George Leigh Mallory best summed up the answer to the question most asked of mountaineers – “what drives people to want to climb Everest?”
“…My answer must at once be, ‘It is no use.’ There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever…. If you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life… That is what life means and what life is for.”
Climbing Mount Everest is the supreme symbol of man’s personal struggle to achieve. A simple and pure metaphor of man verses nature. Tibetans call it Chomolungma, Mother Goddess of the Universe and to the Sherpa people of Nepal it is Sagarmatha, The Churning Stick in the Sea of Existence and until it was named Everest in 1865 it was known on British maps as Peak XV. These references and the strong social and cultural connotations behind them add to the lure of Everest and the Himalayan range as a whole - a wilderness and a majestic barrier stretching from the borders of Afghanistan to southwest China. Those that make the journey to the Himalayas and up the flanks of Everest embark on the experience of a lifetime to meet this primal desire to ‘achieve’.One of the world’s 7 wonders, Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. It is found in the Himalayan range on the border between Nepal and Tibet, China. It was first summated by Sir Edmond Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, although there is an ongoing debate whether George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, two British climbers, reached the summit before them in 1924. It remains a mystery as both Mallory and Irvine died on the mountain, about 200m below the summit and the camera which is believed to have the true evidence has never been found.
Over the last 30 years many who have made attempts have been unsuccessful due to the lack of strength and experience to climb the summit or have been injured while ascending or descending the mountain. There are other danger factors while on the amount such as avalanche, altitude sickness, and weather.
Some facts about Everest....
Age of Everest: Everest was formed about 60 million years ago
Elevation: 29,035 (8850m)-found to be 6' higher in 1999
Name in Nepal: Sagarmatha (means: goddess of the sky)
In Tibet: Chomolungma: (means: mother goddess of the universe)
Named after: Sir George Everest in 1865 ,the British surveyor-general of India. Once known as Peak 15
Location: Latitude 27° 59' N.....Longitude 86° 56' E It's summit ridge seperates Nepal and Tibet
First Ascent: May 29,1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary, NZ and Tenzing Norgay, NP, via the South Col Route
First Solo Ascent: Aug. 20,1980, Reinhold Messner, IT, via the NE Ridge to North Face
First winter Ascent: Feb. 17,1980 -L.Cichy and K. Wielicki, POL
Everest Name: Sir George Everest was the first person to record the height and location of Mt. Everest, this is where Mt."Everest" got its name from(In american language)
First Ascent by a Woman: May 16,1975, Junko Tabei, JAP, via the South-Col
First Oxygenless Ascent: May 8, 1978- Reinhold Messner, IT, and Peter Habeler, AUT, via the South-East Ridge
First woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest from both north & south sides: Cathy O'Dowd (S.A.) South May 25,1996/North '99
Fastest Ascent from South: Babu Chhiri Sherpa 34, NP-16 hours and 56 minutes (5-21-2000)
Fastest Ascent (north side): Hans Kammerlander (IT) May,24,1996, via the standard North Col Ridge Route, 16 hours 45 minutes from base camp
Youngest person: Temba Tsheri (NP) 15 on May, 22 2001
Oldest Person: Sherman Bull May,25,2001 -64 yrs
First Legally Blind Person: Erik Weihenmeyer May,25,2001
Best and Worst Years on Everest: 1993, 129 summitted and eight died (a ratio of 16:1); in 1996, 98 summitted and 15 died (a ratio of 6½:1)
Highest cause cause of death: Avalanches-about a (2:1) ratio over falls
Most dangerous area on mountain: Khumbu Ice Fall-19 deaths
First ski descent: Davo Karnicar (Slovenia) 10-7-2000
Corpses remaining on Everest: about 120
Longest stay on top: Babu Chiri Sherpa stayed at the summit full 21 hours and a half
Fastest descent: In 1988, Jean-Marc Boivin of France descended from the top in just 11 minutes, paragliding.
Some facts about Everest....
Age of Everest: Everest was formed about 60 million years ago
Elevation: 29,035 (8850m)-found to be 6' higher in 1999
Name in Nepal: Sagarmatha (means: goddess of the sky)
In Tibet: Chomolungma: (means: mother goddess of the universe)
Named after: Sir George Everest in 1865 ,the British surveyor-general of India. Once known as Peak 15
Location: Latitude 27° 59' N.....Longitude 86° 56' E It's summit ridge seperates Nepal and Tibet
First Ascent: May 29,1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary, NZ and Tenzing Norgay, NP, via the South Col Route
First Solo Ascent: Aug. 20,1980, Reinhold Messner, IT, via the NE Ridge to North Face
First winter Ascent: Feb. 17,1980 -L.Cichy and K. Wielicki, POL
Everest Name: Sir George Everest was the first person to record the height and location of Mt. Everest, this is where Mt."Everest" got its name from(In american language)
First Ascent by a Woman: May 16,1975, Junko Tabei, JAP, via the South-Col
First Oxygenless Ascent: May 8, 1978- Reinhold Messner, IT, and Peter Habeler, AUT, via the South-East Ridge
First woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest from both north & south sides: Cathy O'Dowd (S.A.) South May 25,1996/North '99
Fastest Ascent from South: Babu Chhiri Sherpa 34, NP-16 hours and 56 minutes (5-21-2000)
Fastest Ascent (north side): Hans Kammerlander (IT) May,24,1996, via the standard North Col Ridge Route, 16 hours 45 minutes from base camp
Youngest person: Temba Tsheri (NP) 15 on May, 22 2001
Oldest Person: Sherman Bull May,25,2001 -64 yrs
First Legally Blind Person: Erik Weihenmeyer May,25,2001
Best and Worst Years on Everest: 1993, 129 summitted and eight died (a ratio of 16:1); in 1996, 98 summitted and 15 died (a ratio of 6½:1)
Highest cause cause of death: Avalanches-about a (2:1) ratio over falls
Most dangerous area on mountain: Khumbu Ice Fall-19 deaths
First ski descent: Davo Karnicar (Slovenia) 10-7-2000
Corpses remaining on Everest: about 120
Longest stay on top: Babu Chiri Sherpa stayed at the summit full 21 hours and a half
Fastest descent: In 1988, Jean-Marc Boivin of France descended from the top in just 11 minutes, paragliding.