Some Facts to Know about Mt. Everest
Mount Everest is undeniably one of the most fantastic attractions for mountaineers and adventurers worldwide. The gravitation with which the top of the world attracts people is so strong that they risk their lives to climb it or get a close view from the base camp. Named after the British surveyor George Everest, the mountain is also called Sagarmatha in the Nepali dialect and Chomolungma in Tibet. Fact files on Everest reveal many mysteries and extraordinary human feats. We list below some interesting facts you would like to know:
The Formation of Everest:
Most of the rock at the summit of Everest is limestone, which is 450 million years old. However, the mountain itself dates back around 60 million years and consists of shale, marble, and limestone. Tectonic plate movement (Indian and Asian plates) pushes the ocean floor upward at a slow pace over millions of years, reaching the current position. As a result, rock pieces from Everest bear fossil records of sea creatures in the ocean bed. Everest still grows a quarter of an inch each year.
The Conquest:
Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary were the first to reach the summit of Everest in 1953. The first woman to successfully conquer Everest was Junko Tabei of Japan (1975). Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi have climbed Everest 21 times, engraving their names for making the most summits. Dave Hahn from America has made 15 summits, the highest times a non-Sherpa has climbed the mountain. Lhakpa Sherpa holds the women's summit record with seven ascents to date.
Summit Statistics:
As per the data from August 2015, a total of 7,001 summits of Everest have been made by 4,093 different people from all routes. Four hundred eighteen of the total number were women. This data includes 953 people (mostly Sherpas) who have made successful summits multiple times. Strangely, 193 daring climbers have reached the summit without any supplemental oxygen.
You should know the following:
Everest can be climbed from 18 different routes from Nepal and China as it lies at the border of the two countries. The age limit to scale Everest is 16 from the Nepal side and 18 from the China side. The oxygen intake level keeps decreasing as you ascend higher due to pressure variance, and only 66 percent is available at the summit. Climbing Everest is a trying feat in which mountaineers burn over a thousand calories daily and may lose around 20 pounds on return from the expedition.
The Glorious Sherpa People
Sherpa is an ethnic group from Nepal whose last name is also Sherpa. Their first name is generally derived from the name of their birth (Nyima – Sunday, Dawa – Monday, Mingma – Tuesday, Lhakpa, Phurbu, Pasang, and Pemba). Climbing Everest is a profession for them to support their families, and they help climbers by carrying tents and cooking during expeditions. Although the body of a Sherpa has been proven to be specially adapted for high altitudes, it can also get altitude sickness.
All that Trash:
Littering on Everest is a significant issue; climbers have already left an estimated 50 tons of waste behind. Oxygen bottles, climbing equipment, and human feces litter the slopes in unimaginable plenty. The government of Nepal enforced a new rule that each climber must bring down eight kilograms of waste on their descent to claim their deposit of 4,000 dollars. Campaigns such as Everest 8848 Art Project have turned 8 tons of rubbish from Everest into artwork to increase awareness about the situation.
