The Mountain

















In the years since human beings first reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, climbing the world’s highest mountain has changed dramatically. Today, hundreds of mountaineers manage the feat each year thanks to improvements in knowledge, technology, and the significant infrastructure provided by commercially guided expeditions that provide a veritable highway up the mountain for those willing to accept both the risks and a hefty price tag.



Where is Everest? 
Mount Everest—known in Nepali as Sagarmatha and Tibetan as Chomolungma—straddles the border between Nepal and Tibet at the crest of the Himalayan mountain chain. Although reaching the top of the world is an arduous and potentially deadly undertaking due to the extreme altitude, avalanches, icefalls, and other hazards, the mountain lies quite close to the equator, at a latitude of approximately 28 degrees, the same as Tampa, Florida.

  • Everest hasn’t stopped growing
Earth scientists estimate that Everest is 50 to 60 million years old, a youngster by geological standards. The mountain was formed by the upward force generated when the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collided, pushing up the rocks that formed the highest mountain on Earth. That force is still at work today, pushing Everest’s summit about a quarter of an inch higher each year.

How dangerous is it?
As of the end of the 2018 season, the Himalayan Database reports that 295 people are known to have died climbing Everest, while there have been 9,159 successful summit climbs by 5,294 people. The overall death rate—the number of fatalities divided by the overall number of people on the mountain, not just those who summit—is approximately 1.2 percent, meaning that if you try to climb Everest, you have about a one in a hundred chance of dying along the way.

“Statistically, Everest is becoming safer primarily due to better gear, weather forecasting, and more people climbing with commercial operations,” says Alan Arnette. “From 1923 to 1999: 170 people died on Everest with 1,169 summits or 14.5 percent. But the deaths drastically declined from 2000 to 2018 with 7,990 summits and 123 deaths, or 1.5 percent.” 

Regards Vivek Tomar

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