Francys Arsentiev Became Sleeping Beauty

On May 22, 1998, an American mountaineer named Francys Arsentiev became the first American woman to summit Mount Everest in the Himalayas without bottled oxygen. She and her husband, Russian mountaineer Sergei Arsentiev, reached the summit dangerously late and became separated during their descent. British climber Ian Woodall, South African climber Cathy O'Dowd, and several Uzbek climbers tried to rescue Francys on May 24, but she died at age 40 after they had to abandon the attempt. Her body, nicknamed "Sleeping Beauty," remained visible beside the climbing route for nine years until it was moved lower and out of sight in 2007.

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