Facts of Mount Everest

 

Name: Mount Everest

Tibetian name: Chomolungma

Sanskrit name: Sagarmatha

Elevation: 8848.86m

Location: Nepal-Tibet( an autonomous China) border

Summit temperature: -20 to -35 degrees celsius

1st person to climb: Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa

Summit wind speed: up to 280km/h average of 1 hurricane every four days

 

Facts of Everest

 

• The tallest mountain in the world
• Around 4000 attempts to the summit
• The number of successful attempts is 660
• The death rate at the Everest summit 142
• Height of the Everest is 8848.86m
• Countries visible from the summit: Nepal, Tibet, and India
• Tibetian name Chomolungmas whereas Nepalese name is Sagarmatha
• The Everest is named for George Everest, a British surveyor- General of India.
• It is believed that Everest is approximately 60 million years old
• Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit in 1953.
• Eleven people died during spring expeditions in 1996.

 

Mount Everest

 

Reaching 8848.86m above sea level, Mount Everest set its record as the world’s highest peak on Earth. The mightiest Everest is popular for its overwhelming height.

The Himalayan range in Asia consists of some of the tallest Himalayan peaks which separate the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetian plateau.

They extend to the major South Asian countries such as Nepal, China, India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. The highest Himalayan peak stands tall between the border of Nepal and Tibet.

With a newly recorded height of 8848.86m, Mount Everest is the world’s tallest peak.

It is composed of multiple layers of rocks folded back on themselves where lower elevations of rock consist of metamorphic schists and gneisses and higher elevations are found a sedimentary rock of marine origin.

 

 

Mount Everest lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayan range in southern Asia.

Mount Everest is the mountain on the crest of the Great Himalayas in Southern Asia that lies on the border between Nepal and Tibet, an autonomous region of China.

It lies in the Mahalangur range of the Tibetian plateau known as Qing Zang Gaoyuan. In Nepal, it lies in the Sagarmatha National Park in the Solukhumbu district.

So, climbers can have access to the summit of Everest from both Nepal and Tibet. Mount Everest is shaped like a three-sided pyramid. The three generally flat planes are the faces and the line that join the two faces is the ridge.

The North face rises above Tibet and is bounded by the North Ridge. On the other hand, the southwest face rises above Nepal and is bounded by the West Ridge and the Southeast Ridge.

 

Tallest Mountain in the World

 

The Sanskrit or Nepali name for Mount Everest is Sagarmatha whereas its Tibetian name is Chomolungma. Mount Everest has been admired by Local people since long ago.

The Tibetan name Chomolungma means, “ Goddess Mother of the world” whereas the Sanskrit name Sagarmatha means “Peak of the Heaven”.

Regardless of what they named Everest, it is clear that both of them considered Everest mighty and sacred. Everest indeed is the highest point above sea level but its summit is not the farthest from the earth’s center.

So, Summit to the Everest is possible from both of these countries. Yearly hundreds of people make their attempt to the summit from both sides of the border.

Although but very few get lucky to complete the whole Journey. No matter where you choose to start your journey to Everest, the route will be always challenging and the weather is pretty disturbing.

 

Sherpa

 

However, the valleys below Everest at an elevation of 14000 feet are inhabited by Tibetan-speaking people.

Traditionally an agricultural people with little cultivable land, Sherpas are the major descendants of this region. Living close to Everest, they treat the Himalayas as a sacred site.

Besides, they build monasteries at the base of Everest, placing prayer flags on the slopes and establishing sanctuaries for the wildlife.

However, the Majority of the Sherpas follow an occupation of the guide to Everest as they grow and live below the Everest and are well known for the routes

The name Mount Everest is something that even children in their schooling can recognize. The word “ Mount Everest” holds the title of the highest peak on the earth.

Mount Everest has been the inspiration for many Guinness World Records of the well-known fact of the tallest peak to being the venue for the highest concert in the world.

As the highest peak, Everest gathers the attention of every adventurous climber and sets up a new record every time.

As its new official height is 8848.86m increased by 0.86m, since then Everest has been catching the attention of a lot of people all over the world.

 

Everest is a border between two Asian countries

 

Nepal

 

Nepal is a sovereign country in South Asia. It is a landlocked country mainly in the Himalayas but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

Covering a total area of 147181 sq. km, it is bordered by Tibet in the North and India in the South East and west.

Nepal is a country with diverse geography, fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains, including Mt Everest the earth’s highest point.

And the summit of this tallest peak is something that Nepal is famous for. Yearly, hundreds make their attempt to the highest peak from the Nepal side and it is the most popular side for the Everest summit.

 

 

Tibet

 

It is an autonomous region of china on the lofty Tibetian Plateau on the Northern side of the Himalayas. Tibet is known as the “Roof of the World” and shares a Mount. Everest with Nepal.

With an average elevation of 5000m, Tibet is the highest region on Earth. Religion is extremely important to Tibetan people and Buddhism is their major religion. Mount Everest is the highest elevation in Tibet as well at 8848.86m above sea level.

