The Everest in Tibet Qomolangma in Nepali Sagarmatha , also known as Mount Everest is a mountain located in the chain of the Himalayas , the border between Nepal ( Sagarmatha ) and China ( Tibet ).
It was discovered by Europeans for the first time in 1847 and after a few years of observations and calculations, its altitude is set at 8848 meters and is identified as the highest mountain in the world above the level of Wed . This characteristic is to be baptized of its current name by Westerners in 1865 , and by the year 1920 , it raises the interest of mountaineers who launched an assault on its slopes. Several expeditions, especially British , succession from the north. However, extreme weather conditions are their first victims, including George Mallory and Andrew Irvine in 1924 , which we will probably never know for sure if they reached the summit. In 1950 , Nepal grants access to the mountain from the south providing opportunities to 
climb the ridge south-east, less perilous. Finally, three years later, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay successfully conquer Everest. Therefore, the exploits of all kinds are linked together, fueling popular fantasies, but in 1996 , a series of fatal accidents is a reminder of the dangers of the mountain, with today more than 200 casualties. Yet, tourism became popular mass, weakening the middle despite the creation of the Sagarmatha National Park in 1976 and the Qomolangma Nature Reserve in 1988 . Thus, more than 14 000 climbers have attempted the climb since 1922 and over 4,000 have successful, well supported, for the majority, by the holders sherpas .
Identified as “peak B” from 1847 and called “Peak XV” in 1849 , the mountain gets its name English in 1865 given to him by Andrew Waugh , then Surveyor General British of East India 2 . Generally, the local name is respected, like the Kangchenjunga and Dhaulagiri but the Nepal and Tibet being closed to foreign travelers, he writes:
Portrait of George Everest .
“My respected chief and predecessor, Colonel Sir George Everest taught me to refer to any geographical object its true local or native name. But here is a mountain, probably the highest in the world, we were unable to find any local name. The native name, if it has one, will most likely not discovered before we are allowed to enter Nepal. In the meantime it is my responsibility as a privilege … a duty to assign a name by which this mountain may be familiar to citizens and geographers and become a household word among civilized nations. ”
- Andrew Waugh, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London 3
Yet many local names exist, the best known probably being the name for many centuries Tibetan Chomolungma even appearing on a map of 1733 published in Paris by the geographer French Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville . Anyway, excuse Waugh with the plethora of local names, it would have been difficult to promote a more widespread among the other 2 , 4 . He then decided to be baptized after his predecessor of 1830 to 1843 , first using the spelling Mont Everest and Mount Everest . However, it objected in 1857 that the name is impossible to write in Hindi or rule by the “natives of India.” Despite this, the Royal Geographical Society ‘s formal endorsement in 1865 , one year before the death of George Everest 2 . The modern pronunciation of Everest ( API : [ɛvərɪst] or [ɛvrɪst] ) 5 is also different from the pronunciation of the name was [i ː vrɪst] 6 . French pronunciation, meanwhile, still differs from the original, as they say [evrst] .
The Tibetan name is Chomolungma or Qomolangma ( ཇོ་མོ་གླིང་མ ) meaning “Goddess ( Chomo ) mother (suffix I ) winds ( lung ) “and the transliteration in Chinese is Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Feng ( Simplified Chinese : 珠穆朗玛峰 , Traditional Chinese : 珠穆朗玛峰 ) or Shèngmǔ Feng ( 圣母峰 ) meaning “goddess of the universe” while the literal translation gives Shèngmǔ Feng (simplified Chinese: 圣母峰 , Traditional Chinese : 圣母峰 ). In ancient Sanskrit , the mountain is called Devgiri , French “holy mountain”, and Devadurga , pronounced in English deodungha the xix th century 7 . In the early 1960s , the Nepalese government realizes that Everest has no name Nepal . This lack is due to the fact that the mountain was not known and therefore had no name in Nepal ethnic, that is to say, the Kathmandu valley and its surroundings. The government then decided to find a name for the mountain. Chomolangma , yet used by Sherpas , is not acceptable as it would have been against the idea of unification of the country (“népalisation”). Also, a new name is invented by Baburam Acharya: Sagarmatha ( सगरमाथा ), in French the “head of Heaven” 8 .
