Mount Everest Facts and History

Highest mountain peak in the world, Mount Everest is located on the border of Nepal and China. Solukhumba district in Nepal's Sagarmatha Zone and Tingri county of the People's Republic of China are the regions where this mountain peak is located. Height of Mount Everest is 8848 m (29029 feet) and it was first established by India's 'Great Trigonometric Survey' in the year 1856. Mount Everest was earlier known as 'Peak XV' and was given its present day name by the Royal Geographical Society of Britain.

Mount Everest Information and Facts

The expedition of Mount Everest is considered one of the most difficult, as it is the tallest mountain in the world; the sheer height of this mountain and also challenges that one faces in the form of altitude sickness, wind, etc. makes journey towards this peak, a difficult one.

The climbing routes for Mount Everest are mainly two in number. The route from southeast ridge which starts from Nepal, is the one which is commonly used. It is also the easier route and one used by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary during their expedition. The route from northeast ridge starts in Tibet. Here are few more Mount Everest facts.

• The first ascent as we know, took place on 29th May, 1953 and involved Tenzing Norgay & Edmund Hillary. However, Reinhold Messner of Italy was the one credited with solo ascent. It was on 20th August, 1980 that Messner climbed the Everest.
• K. Wielicki and L. Cichy of Poland were the first to ascend Mount Everest in winter on 17th February, 1980.
• Junko Tabei of Japan was the first woman to climb Mount Everest. This ascent took place on 16th May, 1975.
• Erik Weihenmeyer was the first blind person to climb Everest on 25th May, 2001.
• The youngest person to climb Everest was Temba Tsheri of Nepal.
• Sherman Bull was the oldest person to climb Mount Everest on 25th May, 2001. He achieved this feat at the age of 64.
• Appa Sherpa on 24th May, 2000 became the first person to climb Mount Everest for highest number of times; On this day, he had climbed the peak for a record 11 times.

1996 Everest Disaster
In the year 1996, 15 people lost their lives while climbing Mount Everest, out of which 8 died in a single day on May 10, 1996. Based on his experience, a journalist named John Krakauer wrote a book, 'Into Thin Air'. Anatoli Boukreev (a guide) didn't approve off the views of John Krakauer and wrote 'The Climb' as answer to Krakauer's book.

History of Mount Everest
First expedition for the ascent of Mount Everest was initiated in the year 1924. After many unsuccessful attempts, 1953 was the year when Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary climbed this peak. Let us understand the history through some of the interesting facts about Mount Everest.

• The Surveyor General of India, Sir George Everest did the job of locating Mount Everest.
• Height of Everest was earlier, incorrectly measured as 8840 m by a surveyor, Andrew Waugh however, later on, the correct figure was found out by Great Trigonometric Survey, India.
• Andrew Irvine and George Mallory made an attempt to climb Everest, for which they began their expedition on 8th June, 1923. Both of them died and did not return home. It is unclear till date, whether they were successful in ascending this highest peak in the world.
• Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the Everest at 11.30 am on 29th May, 1953.

The Mount Everest facts and history presented in the article should help understand this highest mountain in the world in a better manner. The history of expeditions tells us more about people who were part of it.