A climber struggles on the side of the mountain. He’s so close to the summit of Mount Everest
that he can taste it, he just needs to triumph over this last difficult section and he will
have fulfilled his lifetime dream of standing at the top of the world. He needs to hurry though, at this altitude
the air is so thin and the temperature is so cold that your body is slowly dying. There’s a reason this topmost section of
the mountain is known as the Death Zone. He glances down behind him and spots something. Is that another climber? “That’s strange,” he thinks, he was
at the very back of his group and there shouldn’t have been anyone else coming up behind him. It must be a solo climber. The soloist doesn’t look to be moving though,
he’s just staring at him. And the climber can’t seem to take his eyes
off him. Suddenly the climber starts feeling odd. He begins to feel… warm. And comfortable. The aches and pains of the long journey melt
away. He decides to sit down on a small ledge and
relax. He watches as the solo climber comes towards
him. He must be a professional with the way he
effortlessly moves up the mountain. He watches him make great time, getting closer
and closer. He loses sight as the solo climber reaches
the same difficult section he had been struggling with. He imagines the solo climber will soon zip
past him on his way to the summit. But just then the soloist pops up right in
front of him. He clasps his hands on the climber’s shoulders
and pulls him close, staring into his eyes with those dark, black goggles. They feel like they’re pulling him into
their depths and there’s nothing he can do to resist it. The climber tries to scream but all that comes
out of his mouth is silence. Hi! I’m Dr. Bob, and this is SCP-1529, also
known as... King of the Mountain. But first, a quick personal request from me. I need your help to spread the word about
the lesser known anomalies in the SCP Foundation’s archives. The best thing you can do to help me is subscribe,
turn on notifications, and then go tell your friends to do the same. This is a huge help and will let me bring
you more and more SCP videos. Now, back to our file. SCP-1529 is an entity with a humanoid appearance
that resides near the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal. It is only found above 8,000 meters, which
places it in the part of the mountain referred to as the “Death Zone” where oxygen levels
are too low to support human life for any extended period of time. It is roughly equivalent to an average human
male in height and weight, and its outer appearance resembles normal mountaineering clothes, with
a heavy parka, pants, and boots that are all white in color. Its face is completely obscured by a large
hood, with the only visible detail being a pair of large, dark goggles. SCP-1529 has never been seen wearing any other
outfit, and in fact it is unknown whether these are articles of clothing at all, or
if they are actually a part of its body. The SCP Foundation first became aware of an
anomalous entity lurking near the top of Mount Everest in the 1970s, when climbing expeditions
to the summit became more commonplace among professional and amateur mountaineers alike. Rumors began to spread and told of a monster
that was killing unfortunate climbers. In 1999, the body of George Mallory, who is
believed to be the first person to reach the top of Mount Everest, was located, and photographic
film found on his body was developed. From those pictures, it is now known that
SCP-1529 was present at least as early as his 1924 expedition. When sufficient daylight and a lack of cloud
cover allows observation of the peak by telescope, SCP-1529 can be seen sitting or lying on the
mountain, apparently motionless in an inactive state. These motionless periods have been seen to
last anywhere from 17 minutes to as long as eight months. When active though, it can be seen summiting
and descending the upper portion of the mountain, though it never uses any climbing tools and
will ignore established climbing ropes and ladders that have been installed by other
climbers. It has also been observed easily traversing
portions of the mountain that are considered too difficult or altogether impossible by
experienced climbers. Additionally, SCP-1529 is not impacted by
the freezing temperatures, extreme wind speeds, or low oxygen levels at the top of the mountain,
and it has never once been seen to stumble, fall, or even lose its grip. It is unknown what prompts SCP-1529 to become
active or enter a resting inactive phase, nor has there been any established correlation
of these phases to weather, time of year, or traffic on the mountain. Its active periods have been observed to last
between mere hours to several days, but the exact amount is hard to know for sure. Nighttime observation of 1529 has so far been
impossible even with thermal imaging cameras since it produces no heat, with its temperature
being the same as that of the surrounding environment. When in its active phase, if a human climber
passes the 8,000 meter mark then SCP-1529 will begin to make its way towards them, putting
itself in the path between the climber and either the summit if they are ascending or
their camp if they are descending. It seems to prefer to go after solo climbers
or those that are significantly ahead or behind their climbing group, but it has been observed
targeting climbers in a group when a solo opportunity is not available. Once SCP-1529 is within eyesight of its targeted
climber, it will attempt to gain their attention and then lock eyes with them, which produces
a hypnotic effect. The climber will find that they are unable
to break eye contact with SCP-1529, and will then begin to experience feelings of warmth