In 2002 , the newspaper China People’s Daily publishes an article alleging a case against the continued use of the English name in the Western world , insisting that the mountain should be referred to by its Tibetan name. The newspaper is justified by the fact that the local name chronologically preceded the English name: Mount Qomolangma was marked on a map they believe there are more Chinese than 280 years 9 . In the same vein, including a campaign by former Prime Minister of India , Atal Bihari Vajpayee , has tried to convince the public that the mountain should be renamed after Radhanath Sikdar , the author calculations establishing the altitude of the peak in 1852 , but the mountain is not in the territory of India , the name was rejected 10 .
Geography
Location
Location map of Mount Everest in the Himalayas .
Everest stands at the border between the autonomous region of Tibet ( prefecture of Xigaze ) in China and Sagarmatha Zone ( District of Solukhumbu ) in Nepal . It peaks at 8,848 meters altitude in the Mahalangur Himal , a mountain of the Himalayas , making it the highest point of the Asia and the highest seven summits . It is located 160 km east-northeast of Kathmandu , 260 km west-northwest of Thimphu , 450 km west-southwest of Lhasa and about 600 kilometers north of Calcutta and the Bay of Bengal . The peaks over 8,000 meters are the closest Lhotse , with 8516 meters of altitude two miles as the crow flies south, Makalu , with 8463 meters of altitude to twenty kilometers as the crow bird southeast, and Cho Oyu , with 8201 meters of altitude to twenty-five miles as the crow flies northwest.
Topography
Geomorphology
Topographic map of the Everest region.
Animation of Everest in three dimensions.
Everest is a pyramidal peak . It was shaped by erosion , especially glacial . It has three sides , the Southwest, the North and East, separated by as many edges nearly straight, the West, Northeast and South. A glacier pours of each sides: respectively the Khumbu glacier through the Western Cwm also called “Valley of Silence”, the Rongbuk Glacier and Glacier Kangshung . The North Face is the most difficult to access because less snow and more rocky than the southwest side. It houses the hall and the Grand Hornbein Corridor also called Norton corridor. Edges West and South East delineate the border between China and Nepal . The bridge connects the Northeast Changtse , culminating at 7543 meters altitude, via the North Col at 7020 meters altitude. The ridge south-east connects the Lhotse , culminating at 8516 meters altitude, via the secondary peak of Everest simply called South Summit , culminating at 8751 meters altitude, and the South Col at 7904 meters altitude while the west ridge connects the Khumbutse , culminating at 6636 meters altitude, via the West Shoulder and Lho-La Pass at 6026 meters altitude.
Altitude measurement and mapping
In 1856 , Andrew Waugh , the Surveyor General of East India since 1843 , announced after several years of measurements carried out under the ” major project of trigonometric topography “that the” Peak XV “was officially measured at 8840 meters of altitude of 2 , 11 .
In 1955 , a study Indian leads first to the value of 8848 meters above sea level. Like Waugh’s team, they made their measurements using theodolites but they had the advantage of being able to approach much closer to Everest 11 . This altitude was confirmed in 1975 by a study Chinese . In both cases, the snowpack has been considered 12 .
View of part of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau taken from the International Space Station .
In May 1999 , an expedition U.S. led by Bradford Washburn buries a beacon GPS in the rock . Accepted by the National Geographic Society , she determines to 8 849.87 meters above sea level the rocky summit and one meter thickness of ice cover and snow 13 . On 9 October 2005 , after several months of measurements and calculations, the National Bureau of Surveying and car insurance quotes Mapping of the People’s Republic of China officially announced that the altitude of Everest is eight meters 844.43 ± 0.21 meters . The authorities claim that he is the most accurate measurement ever made 14 . The results of Bian Qiantao, researcher at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences suggest that the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau will not continue to rise indefinitely 15 . However, this new value to 3.5 meters thick ice and snow encountered by the Chinese team 12 is consistent with the altitude of 8848 meters that continues to recognize the government of Nepal 16 .
However, the snow depth varies with the time which makes the measurement of altitude permanently impossible with the clarification set out in 1999 and 2005. However, the elevation of the top rock is just as uncertain due to the shape of the geoid and undulations of the earth’s crust . In addition, smaller scale movements of tectonic origin are at an increased altitude of four millimeters a year and a lateral displacement of about three to six inches a year Northbound -is 13 , 17 , or even twenty-seven millimeters according to another source 18 .
A map photogrammetric detail at 1:50 000 th in the region of Khumbu including southern slopes of Mount Everest was conducted as part of the international expedition to the Himalayas in 1955 by Erwin Schneider who took the opportunity to try the ascent of Lhotse . A topographic map of Everest more detail was produced in the late 1980s under the direction of Bradford Washburn, using aerial photographs 19 .
