Top 10 Interesting Mount Everest Facts
Who doesn’t like adventures? Imagine if it is climbing mountains and 20,029 ft high? To climb up the highest peaks has been the dream of so many people. Almost all the highest points have seen the human feet. Call it the window of the world, the highest peak on earth, the mountain that was considered as an unbeatable challenge for humans. But today, hundreds of people have reached at the top of this crown. Yes we are talking about the majesty, the Himalayan spirit “The Mount Everest” world’s highest peak that is situated in Nepal and Tibet border. There are so many wondering and interesting facts about this giant mountain but here we bring some (Top 10) very hooking and interesting facts about “Mount Everest”:
10) Height and growth:
The height of this mountain is supposed to be 20,029 feet high or 8.848 meters high. Although Mount Everest is known as the highest mountain, above sea level, records also show other tall mountains on Earth. It is declared that when measured from base, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is considered to be the tallest mountain- 10,200 m from base but only 4,205 m above sea level. But anyway still this giant holds its position safe. Do you all know that the Mount Everest changes its height every year to few inches? Yes it is said that after every year it grows few inches tall some even went further and said that it grows “6″ inches tall every year.. Later this was even confirmed and agreed by geologists. The first person to measure the height of Mt. Everest was Sir George Everest. And that is how it was named as Mt Everest.
9) Noble and spiritual:
When the earth came into being along with it there came many amazing mysteries along with earth that took birth. Among those brainstorming mysteries “Mount Everest” is the important one. The age of this giant is about 60 million years old now. Hence it is considered as Nature’s Noble gift and symbol of spiritualism. This is really a great wonder where you can almost view the entire world. So no doubt this is a noble master piece of nature that stays along with the earth forever. Highlighting the spiritual symbolism, the local people had given 2 different names to this mighty wonder. In Nepal it is called “Saragrmatha” meaning the “Goddess of the sky”. In Tibet it is called “Chomolungma” meaning “mother Goddess of the universe”. Locals in Darjeeling named it as “Deodungha” which means “Holy Mountain” they compare it to the Goddess and consider it as a great discovery of mankind and livelihood.
8) Multiple routes, 1 destination:
Mount Everest has four routes from which people can start from any side to try their luck and achieve the feet. Stats say that Kushang Sherpa is the only person who climbed at Mt. Everest from its four sides. And at present he has become a guide. But out of these 4 routes there are two important routes to climb Mount Everest. One such route is from the southeast ridge from Nepal and the other is the northeast ridge from Tibet, these 2 routes are mostly referred by formers. Apart from these routes, there are other routes, which are not frequently used.
7) Top interesting quotes on Mt Everest:
“I climbed Everest so that my children wouldn’t have to.” — Jamling Norga
“Strong motivation is the most important factor in getting you to the top” — Edmund Hillary
George Mallory (1886-1924), answering to the question: ‘Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?’”
“Everest is a matter of universal of human endeavour, a cause from which there is no withdrawal, whatever loses it may demand” — G O Dyrenfurth
“Feeling Wasted? Climb Everest before you Die!” — Nepal Vista
6) Attempts and its success rates:
A number count of over 4000 (or even more than 4000) people attempted to climb Mt. Everest till date. From these attempts only 660 people have been succeeded. The country that faced most deaths due to the attempts of climbing the Mt. Everest is Nepal with 46 deaths. Mount Everest has been climbed by many people sometimes in small groups and some times in big teams. In 1975 a team of 410 members from china tried their luck on Mt. Everest. It is said to be the biggest attempt (with highest number of people) so far.
5) Numerical statistics:
The first successful ascent was made by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay
The first solo ascent was made by Reinhold Messner on August 20, 1980.
Reinhold Messner also made the first ever oxygen less ascent on May 8, 1979.
The youngest person to summit Everest was only 13 years old. This was accomplished by Jordan Romero on May 22, 2010.
The oldest person to summit Everest was 76 years, 340 days old. This was accomplished by Min Bahadur Sherchan on May 25, 2008.
The leading cause of death on Everest is avalanches.
The second leading cause of death is falls.
Aba Sherpa has made it to the summit of Everest 21 times.
In 1996, 16 people died during the climbing season, the highest death toll in a single year on Everest. It was said to be the black year for adventures.
4) Spider’s Home:
This is a place where humans die to live. But interestingly the tiny creatures like spider live on Mount Everest and it is said that the population of spiders out there is pretty good. These spiders’ body constitution does not resemble the normal spiders. This is why they live safe and good on the giant mountain. Yes Mt Everest is said be a home to a very minute black jumping spider. These spiders hide in crevices and feed on frozen insects which are died already. Their food depends largely upon what is blown by the wind into the specific area.That means they live eating themselves depending upon the climatic conditions out there.
3) Costly and risky trip:
It is obvious that there has to be some sort of income if there is something unusual and exciting and here in this case it is not an exception. Climbers must pay heavy amount of money to climb the mountain. This fee acts as a continuous source of income to Nepal. However, an equal amount has to be raised to get a license and permit of $25,000 to climb Mount Everest. Until 2007, 210 people have lost their lives to bad weather conditions while trying to climb Mount Everest. The problem is that the mountains are faced with bad weather and fast wind, leading to difficulty breathing at the high altitude. It costs around $25k to $60k to make a trip to the summit. Sometimes it also costs your life.
2) Dead bodies on Mt Everest:
These bodies are named as “Green Boots.” Many of the nearly 200 dead bodies have been named and are used as landmarks. Recovering these dead bodies on Mount Everest is a near impossibility. These deaths often are a result of climbers “taking a nap” and never waking up. Due to the extreme weather conditions, bodies that have been dead for over 50 years can still be found with little decay. Here no one can help the life of others it is very difficult to carry your own self and taking care of others is really impossible and risky Two climbers found a woman alone and dying yelling, “please don’t leave me” but the companions were forced to continue on and let her die as they had no means to help her because staying there and helping would risk their own lives. The place does not only proved to be a death house for many people but also a burial place for some 120 people. Those people could never reach on ground since they died and got buried under snow forever.
1) The most dangerous place:
Mount Everest is the dangerous place to go because as a person moves on, the lesser the oxygen level becomes and the more the pressure increases. There are also certain areas that are very dangerous on Mt. Everest. Amongst which the most dangerous is “Khumbu” ice fall. 19 people faced death there. This has also been a place where many have lost their lives in their goal to reach the summit. Numerous factors affect the ascent such as lack of oxygen, extreme weather, exhaustion, frostbite, situations where in people may have fallen due to the frozen ground etc. Hence it is the most dangerous place one can dare to go and visit and only the one who has that stamina and will power to face many hurdles and unwanted consequences can go for this.
No matter what the consequences are, there are very few people who dare to take up this task of climbing the very famed Mount Everest. These interesting facts are only to give a glimpse of the hardships and incidents faced by the people who have dared to go beyond the ordinary and stood extraordinary.