Mount Everest is a mystery land, which seems to have been explored enough but it’s not. There so many facts about Everest that we don’t know about. Here we have tried to compile some of the most interesting and shocking Mount Everest facts that you don’t know about.
These Mount Everest information might shock you and keep you thinking that how less we know about the Everest.
The mystery of the first climber
Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay. Who haven’t heard these names? But do you know about the climber George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, who attempted to climb the Mount Everest back in 1924?
They both were attempting to climb the mountain and were last seen on July 8 steadily progressing.
However, the fact about whether they made it to the summit of Everest or disappeared on the way is still a mystery.
Most Repetitive climbers
Climbing Everet is the biggest achievement for people but for some Sherpas it has become like visiting a market for shopping.
Two men from Sherpa community Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa have climbed the Everest 21 times each. They have made a record for the most successful summits of Mount Everest.
Eldest and youngest climbers
The eldest climber is Yuichiro Miura from Japan who climbed in 2013 at the age of 80.
He had two heart surgeries in 2006 and 2007 but nothing could stop him from conquering Everest once again.
Miura broke his own record which he created by climbing Mount Everest in 2003, at the age of 70.
The youngest climber is Jorden Romero from the USA who climbed Mount Everest in 2010 when he was 13.
Romero was with his father Paul Romero, his step-mother Karen Lundgren, and three Sherpas, Ang Pasang Sherpa, Lama Karma Sherpa, and Lama Dawa Sherpa.
Disabled Climbers
The first disabled climber to reach the summit of the Mount Everest is Tom Whittaker who is a mountaineer born in 1948 in York.
Whittaker right foot had to be removed in an car accident in 1979 but this young man didn’t lose hope and continued climbing and mounteering.
There are other climbers such as a blind Erik Weihenmayer from America and a double amputee Mark Inglis New Zealand to make it to the top.
4000 Total Attempts
As in April 2016, more than 4000 people have attempted to climb Mount Everest.
Annually around 800 people which include Sherpas, clients, and professional climbers try to climb Mount Everest.
The year 2017 had the second most summits at 648 after 658 in 2013. 61 percent of the climbers who climbed reached to the top of Everest. 446 of the climbers were from south side and 202 from the north side in 2017.
Mount Everest is Growing
You will be amazed to know that Mount Everest grows each year constantly.
The height of Mount Everest is found to be growing 4mm per year. This growth is due to the steady movement of rock (upon which Everest is stands) northwards.
Discoverer of Mount Everest
The Mount Everest was discovered in 1841 by George Everest who was a Surveyor General of India from 1830 to 1843.
Thus, it is named after him and ‘Everest’ is pronounced as ‘Eve-rest’ not ‘Ever-est.’
Maiden Year
The year 1974 is regarded as a maiden year. The reason is interesting.
It is because in this year no one attempted to climb the Mount Everest.
Sagarmatha
Nepalese call The Mount Everest as Sagarmatha which means ‘forehead in the sky’ and Tibetan call it Chomolungma which means ‘mother of the World’.
Avalanche
The main cause for the death of the climbers on the mountain is Avalanche. Avalanche is the rapid flow of snow, ice, and rocks down on the mountain.
Wedding on Summit
A Nepalese couple got wed on the summit of the Mount Everest in 2005. They were the first to wed on Everest.
The couple stayed on the peak for around 10 minute which was quite enough for basic rituals of the wedding.
They had kept this plan secret as there was no guarantee to reach the top of Everest.
Wind on Mount Everest
The speed of the wind on Mount Everest is 200 mph.
Why only one side, when you can climb from all four sides
Kushang Sherpa, an instructor at Himalayan Mountaineering, is the only individual to climb Mount Everest successfully from all the four sides.
Dispute regarding height
There isn’t still an exact height for Mount Everest. According to the measurement of the Chinese government, the height of Everest is 8844 meters (29016 ft.), and according to Nepal, the height is 8848 meters (29029 ft.).
Spiders
The mountain spiders which are known as Himalayan jumping spiders are the highest permanent residents of the earth, aside from few species of bird.
Euophrys omnisuperstes, the scientific name which means standing above everything, is the spider living at the elevation of up to 6700m (22000 ft) in the Himalayas.
It preys on insects such as springtails and other small invertebrates that the severe wind blow up the mountains.
Moreover, different unnamed grasshopper species were also collected during the British Everest expedition in 1924, and they are now displayed on British Natural History Museum.
Human traffic jam at Mt. Everest
Although it costs thousands of dollars to climb Mount Everest, a growing number of people are into reaching its summit.
A German mountaineer named Ralf Dujmovits got a chance to capture a surprising image of a long queue of hundreds of climbers ascending towards the summit in 2012.
Similarly, the number of permits to foreigners climbers issued by the government was 372 as of may 3, 2017, the most since 1953. Also, the total number rose to 800 after including the Nepali Sherpa mountain guides.
Cause of deaths
Among those who attempt to climb Everest, since 1969 at least one person has died every year.
The main causes of the deaths are found to be frostbite, snow blindness, suffocation, starvation, and hypothermia.
Most of the people died due to snow diseases in the region above 7500 meters thus it is called a Death Zone. And doctors are available only below 5400 meters to monitor climbers.
Dead bodies
There are about 200 dead bodies in the mountain, and the bodies now help other climbers to know they are on the right path or not. Those bodies are left there due to the poor weather and bringing them down is very dangerous. Looking back to the history, 4 percent of the climbers those who have made it to the summit have died.
Internet on the Everest
A hiker, Kenton Cool made the first tweet from the summit of the Mount Everest via The Weak signal. The tweet was “Everest summit no 9! 1st tweet from the top of the world thanks to a weak 3G signal & the awesome Samsung Galaxy S2 handset! @samsunguk”. Two years later the first call was placed from the peak. However, there is high-speed internet on the way to Mount Everest.
Maximum temperature
It is surprising to know that the warmest temperature of Mount Everest is 20 degree so far. Such a temperature makes it hard to stay more than 24 hours on the mountain. Babu Sherpa is the only one to make a record by staying at mount Everest summit for 16 hours.
No Oxygen
The amount of oxygen present near the Mount Everest is one-third of the amount of oxygen present at the sea level. The lesser oxygen is because of, the less air pressure (i.e., 4.89 psi) while the air pressure at sea level is 14.69 psi.
Interesting Records
First twins to reach Mount Everest: Tashi and Nungshi Malik.
First woman to climb Mount Everest: Junko Tabei.
The first ascent to reach Everest without oxygen: Reinhold Messner.
First female amputee to climb Mount Everest: Arumina Sinha.