Comparisons
Schematic comparison of the size of Mount Everest, the Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii and the Olympus Mons on March .
Everest is the highest summit of the world since the sea level . However, other mountains can claim the title of highest mountain in the Earth according to the criteria used.
Consider for example the Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii is the highest mountain from its base a rating . Indeed, even if it exceeds that of 4205 meters on sea level, it rises to 10,200 feet above the ocean floor 20 , 21 .
By the same measure from base to summit, Mount McKinley located in Alaska is higher than Everest. Despite its altitude of 6194 meters , it rises above a plain of 300 to 900 meters above sea level, giving it a vertical rise from its base at 5300 meters 5 900 22 . Compared Everest rises from 3650 to 4650 meters above the Tibetan plateau 19 .
For its part, the Chimborazo , rising to 6268 meters altitude in Ecuador in just over one degree of latitude south, the summit is the furthest from the center of the Earth: it is distant 6 384.4 km against 6 382.3 kilometers in terms of Everest, a difference of 2,168 meters due to the bulge of the Earth’s sphere at the equator 20 , 21 , 23 .
Anyway, the Everest is far from the terrain with the highest altitude in the solar system : on Venus , the Maxwell Montes peak at about 11 000 meters 24 while the absolute record is online reputation management held by the Olympus Mons on March with 27,000 meters of height 25 .
Geology
Orogeny
Map showing the movement of the Indian subcontinent to the rest of Asia to the collision of two continental masses , respectively carried by the plates Indian and Eurasian , which gave rise to several chains of mountains including the Himalayas .
Everest was formed, like the rest of the Himalayas , during the Alpine orogeny . The convergence of the Indian plate to Eurasian plate has contributed to the closure of the Tethys from the Eocene , there are about 50 million years, and resulted in the collision of continental masses of the Indian subcontinent with the rest of Asia . The Indian plate, smaller and lighter, continues to dive under the Eurasian plate at a rate of three inches per year and the continental crust grows and raises the Himalayan range from a few millimeters per year. The pressure created a metamorphism of rocks at depth.
Petrology
The rocks of Mount Everest are divided into three formations . These units are separated by normal faults of detachment along which they slide. From top to bottom, these formations Qomolangma, the North Col and the Rongbuk 26 , 27 .
Qomolangma formation extends from the summit to an altitude of 8600 meters . It is also known under the names of Everest training or Jolmo Lungama. It consists of alternating layers of limestone and dolomite recrystallized parallel colored dark gray, gray or white with traces of clays and siltstones . The presence of microscopic fragments of crinoids was found inside these limestone 28 . Later analyzes of petrographic samples of limestone dating from the Ordovician collected near the summit showed a composition based on grain carbonate and fragments of trilobites , crinoids and ostracods . Other samples were too weathered and recrystallized that their original composition can be reconstituted. Qomolangma is the formation of several fractionated by reverse faults that terminate at the normal fault known as the “Qomolangma detachment.” The lower part of this training, contact the detachment zone is strongly deformed to an average depth of five meters 26 , 27 .
View from the summit of Everest showing the Yellow Band , which separates the sedimentary rocks of the summit clear of metamorphic rocks at the base dark.
The formation of North Col is divided into two or three parts. Between 8600 and 8200 meters altitude, the Yellow Band , literally “yellow band” in French , consists of a sequence of strata of marble based diopside – epidote a distinctive yellow-brown well, intercalated with phyllites based muscovite – biotite , and semischistes . Petrographic study of marbles collected at 8300 meters above sea level showed that the fossil remains limestone crinoidal recrystallized constitute at least 5% of the rock. The upper part of the Yellow Band in contact with the Qomolangma detachment zone is also strongly deformed to a depth of five meters. A flaw in breach of five to forty centimeters in width separates the formation of Qomolangma 26 , 27 . Between 8200 and 7600 meters above sea level, training the Col North consists of alternating phyllites containing biotite- quartz and chlorite -biotite and to a lesser extent mica schists containing biotite- sericite -quartz ; between 7600 and 7000 meters altitude, it is composed of mica schists containing quartz-biotite, epidote, quartz and biotite- calcite -quartz, and thin layers of quartzose marbles. These metamorphic rocks are the result of metamorphism in a deep sea flysch composed of sediments of mudstone , of shale , of stoneware clay, sandstone, limestone, greywacke and calcareous sands. The normal fault bounding the bottom of the formation of the North Col is a regional detachment zone called the “Lhotse detachment” 26 , 27 .