Besides, hundreds of mountaineers attempt their summit of Everest from Tibet as well.

Situated between the border of Nepal and Tibet, Everest is the highest peak on the earth but actually, there is something else that is even taller than Everest.

Yes, at 8848.86m Everest is the highest peak on earth reaching the highest altitude but the tallest is Mauna kea in Hawaii, USA.

The fact is that you can only see 4205m of it above sea level but when measured from its underwater base, it is 10,211m.

But because Mauna Kea is just 4205m above sea level, Mount Everest became the world’s highest peak because it has the highest elevation above sea level. No other mountain on Earth’s surface has a higher altitude than that of Everest.

Therefore, setting an eye on the world’s highest peak, yearly thousands of climbers make their way up to the summit and basecamp of Everest. However, very few get to experience the success of the summit of Everest.

 

Mount Everest Elevation

 

The world’s highest peak, which borders Nepal and Tibet in the Himalayas, stands at an elevation of 8848.86m. Before the height of Everest was 8848m only but recently the height increased by 0.86m.

The new Height of Everest was officially announced in both China and Nepal on December 8, 2020.

There was a long-running debate on the height of Everest however the agreement marked the end of the debate over the precise dimensions of Everest.

Over the years governments around the world have offered up differing estimates of the mountain’s height.

But Nepal and China jointly processed the surveyed data and came up with the final results and the agreement.

China has previously measured Everest but the previous official measurement was 8844.43 which puts the mountain nearly four meters lower than Nepal’s.

There were several opinions regarding the height measurement of Everest. Chinese authorities want to measure Everest to its rock height whereas Nepalese authorities want the snow on the top to be included.

Chinese surveyors measured the mountain in 2005. On the other hand, the Nepalese government said to BBC in 2012 that they were under pressure from China to accept the Chinese height.

Therefore, they want to go from the fresh measurement and set the record once and straight for all.

The previous 8848m height of Everest was determined by the survey of India and Nepal and has never measured the height of its peak. So, this is the first time that Nepal has measured its peak.

 

Mount Everest (8848.86m)

 

The measured elevation of Everest in 1955 was 8848m which was officially recognized by both Nepal and China.

Later this height was confirmed by China in 1hnology has rapidly evolved from the 18th century to the 21st century. There were many tools and techniques used to measure the exact height of Everest.

The heights of the mountain are measured by taking sea level as the base. Thus it is less about working out where the top is than where the bottom will be.

Using the Bay of Bengal as its sea level, Nepal built a network of line-of-sight stations stretching nearly 250km to the point where Everest became visible and created a chain of points that could measure and add together.

On the other hand, the Chinese surveyors used the Yellow Sea in the eastern province of Shandong as their sea-level base for the measurement of Everest.

 

Height of Mount Everest

 

With the very recent agreement of both the bordering nation of Everest, Nepal and China, the new height of Everest was released.

The new height of Everest is 8848.86m and the surveyors from both nations used Trigonometry formulas to calculate the height of the summit.

The formula they used was multiplying its base with ist angles. But someone needs to be at the top for all the groundwork. Surveyors from both nations went up to the summit.

Nepali side went up in the last year whereas the Chinese side went up in May becoming the only team to reach the top.

Nepal suspended all expeditions and China banned foreign travelers during the coronavirus pandemic.

But after a few months, the official height was announced at the same time in Kathmandu and Beijing, the capital of Nepal and China.

 

 

Besides the fact that Everest is 8848.86m high, there are many lingering questions about the actual age of Everest. The mightiest peak has been an interest of many geologists all around the world.

About the actual geological age of Everest, there are many opinions of different Geologists and there are no exact records regarding the age of Everest.

However, according to the research done by Scientists, Everest is around 50 to 60 million years old.

As Everest is a part of the Himalayas, scientists believe that the Himalayas are formed due to the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates which makes the age of Everest similar to the age of the Himalayas.

 

8848.86m

 

On the other hand, it was discovered a few years ago that around 500 million years ago there was a mountain range, even before the collision where now the Himalayas lie.

So, an explanation was made that maybe 500 million years ago the mountain range was formed by the collision of the Indian plate. So, Everest can be 500 million years old too.

Although there are 17 different routes to the summit of Everest almost everyone climbs it via one or two routes from Nepal and Tibet.

From the Nepal side in the southern ridge, the line to the summit was created by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953.

From, the Tibetan side in the northern ridge, George Mallory created the line but disappeared during his summit in 1924.

Later Chinese team completed the climb in 1960. Although experienced mountaineers claimed that the difficulties in both routes are comparable but the challenges are different.

From the Nepal side, mountaineers must race through the hazardous Khumbu Icefall. The summit days are slightly shorter and it is easier to descend quickly in case of emergency.

However, From the Tibet side, you can drive jeeps to the basecamp but traverse several kilometers of terrain above 27,000 feet to reach the summit.

 

Top of Mount Everest

 

Everyone is familiar with the tallest peak in the world. Mount Everest being, the only highest at an elevation of 8848.86m, there were around 4000 attempts to the summit out of which 660 have reached the top.

