By Greg Rodgers, about.com
Where Is Mount Everest Located?[post_ads_2]
Mount Everest is located on the border between Tibet and Nepal
in Asia's Himalayan Mountains. Everest is situated on the Tibetan
Plateau known as Qing Zang Gaoyuan; the summit is directly between Tibet
and Nepal.
How High Is Mount Everest?
At 29,035 feet (8,850 meters) above sea level, Mount Everest is the tallest and most prominent mountain in the world based on measurement to sea level.
Asia's Himalayas -- the tallest mountain range in the world -- span across six countries: China, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Afghanistan.
How Much Does It Cost to Climb Mount Everest?
Climbing
Mount Everest comes with a hefty price tag: for guides, equipment,
Sherpas, oxygen, permit, and fees for support at Base Camp, the cost to
climb Mount Everest ranges from US $35,000 to $75,000.
Climbers must also show proof of funds to pay for helicopter evacuation if necessary.
A single supplemental oxygen bottle can cost more than US $500 each -- as many as five are often needed to attempt a climb.
In 1996, Jon Krakauer's team paid $65,000 each for their summit bids. David Hahn -- an American who reached the summit for his 13th time in 2011 -- charges US $74,000 to lead an expedition!
Who Climbed Mount Everest First?[post_ads_2]
Sir Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and his Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were
the first to reach the summit on May 29, 1953, at around 11:30 a.m. At
the time, Tibet was in conflict with China and was closed to foreigners.
Nepal allowed only one Everest expedition per year; previous
expeditions had come close but failed to reach the summit.
The duo reportedly buried some candies and a small cross before immediately starting their descent.
Who Holds the Record for Reaching the Summit?
Apa
Sherpa had reached the summit 21 times by 2011; he now lives in Utah.
American Dave Hahn holds the record number of successful attempts for a
non-Sherpa; he reached the summit for his 15th time in 2015.
Jordan Romero -- a 13-year-old boy from California -- set the record for being the youngest to climb Mount Everest on May 22, 2010.
Climbing Mount Everest
Because
the summit is directly between Tibet and Nepal, Mount Everest can be
climbed either from the Tibetan side (the north ridge) or from the
Nepalese side (the southeast ridge). Starting in Nepal and climbing from
the southeast ridge is generally considered the easiest, both for
mountaineering and political reasons.
Most climbers attempt to climb Mount Everest from the southeast side in Nepal, beginning around 17,700 feet at Everest Base Camp. Everest Base Camp is visited by thousands of trekkers each year; no mountaineering experience or technical equipment is necessary for the difficult hike.
Descending Mount Everest
Most
deaths on Mount Everest occur during descent. Depending on what time
climbers leave for the summit, they must descend almost immediately once
they reach the top to escape the thin air and to reach a safe point at
lower elevations before dark -- no one gets to hang out, rest, or enjoy
the view!
Elevations above 8,000 meters (26,000 feet) high are
considered the "death zone" in mountaineering. The term is used because
air at that elevation is too thin (around a third of the air present at
sea level) to support human life. Climbers, already exhausted by the
attempt, would die quickly without supplemental oxygen.
In 1999,
Babu Chiri Sherpa set a new record by remaining on the summit for over
20 hours. He even slept on the summit! The Nepalese guide perished in
2001 after a fall on his 11th attempt.
Mount Everest Deaths[post_ads_2]
[post_ads]Although
deaths on Mount Everest often dominate the news because of the
mountain's notoriety, it's certainly not the most dangerous on earth.
Annapurna in Nepal has a fatality rate for climbers of roughly 38% --
more than one in three climbers perish on average.
By comparison, Mount
Everest has a current fatality rate of around 4.3% or 4.3 deaths per
100 summit attempts. As of 2016, the mountain has claimed more than 250
climbers. This figure does not include those who died in avalanches that
hit Base Camp or the
The deadliest season in the
history of Everest attempts was in 1996 when poor weather and other
factors caused the deaths of 15 climbers. The disastrous season on Mount
Everest is the focus of many books, including Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.
The
deadliest avalanche in the history of Mount Everest occurred on April
25, 2015, when at least 19 people lost their lives at Base Camp. The
avalanche was triggered by an earthquake that devastated much of the country. The previous year, an avalanche killed 16 Sherpas at Base Camp who were preparing routes for the season.
The Top 10 Tallest Mountains in the World
Measurements are based on sea level, not the elevation above surrounding land.
- Mount Everest: 29,035 feet (8,850 meters)
- K2 (located between China and Pakistan): 28,251 feet (8,611 meters)
- Kangchenjunga (located between India and Nepal): 28,169 feet (8,586 meters)
- Lhotse (part of the Everest range): 27,940 feet (8,516 meters)
- Makalu (located between Nepal and China): 27,838 feet (8,485 meters)
- Cho Oyu (near Mount Everest between Nepal and China): 26,864 feet (8,188 meters)
- Dhaulagiri I (Nepal): 26,795 feet (8,167 meters)
- Manaslu (Nepal): 26,781 feet (8,163 meters)
- Nanga Parbat (Pakistan): 26,660 feet (8,126 meters)
- Annapurna I (Nepal): 26,545 feet (8,091 meters)