The formation of Rongbuk, below 7000 meters above sea level, forms the base of Everest. It consists of mica schists orthoclase – sillimanite and gneiss with numerous intrusions form sill and dyke -based leucogranite ranging in thickness from one centimeter to 1 500 meters 27 , 29 .
Climate [ change ]
View of cloud formations above the top of Everest.
Conditions climatic extremes are to Everest. In January, the coldest month, the temperature at the top is on average -36 ° C and can reach -60 ° C . In July, the warmest month, the average temperature is -19 ° C and freezes constantly 30 .
From June to September, Everest suffers monsoon . The wind and rain from the Indian Ocean to the south. Masses of clouds and violent snowstorms to descend frequently this time of year. November-December to February-March, the current-jet -dominated southwest back down from the north. Strong winds sweep the summit is over 285 km / h . During the shoulder seasons, usually dry and conducive to climb the summit, however, storms can occur and surprise the Mountaineers with laden winds sand or sometimes drops three feet of snow in twenty four hours. Thus, at the end of winter and during spring, westerly winds are dominant. An air charged with moisture rises along the southern slopes of the Himalayas and condenses , forming a white cloud and tapered toward the east. When the wind blows at 80 km / h or so, the cloud top height is, below this speed, it rises, while if the wind blows harder, the cloud is below 30 .
The base camp of the south side, at about 5300 meters above sea level, receives an average download free ringtones now of 450 millimeters of rainfall per year 30 .
Fauna and flora
Overlooking a valley with traces of sparse vegetation with Everest in the background.
The lower slopes of Everest are sparsely covered with tufts of grass and shrubs adapted to dwarf the alpine . Beyond 5000 meters altitude, Rhododendron nivale is the only bush can survive extreme conditions. In the high valleys are also pushing tibetana Hippophae , Ephedra gerardiana , Juniperus indica , Dasiphora fruticosa , Gentiana ornata , Leontopodium jacotianum and Meconopsis horridula 31 . In 1924 , members of the British expedition to collect lichens between 4600 and 5500 meters above sea level, allowing the following year to R. Paulson identify thirty species different 32 . These lichens, and mosses and two species of flowering plants , Arenaria polytrichoides and Tanacetum gossypinum , are present up to 5750 meters 31 . Euophrys omnisuperstes , a tiny species of jumping spider black, was found in 1924 by RWG Hingston at 6700 meters altitude. This makes the non-permanent microscope confirmed the highest on Earth 33 . She lives at the bottom of the crevices and it was demonstrated in 1954 that it feeds on insects, frozen transported on site by the wind as well as springtails living up to 6000 meters above sea level and feeding on fungi and lichens 34 . Beyond 6700 meters above sea level, only microscopic species can survive long term.
Of birds such as bar-headed goose ( Anser indicus ) were seen flying at top height while yellow-billed choughs ( Pyrrhocorax graculus ), commonly called Gorak in Nepal , sometimes feed garbage, carrion and even bodies in humans South Col 35 or above since the body of George Mallory was found in 8160 meters above sea level with the cheeks eaten 36 .
History
Identification
In 1808 , the British start the ” great project of trigonometric topography “of the East Indies to determine the location and name the highest summits of the world. The study begins in the south and gradually moves northward twelve requiring carriers to transport each of the theodolites . These units weigh over 500 kilograms and measure accurately the height of mountains. She reached the foot of the Himalayas in the 1830s but the Nepal denies access to its territory to the British, fearing political clashes and possible annexation. Several requests are sent by the scientists but all are rejected. They are forced to continue their observations from Terai , a parallel region in Nepal and the Himalayas. The rain rains make conditions difficult and malaria causes the deaths of three experts and forces the evacuation of two other two .
Aerial view of Everest.
Nevertheless, in 1847 , the British persevere and begin detailed studies of the Himalayan peaks from observation posts located more than 240 kilometers away. Climatic conditions limit working time to three months a year. In November 1847 , Andrew Waugh , the Surveyor General of India conducts many comments from the post of Sawajpore located at the eastern end of the chain. At that time, Kangchenjunga , measured from at 8586 meters above sea level which puts him in third place, is considered the last ten years as the highest peak on Earth. He noted with interest the existence of a peak at 230 miles behind it. John Armstrong, one of the officials Waugh, also sees from a position just over the western and trivially green smoke coupon identifies as the “peak B”. Later, Waugh admitted that measurements on the peak B identified it as higher than Kangchenjunga, but given the large distance, close observations were necessary to make sure. To do this, the following year, Waugh returns a surveyor in the Terai region, but clouds prevented any attempt 2 .
