haston and Doug
Scott were nearing the top
when they ran in to trouble
and had to settle into a snow cave
they had constructed for the night
while they pondered what to do.
Both climbers reported
that during the night,
a presence made itself known
to them inside the snow cave,
and as well as offering advice
to them on how to survive.
It also transmitted warmth to them
in order to help keep them alive.
Supporters of the theory
that a UFO base exists on Mount Everest
point to these and other mysterious events
as proof that benevolent
beings are monitoring us
from this remote location.
However, it's just as likely
that these and similar events
were the result of a lack of
oxygen at the high altitudes
affecting the brain's perception,
but this cannot explain the object
in Breashears' incredible images.
But could there still be a
more earthly explanation?
Scott Brando of ufoofinterest.org
responded to the image
by saying that he believed it was a bird
flying over the base camp
as opposed to the peaks
as some have claimed.
Depth perception is
difficult with photographs,
which explains why,
to some, the object
appears much further away
and consequently higher and
larger than it actually is.
Matthew Loffhagen of outerplaces.com
added that it's also possible
that the object is simply dirt on the lens
stating the following.
"This photograph, one of
almost 500 taken at the time,
"is a phenomenally high-resolution image.
"With detail comes noise,
"and an increased chance
"that the tiniest bit of dust
or debris on the camera lens
"could end up being
captured in the picture."
Other suggestions are potentially
more sinister in nature.
The summit of Mount Everest
is actually divided between Nepal
on the southern side of the
Autonomous Region of Tibet,
which is part of mainland
China on the northern side.
Some have claimed that
the object resembles
a USAF B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber
viewed from an awkward angle
or similarly an RQ-4 Global
Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle.
Could it be that Breashears
unknowingly captured an image
of a clandestine surveillance mission
aimed at the Chinese involving aircraft
designed specifically
to evade Chinese radar?
Alternatively, it is possible
that the aircraft was itself
a Chinese stealth design
being tested in the area
or was monitoring military
activity in neighboring India.
Chinese aerospace has
been making great strides
in developing stealth
technology in recent years
and applying them to aircraft,
which has to claims that Chinese hackers
stole the technology from US computers.
China has been at odds with India
over the Kashmir region for decades,
and has also been observing
India's increasing ties
with the United States with suspicion.
Given the passage of time
since the image was taken
and the fact that no firm explanation
for the object can be given,
it's likely that it'll become
the source of speculation
for many years to come.
The question is, what do you think it is?
Thanks for watching.
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your number one source for UFO, alien
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Thanks for watching and, as always,
I'll see you in the next one.
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