MOUNT EVEREST

Few places on our planet can conjure up such mystery and excitement for brave adventurers as the allure and challenge of majestic Mount Everest. This week Tidbits takes you to the highest point on Earth as we explore the pinnacle of high-altitude trekking, along with its triumphs -- and tragedies.

• Mount Everest was named after George Everest, Welch director of the governmental Survey of India from 1830 to 1843, who was the first person to organize a team to measure the Himalayan Mountains. He pronounced his name in two syllables: “Ev-rest” whereas most people today pronounce it as three syllables: “Ev-er-est.”

• One of his colleagues, a mathematician and surveyor from India named Radhanath Sikdar, was the first to estimate Mount Everest’s height, calculating that it stood 29,000 feet tall, and correctly proclaimed it to be the tallest mountain in the world.

• Located on the border of Tibet and Nepal, Mount Everest is indeed the highest mountain in the world, although its precise height is often disputed. In 1955 a team of surveyors using the best equipment of the day determined that it stood 29,029 feet above sea level. In 1999 a National Geographic team placed a GPS device on the summit and recorded the altitude as 29,035. In 2005, a Chinese team used even more precise instruments to measure the mountain as it would stand without the ice and snow accumulated on the summit. Their official measurement came in at 29,017 feet. An earthquake in 2015 may have changed its height. The officially accepted height remains today at 29,029 feet.

TRAGIC TREK

• In 1924, George (“because it’s there”) Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine were part of an expedition attempting to complete the first ascent of Everest. They were last seen on June 8 just below the summit making steady progress. Shortly after, they disappeared, leaving behind a mystery for the ages. Did they actually reach the summit? Did they perish on the way up, or on the way down? No one knows.

• In 1999, a team of climbers discovered Mallory’s remains high on the slopes of Everest. The body did little to reveal whether or not he actually reached the top, and unfortunately the team’s camera was not found amongst his gear. It is believed that Irvine was actually carrying the camera when they made their ascent and, if found, the device could hold the photographic evidence of their success or failure. To date, Irvine’s body has not been found, but if it is ever uncovered it could potentially change mountaineering history. Experts at Kodak say that the camera film, if recovered, could still be successfully developed.

SUCCESSFUL SUMMITS

• The first summit victory on Everest was recorded by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

• As of February 2021, 5,788 different climbers have reached the Everest summit. Not included in that total are the number of people who have succeeded more than once, which would put the total at over 6,000.

• Most of the people who have summited multiple times are Sherpas, an indigenous Nepalese people numbering around 150,000, who have dwelt in these mountains for generations. Renowned for their climbing skills, they possess exceptional hardiness and endurance at high altitudes. Sherpas act as guides and porters, and do everything from carrying the gear to setting up the camps. They secure climbing routes, fix lines, ferry supplies and guide clients to the top of Everest and other Himalayan peaks. Most climbers could not complete these treacherous climbs were it not for their vital assistance.

SUMMIT RECORDS

• On May 16, 1975, Junko Tanabe of Japan became the first woman to climb Mount Everest from the south side. In the same year, Tibetan Pando became the first woman to climb from the northern slope.

• 635 women have successfully reached the summit, with several accomplishing the feat more than once.

• Mountain guide Lhakpa Sherpa of Nepal holds the record for most summits by a woman, having summited nine times.

• The record for most summits by a non-Sherpa is held by American Dave Hahn, a guide for RMI Expeditions who has reached the summit 15 times out of 19 attempts.

• The oldest climber to ever reach the summit is Yuichiro Miura of Japan, who was 80 years old when he summited in 2013, beating his own record of summiting at the age of 70 in 2003. He also was the first person to ski down Everest in 1970. His summit of Everest earned him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.

• The youngest person to summit is Jordan Romero of the U.S., who reached the top in 2010 at the age of 13. Romero also holds the record as the youngest person to reach the highest peaks of all the seven continents, which he achieved at the young age of 15.

• Today there are rules in place dictating that you must be 16 or older to climb from the Nepal side and between 18 and 60 on the Tibetan side.

• The fastest time for an Everest summit from the South Side in Nepal is currently held by Lakpa Gelu Sherpa who managed to go from base camp to the top in just 10 hours and 56 minutes in 2003. Lakpa spent a few minutes on the summit enjoying his accomplishment before turning back, completing the round-trip journey in just 18 hours, 20 minutes.

• Tom Whittaker, who lost his right foot in a car accident in 1979, was the first disabled person to reach the top. He summited on his third attempt in 1998.

• New Zealand mountaineer Mark Inglis lost both of his legs due to frostbite after being trapped on a mountain in a blizzard for 13 days in 1982. Nonetheless, he summited Everest in 2006, the first double amputee to do so.

• The first blind person to reach the summit was American Erik Weihenmayer in 2001.

• A Nepalese couple Moni Mulepati, 24, and her groom Pem Dorjee, 23, got married on top of Everest in 2005. They stayed at the summit for ten minutes to complete the rituals.

• Didier Delsalle, a fighter pilot and helicopter test pilot from France, landed a helicopter on the summit of Everest in 2005, setting a world record for highest altitude landing of a helicopter. Due to the thin air, helicopter rescues from Everest are almost impossible.

EVEREST FACTS

• The summit is just a few hundred feet below the cruising altitude of commercial jets.

• Everest grows a fraction of an inch taller each year because of the upward thrust of continental drift.

• Limestone, shale, sandstone, and marble found on Mt. Everest were once part of an ocean floor. An abundance of shell fossils and remains of other marine life are found there.

• The average temperature at the summit is -20F (-190C) in summer and -330F (-360C) in winter.

• Avalanches are the leading cause of death on Everest, followed by falls, altitude sickness, and exposure.

• While some bodies of deceased climbers have been removed from lower altitudes, it is estimated that over 100 remain on the mountain's higher elevations. Attempts to remove these frozen remains would be an extremely dangerous risk to everyone involved. □