In 1849 , Waugh James Nicolson to affect this region. The latter managed to make observations from Jirol , 190 kilometers. He carried with him the bulk of theodolites and eastward by making measurements from thirty five different positions, closest to 175 kilometers from the summit. He retired in Patna on the Ganges , to perform the necessary calculations. His statements provide him an average altitude of 9200 meters but they do not account for refraction which distorts measurements. The value has the advantage of giving an indication of the altitude of the peak B compared to that of Kangchenjunga. Unfortunately, Nicolson weakened by malaria and has to leave India without completing his calculations. Michael Hennessy, an assistant to Waugh, who began to identify the peaks with Roman numerals , renames the Kangchenjunga “peak IX” and the peak B ‘peak XV ” 2 .
In 1852 , Radhanath Sikdar , a mathematician and surveyor of the original Indian Bengal and parked on the main site surveyors at Dehradun , is the first to recognize the culminating summit of the Himalayas, by using calculations of trigonometric based statements Nicolson 37 . The official announcement was delayed for several years by the time the calculations are repeated endlessly. In 1854 , Waugh himself resumes the work left by Nicolson and his team spent nearly two years to solve the problems of refraction, atmospheric pressure and temperature that arise over such distances. Finally, in March 1856 , he revealed his discovery in a letter to his deputy in Calcutta . IX The peak is estimated at 28,156 feet or 8,582 meters above sea level and the peak XV to 29,002 feet or 8,840 meters . Waugh concluded that Peak XV was “most probably the highest in the world” 2 . In fact, the peak XV was measured at exactly 29,000 feet or 8839 meters but two feet were arbitrarily added to avoid the impression that the measure was a rough estimate rounded 38 .
First ascents
Acknowledgements
The first person to raise the possibility of an ascent of Everest is Clinton Thomas Dent , president of the Alpine Club in 1885 in Above the Snow Line 39 .
The military expedition British led by Francis Younghusband manages to negotiate the passage of the borders of Tibet in 1904 . On this occasion, J. Claude White made the first detailed photograph of the east face from Kampa Dzong at a distance of 150 km. But it was not until 1921 that the Royal Geographical Society obtained permission to truly explore the mountain . The first expedition was funded by the Mount Everest Committee , headed by Colonel Charles Howard-Bury , and composed of Harold Raeburn , George Mallory , Brian Donahue, Guy Bullock and Edward Oliver Wheeler. Its mission is only to map the mountain and find the easiest route to the summit. Raeburn’s health forced him to abandon his companions, however, and assumes the role of Mallory expedition leader. Although they are not equipped to reach the top, they come to North Col before being forced to turn around, surprised by the monsoon . Mallory’s experience allows him to claim that the route to the summit seems long, but possible for a properly prepared shipping 40 .
Panoramic view from the Tibetan plateau to Everest (center left) and the surrounding peaks.
Tibetan side debut
Main articles: British Everest Expedition of 1922 and the British Everest Expedition of 1924 .
Portrait of George Mallory , the first European to set foot on the slopes of the mountain in 1921 and the only one to participate with the following three expeditions conducted in 1922 and 1924 .
The second expedition of 1922 , conducted by Charles Granville Bruce , is composed of Edward Lisle Strutt, George Mallory , George Finch, Edward F. Norton , Henry T. Morshead, Howard Somervell, Arthur Wakefield, John Noel, Tom George Longstaff , Geoffrey Bruce, John Morris, Colin G. Crawford, and up to 160 holders 41 , 42 . The latter two reached the North Ridge and the altitude of 8320 meters in a second attempt with respiratory support, which is a world record 43 . But an avalanche is the first victims of an ascent by killing seven Sherpas and puts an end to the third and final attempt of the expedition 44 .
