Facts And Figures On Mount Everest

FACTS AND FIGURES ON MOUNT EVEREST: Mount Everest which is also termed as Sagarmatha in Nepali and Chomolungma in Tibetan is the world’s highest mountain peak. It measures about 8, 848 meters above the average sea level. Mount Everest is located in the Mahalangur Himal range in Himalayas in the border of Nepal, Tibet and China. The first height measurement for Mount Everest was published in 1856 as 8,840 meters and it was called as Peak XV at that time. Based on the suggestion by Andrew Waugh, a famous British Army Officer and Surveyor general, it was initially called as Royal Geographical Society. Tibetans were using the name Chomolungma for centuries but this has not been they could not establish a common name since both Tibet and Nepal were not open to foreigners. Many beginners and expert climbers of different members have conquered Mount Everest by making it to the top. There have been around 4012 ascents by more than 2,700 climbers around the globe so far. Initially Kengchenjunga or Mount K2 was considered as highest peak in the Globe but later James Nicholson a famous Mountaineer found that it was Mount Everest then called Peak XV was the highest peak with a height of 8,840 meters. The Naming of Mount Everest was after George Everest, the predecessor of Waugh as the Surveyor General in India. While the Tibetan name Chomolungma which actually has a meaning “Saint Mother” was commonly used in Tibet, Zhumulangma Feng was the Chinese name which means earth mother. Sagarmatha was the official name given by government of Nepal to Mount Everest during the 1960. During the Great Trigonometric survey conducted during 1856, Mount Everest was measured and officially announced as 8,840 meters high. The recent measurement was made in October 2005 by The State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping of PRC and they stated the height as 8,844 meters. There will be some variations slightly due to the thickness of ice on the peaks. During the Indian Survey carried out in 1955, the height was published as 8, 848 meters. The tectonic plate movement is adding to height of Mount Everest and the summit is moving in North East direction. Using Aerial photography, a detailed topographical map of Mount Everest has been made during 1980. Mount Everest is the highest peak above sea level but Mount Kea which is located in Hawaii measures 10,200m from its based which is in middle of ocean, but the height above sea level is only 4,205 meters. There are 2 climbing routes for Mount Everest one through South East ride originating from Nepal and other way is through North East Ridge which originates from Tibet. The way through Nepal is quite easy to follow and used frequently compared to North East Ridge. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary together used the South East Ridge in the year 1953, to climb to the summit. The attempts to climb the peak are mostly made during the month of May before monsoon season in summer, during which the weather is favorable. The ascent to Summit is also made during September and October but the variation in snow fall makes the climbing process quite difficult. The climbing through Southeast ridge start with Base Camp located 5,380 meters above sea level. Expeditions are carried though Lukla from Mount Kathmandu and by pass through the Namche Bazaar. The altitude sickness is prevented by climbers by staying for 6 to 8 days at the base camp. Tenzing and

Hillary started their ascent from the Kathmandu valley in 1953 since there were no roads in further east during that period. Climbers can endure only for 2-3 days in the death zone at South Col. The factors determining the summit attempt are Low winds and Clear Weather. In case of bad weather, climbers may retreat to the base camp. The North East Ridge begins from north side of Everest located in Tibet. The Expeditions begin at the Rongbuk glacier where the base camp is set at 5,180 meters above sea level. The president of Alpine club, Clinton Thomas Dent was the first who made the suggestion that Mount Everest can be conquered in the book Above the Snow Line in 1885. There were several expeditions carried out after that. The first investigative expedition was during 1921 by George Mallory through North Eastern Ridge. The crew led by Mallory, the first European to have set foot on Mt. Everest was able to climb 7,007 meters but after that they descended. The next expedition was by George Finch in 1922 that ascended at an amazing speed of 290 meters per hour and reached a height of 8,320 meters. The next expedition was by Somervell and Norton who climbed in good weather without use of oxygen cylinders and traversed North face to Great Couloir. They managed to reach a height of 8,558 meters. The next attempt was made by Andrew Irvine and George Mallory through Northeast Ridge in 1924, but they did not return back. Later Mallory’s body was found on North face in the snow basin. The first successful attempt to reach the peak was by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hilary in 1953 which was the 9th expedition by the British. Since that lot of attempts has been made by different mountaineers. The youngest person to have climbed Mount Everest was Ming Kipa Sherpa, a fifteen year old girl. Christian Stangl was the fastest climber who made it to peak in 16 hours and 42 minutes from Camp III to the top. The death zone in Mount Everest is above altitude of 8,000 meters which is very difficult for survival with very low temperatures that can lead to frostbite of body parts exposed to wind. Climbers are prone to death by slipping in Snow which is well-frozen and the heavy winds are also a big threat for the mountaineers. The oxygen level is also low and the pressure is 1/3 the pressure at sea level. Though Everest can also be climbed without using Oxygen cylinders it is of high risk to the life of the climbers. Euophrys OmniSuperstes is a minute black spider that is found in Mount Everest at a height of 6,700 meters which is said to be the highest non-microscopic resident on our Earth. They are found in crevices and they feed on the frozen insects, which are blown by the wind. The bar headed goose and Chough has been spotted in the height of 7,920 meters in South Col and they feed on corpses and left during the climbing expeditions. The rocks which form the Mount Everest have been separated into 3 formations namely North Col Formation, Qomolangma formation and Rongbuk formation by the geologists. Mount Everest has its exact location in Latitude 27° 59' North and Longitude 86° 56' east and the summit separates Tibet and Nepal.