and euphoria, similar to the effects of hypothermia and hypoxia, also known as altitude sickness. The victim will feel the overwhelming desire
to sit down where they are, and once they stop moving, SCP-1529 will quickly close the
distance between them. Once SCP-1529 reaches the victim, death is
almost a certainty, and examination of bodies has shown the cause to be from hypothermia. Strangely, it’s been observed that victims
seem to succumb within just one to two hours after having first made eye contact with SCP-1529,
a period of time much shorter than usual for climbers trapped on the summit of Everest. After death, the victims’ bodies experience
an accelerated rate of decay, and after mere hours or days, the bodies become rotted and
mummified at a level comparable to bodies that have been exposed to the wind and cold
of the mountain for decades. Many of the over 200 deaths on Mount Everest
have been attributed to SCP-1529, and the rare survivor of an encounter is almost always
due to the intervention of another mountaineer who was able to offer assistance to the entranced
climber before SCP-1529 was able to reach them. There have been several notable reports from
survivors of interactions with SCP-1529. One, known as Incident 1529-1, is also the
only documented instance of SCP-1529 descending below the 8,000 meter mark. During the incident, the entity entered Camp
five, located on the northern approach of the mountain at 7,775 meters, which resulted
in multiple deaths including two Foundation personnel who were operating the monitoring
post. One climber, who had initially believed to
have been killed in the incident, was discovered to still be alive two days later when Foundation
personnel were conducting investigations of the camp. He was safely removed from the mountain though
he required the amputation of several frostbitten fingers and toes. During an interview with a Foundation agent,
they described spotting SCP-1529 just ten minutes after leaving the summit of the mountain. After locking eyes with the entity, they began
to feel happy, comfortable, and relieved, like they were back at home next to a warm
fire. But then suddenly the warmth was gone, and
they experienced a sensation of cold more powerful than anything they had felt before. They were stuck, and could only watch as 1529
made its way towards them. When it finally reached them, it placed its
hands on their shoulders and pulled them up into its face, so that they were staring right
into its black goggles. Images began to appear in the dark depths
of the goggles - people warm and happy, sitting next to fires, in hot baths, or sunning on
a beach. They tried to resist the strange pull of the
creature with all of their might. They then heard something in their mind. A question from SCP-1529. It asked “you would refuse my gift?” The stranded climber struggled to answer,
using all of their willpower and strength to move their lips and whisper a single word… Yes. SCP-1529 responded by showing more images
of people, but this time, they were bodies lying dead in the snow. Countless victims trapped on Mount Everest
forever. SCP-1529 made them watch their deaths play
out in long, drawn out detail, a witness to every second of their demise. The climber was sure they would soon join
them but then they found something deep inside of them, a spark of life, a will to resist. They clenched their fist and with their final
ounce of strength they punched SCP-1529. The goggles appeared to crack, and the next
thing the climber knew, they were woken up by the Foundation recovery team. Following this encounter, the climber never
attempted to summit another mountain, When they eventually passed away some years later,
an autopsy revealed that their cause of death was consistent with extreme hypothermia, frostbite,
and cerebral edema, despite not having been in a cold environment or above 500 meters
in altitude in the previous 12 months. SCP-1529 has been classified as Euclid and
is to be kept under telescope and satellite surveillance whenever possible. Though telescope observation should make use
of a delayed video feed, as observers have reported seeing SCP-1529 appearing to stare
back at them, and reported feeling symptoms consistent with an encounter including hypothermia
and frostbite. The foundation maintains communication with
civilian mountaineering expeditions to prevent summiting attempts when SCP-1529 is active. The bodies of any victims are to be removed
from the mountain, if possible, for autopsy, with their deaths being officially classified
as having been from natural causes related to altitude sickness and hypothermia. Any survivors of encounters with SCP-1529
are to be debriefed and administered amnestics. Mobile Task Force Psi-29029, also known as
Alpine Echo, is to remain on standby at all times at a permanent monitoring station, with
on-duty members remaining in a pressurized environment acclimatized to 7,900 meters above
sea level, allowing them to quickly deploy via helicopter if need be. Finally, and most troubling, is that aerial
surveillance of another mountain has revealed an individual similar in appearance to SCP-1529. The location remains classified and the local
government has prohibited climbing on the peak, so threats to humanity are minimal at
this time. But the foundation will continue to monitor
it and other mountains for anomalous activity. Now go and watch another entry from the files
of Dr. Bob, and once again, please join me on my mission by subscribing, turning on notifications,
and telling a friend join us as well, as we delve further and further into the SCP Foundation’s
classified archives.