Many returned halfway because of extreme climate, and difficult routes whereas 142 even sacrificed themselves for this thrilling adventure.

Just to get to the top of the peak, a Yearly number of mountaineers make their attempts to the summit.

With a thrilling adventure, they set out to the top experiencing various hardships on the way.  Some even have to give up in the middle, why? Because the climate on Everest is never the same.

It is extreme and as the altitude raises the level of oxygen decrease. For the normal person, it is even difficult to reach the basecamp without any preparation.

 

Sir Edmund Hillary

 

There are many successful attempts to climb Everest. The very first people to make a successful summit of Everest are Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary.

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa was the mountaineer. They both became the first climbers to have reached the summit of Everest on 29 May 1953.

Edmund Hillary of Newzealand and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa from Nepal became the first explorers to reach the highest summit of Mount Everest at 11:30 am on May 29, 1953.

The news was rushed from the expedition basecamp to the radio post at Namche Bazar. Then from Namche, it was sent by a coded message to London which was the day of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. Likewise, the news of their success broke out around the world on June 2.

 

First Attempt to Climb Mount Everest

 

The first record of attempting to climb the summit of Everest was by a British expedition, the George Leigh Mallory team in 1921. However, a raging storm forced them to abort their ascent.

Later on their second attempt, they reached an impressive height of around 27000  but in his third attempt, seven Sherpa porters were killed.

The third Everest expedition was launched by the British in 1924 where the climber set the record of reaching 28128 feet without using artificial oxygen.

Four days later, Mallory and Andrew went for the summit but were never seen alive. However, Mallory’s body was found in 1999 with numerous broken bones. It is still a mystery whether or not they reach the summit.

The top of Everest is a dream destination for many mountaineers. Unlike other summits, Everest has room enough for several people to stand together, said one of the climbers.

The snow is deep, and the air is vanishingly thin, but for the mountaineer, the top gives another level of satisfaction.

 

Sir George Everest

 

Everest, with its mighty name people, can recognize as the highest elevation in the world.  In 1856, the peak was named after British surveyor George Everest.

In 1852 Radnanath Sikhdar, a mathematician, mapping the Indian Subcontinent identified the highest mountain in the world that lies on the border between Tibet and Nepal.

The Tibetian already named it Chomolungma and Nepali called it Sagarmatha.

So, the British referred to the peak as XV until Andrew Waugh, the surveyor-general of India, suggested that it be named for his predecessor, Sir George Everest.

Sir George Everest preferred a native name for the highest peak and objected to waugh’s proposal of naming the peak in his honor thinking that locals will have difficulties pronouncing his name.

However, Waugh wrote the proposal to the Royal Geographical Society in 1856. Despite George’s arguments, society decides to dub the world’s tallest peak Mount Everest in 1865.

 

How long does it take for the Everest summit?

 

Mountaineers from all over the world aim to climb Everest. It is probably one of the greatest adventures in the world.

Even though the summit of Everest is close to the deadliest adventure, some people become climbing inspiration to the new climbers.

Each time, the climbers set a new record on Everest such as Jordan Romero, a 13-year-old boy who is the youngest one to the summit.

On the other hand, Yuichiro Miura reached the top of Everest at the age of 80. Likewise, several set a record for climbing without using supplemental oxygen.

Now, people may wonder how long does it take for the Everest summit.

The duration of the summit of Everest varies. You need to consider several things before climbing Everest such as the climate, the routes, etc.

Sometimes you have to halt because of poor weather, dangerous wind, and heavy snow. But generally, it may take around two months or more to reach the summit.

The real journey to the summit starts from the Basecamp. You will have several acclimatization days on the base camp. Starting from camp 3 they move towards South Col taking a long break.

From the south col, one can reach the summit within 9 to 18 hours. You can spend the night at south col but need to manage some extra oxygen supplements.

The altitude is a threat, and your body will only function properly if there is supplemental oxygen. Therefore, you can say that the climbing period of Everest is 60 days or above.

 

 

Climbing Season

 

The suitable climbing season for Everest is between April and May. climbers can start the expedition in late March this is the time when the weather is in favor of climbing.

As everyone is familiar with, bad weather can hit anytime in the Himalayan region. So, the rest of the month is harsh with the extremely bad weather condition.

The fog, heavy snowfall, strong winds, low level of oxygen, and several other factors make the remaining month hard for the summit.

However, making it up to the summit is quite tough at any time of the year even during the climbing season. But the Month Of April and May make it a little easier and possible for the summit.

 

Conclusion

 

Mount Everest, standing at the highest elevation of 8848.86m, is one of the valuable treasures of Nepal. It is a well-known peak where hundreds of mountaineers have set their eyes.

Bordering Nepal and Tibet, an autonomous China, Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world. Setting up its own identity around the world, the Buddhists considered Everest a sacred site.

With various local names such as Sagarmatha in Sanskrit and Chomolungma in Tibet, Everest was officially named in 1865.

However, there are 17 different climbing routes but climbers prefer only two routes from its Southern ridge Nepal northern ridge, Tibet.