The third expedition in 1924 , led again by Charles Granville Bruce, but who gives, who suffers from malaria , and then by Edward F. Norton, is composed of George Mallory, Bentley Beetham, Geoffrey Bruce, John Vars Hazard, RWG Hingston, Andrew Irvine , John Noel, Noel Odell, EW and Howard Somervell Shebbeare. Norton was able to establish, at a second attempt, a new altitude record with 8,570 yards , which held until 1952 40 . In a third attempt, Mallory and Irvine disappeared as they are seen by Odell on his way to the top 42 . The mystery remains as to whether they reached the summit while no conclusive evidence permits us to affirm with certainty despite the discovery of Mallory bodies in 1999 42 .
In an interview on 18 March 1923 a reporter from New York Times who asked him why he wanted so much to climb Everest, George Mallory had simply responded with the phrase has become probably the best known of mountaineering:
” Because it’s There (Because it’s there) 45 ”
- George Mallory, New York Times
In the 1930s , several British expeditions are attempted, without success. The largest is that of 1933 led by Hugh Ruttledge who sees Lawrence Wager with Percy Wyn-Harris and Eric Shipton with Frank Smythe successively fail in their attempt to reach the top chiropractic marketing 40 . In 1935 , Tenzing Norgay used for the first time carrier with Shipton and his companions Bill Tilman , CBM Warren, EGH Kempson, LV Bryant, and EHL Wigram 40 . A total of seven British missions to launch an assault on the north face of Everest 46 . The Second World War and the takeover of Tibet by Chinese authorities in 1950 put an end to climb for a long period, with the exception of an attempt made illegal in March 1947 by the Canadian Earl Denman accompanied by Tenzing Norgay and Ang Dawa Sherpa. It was not until a Chinese expedition to the North East route was finally defeated on 25 March 1960 , although controversy remains.
Victory Nepali side
The closure of Tibet due to the Chinese invasion requires expeditions to turn to the Nepal which opens to foreigners in 1950 . This is Bill Tilman accompanied by Charles Houston, Oscar Houston and Betsy Cowles, who that year, made the first approach to Everest from the south 46 .
In 1951 , an expedition supported by the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society is once again led by Eric Shipton with Tom Bourdillon , MP Ward, WH Murray and New Zealand Edmund Hillary and H. Riddiford. He first crossed the Khumbu Icefall , venture into the Valley of Silence and onto the slopes of Pumori to find that the south face at least offers a possibility to climb 46 .
In 1952 , the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research launches expeditions to the summit push. In the spring, Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Gabriel Chevalley, Raymond Lambert , Rene Dittert, L. Flory, R. Aubert, A. Roch, J. Asper, E. Hofstetter and Tenzing Norgay set up Camp VI at South Col and Camp VII at 8380 meters above sea level on the ridge southeast. Lambert and Norgay reached the altitude of 8595 meters . Despite the excellent atmosphere between Swiss and Sherpas , logistical problems and respiratory equipment force them to give up. Never did an expedition had as much chance of success, but the experience will prove decisive Norgay the following year 46 . In the fall, a new attempt was undertaken by G. Chevalley, R. Lambert, E. Reiss, J. Buzio, A. Spohel, G. Gross, T. and NG Dyhrenfurth Norgay climbing the Lhotse . This route is now the normal route. Two accidents, one of which is the first victim for twenty years, forcing the expedition to turn back 46 .
Route Map of the route taken by the ninth British expedition to Everest in 1953.
In 1953 , another expedition is launched. It is run by the British John Hunt . He is accompanied mountaineers Charles Evans, G. Band, T. Bourdillon, A. Gregory, Edmund Hillary, WG Lowe, C. Noyce, MP Ward, M. Westmacott, and CG Wylie Sherpa Tensing Norgay. On April 22 , the expedition reaches the icefall. Camp VI is set to 7000 meters altitude at the foot of Lhotse . The South Col is reached via the open the previous fall. They even have food and reserves of oxygen left by the Swiss. On May 26 , the first attempt to reach the top is carried out by Evans and Bourdillon but they turn around after reaching the South Summit at 8751 meters above sea level 47 . They still leave oxygen reserves for the next pair. The same day, the Sherpas climb, at the request of Hunt, Camp IX on the ridge south-east, at 8500 meters altitude. Finally, on May 29 , a second attempt allows Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay set foot summit. Parties Camp IX at 6: 30 pm , they crossed the South Summit at 9 h 00 and reach their goal to 11 h 30 46 . Norgay admit that two years later the beat Hillary at the top 48 . There, they take more photographs and bury a few sweets and a small cross . Back at the South Col, they are greeted by Lowe. Hillary then exclaims:
” Well, George, we knocked the bastard off! (Well, George, one is the fact the bastard!) 46 ”
- Edmund Hillary
The news of the success of the expedition reached quickly London on the morning of 2 June 1953 , the day of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II . Returning to Kathmandu a few days later, Hunt, a British citizen, and Hillary, on the sovereign queen of New Zealand within the realm of the Commonwealth , find that they were made knights of the Order of the British Empire 49 . The Nepalese Tenzing Norgay received the George Medal 48 .
Popularization and consequences
Exploits successive
Group photograph of members of the first expedition to make a winter ascent of Everest in 1980 .
20 May 1965 : The Nepalese Nawang Gombu was the first man to reach the summit twice, first with a shipping U.S. and India .
16 May 1975 : the Japanese Junko Tabei became the first woman to summit.
8 May 1978 : The Austrian Peter Habeler and Italian Reinhold Messner made the first ever ascent without ventilatory support 50 .
15 October 1978 : First ascent by an expedition French led by Pierre Mazeaud , with Jean Afanassieff , Nicolas Jaeger and Kurt Diemberger . Afanassieff and Jaeger are the first to descend a peak of 8,000 meters above sea level to ski 51 .
16 October 1978 : the Polish Wanda Rutkiewicz became the first European and the third woman to summit.
20 August 1980 : Reinhold Messner made the first solo ascent, ventilator-free 50 .
17 February 1980 : First winter ascent of a peak of over 8000 meters by a Polish expedition composed of Leszek Cichy and Krzysztof Wielicki .
4 May 1982 : First ascent in terms night by the team Soviet Vladimir Balberin Myslovsky and Edward 40 .
8 October 1983 : Lou Reichardt, Kim MOMB Buhler and Carlos are the first climbers to overcome the opposite Kangshung 52 .
30 August 1986 : the Swiss Erhard Loretan and Jean Troillet reach the peak in alpine style by Hornbein Corridor in the north face in 43 hours roundtrip making a speed record.
26 September 1988 : Michael Metzger is the first French to successfully climb unassisted breathing, the French Jean-Marc Boivin flies in paragliding from the top and puts twelve minutes to reach the base camp 53 .
26 September 1988 : French Marc Batard climbs solo, ventilator-free in 22 hours and 30 minutes from base camp (south side) 54 . Anyone who then wanted to go in less than 24 hours used a respirator.
5 http://www.insuranceforcriticalillness.co.uk/ October 1990 : Christine Janin , MD, becomes the first French woman to reach the summit.
13 May 1995 : the British Alison Hargreaves became the first woman to climb Everest solo, without ventilatory support 55 .
23 May 2001 : no no hair removal reviews the French Marco Siffredi is the first to make the descent corridor Norton in snowboarding . He died the following year by trying to go down the hallway Hornbein 56 .
30 May 2004 : a Russian team opens a new route on the north side 57 .
25 May 2006 : Christian Stangl climbed the north face ventilator-free and without help in just 16 hours and 42 minutes, breaking the record of Hans Kammerlander , a former teammate of Reinhold Messner in the early 1980s , 18 minutes 58 .
16 May 2007 : the Canadian Manuel A. Pizarro was the first man to have survived more than 24 hours on Everest without equipment, food and life support 59 .
22 May 2010 : Jordan Romero became, at age 13, the youngest climber to have summited Everest. He cherished this feat, after seeing a poster of Everest at school, when he was only nine years 60 . He dethroned and the Nepalese Sherpa Temba Tsheri who had reached the summit in 2001 at age 16 years 61 .
Conquest Air
Aerial image payday loans of Mount Everest (left) and the plane piloted by Douglas Douglas-Hamilton in the first overview of the mountain in 1933.
In April 1933 , Lucy Houston, a former dancer cabaret UK became a millionaire, founded the Houston Everest Flight of 1933 in order to fly for the first time the summit. The flight training takes off from Purnia , about 250 kilometers south, in India . It is led by the Marquis Douglas Douglas-Hamilton , the future Duke of Hamilton, flying Westland Wallace . The planes turned around fifteen minutes around the top to make pictures 62 , 63 , 64 .
In September 1986 , a ULM arises near the base camp 65 . On 21 October 1991 , two hot air balloons fly to Everest. One of them is over the top to nearly 10,300 feet above sea level 66 .
On 14 May 2005 , a Eurocopter AS-350 Squirrel landed for the first time at the top and again the next day. This record is validated by the International Aeronautical Federation 67 .
Accidents in series
On 10 May 1996 was the blackest day in the history of climbing Everest. Of mountaineers fans begin the climb with guides experienced, Scott Fisher and Rob Hall, both working for different agencies but choosing to climb together. They neglect the terms climate that degrade 68 and reach the summit between 13 h 00 69 and 15 h 45 . This delay is due to the amateurism of “tourists” 70 . At the top, a violent snowstorm descends. A client of Rob Hall collapses and the guide stays with him. The climber dies quickly and isolated Rob Hall can withstand cold and numb: with a radio , he contacted his pregnant wife, until his death. Scott Fisher died during the descent, plagued by hallucinations and a cerebral edema , none of his companions, too exhausted, could not help him. Tourists are scattered throughout the night without finding the tents, yet only a few meters from them. A climber Kazakh veteran, Anatoli Boukreev, leaps in the dark despite temperatures approaching -40 ° C and back one by one lost, but two dying Note 2 , the Japanese Yasuko Namba, probably already dead, and the American Beck Weathers, unconscious and breathing difficulty. Yet the surprise is great when the day arrives at Camp Beck Weathers, awakened from his coma , and members face frozen. However, eight people died that day, all combined shipments, bringing the total to fifteen victims for 1996 71 .
A scientific analysis published in New Scientist in May 2004 revealed that specific weather conditions have caused a fall in the rate of oxygen in the air by 6% which translates to the body by 14% oxygen and less in the blood 72 .
Jon Krakauer , a member of the expedition, delegated by the U.S. magazine Outside , accurately reported in this drama Tragedy on Everest 73 . A controversy erupted Anatoli Boukreev with how Krakauer recounted the events which will be worth at Kazakh to publish his version of events 74 . Several other survivors also shared how they lived that day. Anyway, this tragedy has carpet cleaning Kansas City had a huge impact and has raised many questions about the commercialization of Everest.
Affirmation of a national symbol
The PRC has paved and widened the track of 130 kilometers long leading from Tingri , the Tibetan base camp at 5154 meters altitude at the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier , in order to facilitate the delivery of increasing number of tourists . Work began on 18 June 2007 and was completed in April following a budget estimated at 150 million yuan or about 15 million euro . These improvements were made despite protests concerning degradation ecological . In addition, a relay antenna to China Telecom for mobile phone was installed at 1500 meters from base camp to cover the top with a network and a comfortable hotel was built in an hour’s walk downstream 75 .
On the occasion of the Summer Olympics 2008 in Beijing , the flame was sent on May 8 , two weeks late, the summit of Everest by climbers nineteen Chinese, the majority of Tibetans, and a crew of eight 76 . The rise, television, like the descent took place in the northern hill . Flame – actually a replica of the original while car insurance rates continuing his career – had to be protected from lack of oxygen and the wind by a miner’s lamp special 77 . At the summit, climbers original Han exclaimed “We did it! “And” Beijing welcomes you. » 78
Populations and traditions
View of Everest from Rongbuk Monastery , the sacred place of Tibetan Buddhism located 5,100 meters above sea level in Tibet .
The Everest region is the land of the Sherpas , group ethnicity who migrated from Tibet to 2 000 kilometers from their present habitat in northeastern Nepal about 500 years ago. They now occupy the two main regions of Solu and Khumbu . Twelve separate clans inhabiting it. The Sherpas are particularly 2500 to live in the Sagarmatha National Park . They speak a dialect of Tibetan and practicing an overwhelmingly Tibetan Buddhism filled with superstitions , the beliefs and ceremonies from a mix of traditional animist religion and Bön . They are traditionally farmers , the pastoralists and traders adapted to life in high altitudes and often travel with animals such as yaks and Dzos . For decades, they benefit from tourism and have specialized as porters on expeditions to the summit of the highest mountains, Everest in mind. They are recognized as strong men, steadfast and courageous. However, they are regularly replaced by Rai , and Tamang or Gurung 31 , 79 .
View of a stupa and prayer flags from the base camp .
Everest is a sacred mountain to the Sherpas. They think it is home to spirits , of demons , but also trees 80 . It is also home to Jomo Miyo Lang Sangma, one of the “five sisters of long life” which provide food to the inhabitants of the top five highest Himalayan peaks 81 . The Buddhist master Padmasambhava had organized a race to the summit of Everest. After some time of meditation and fight against the demons, he would have challenged one of the lamas of the Bön religion to determine who was the most powerful. Padmasambhava was transported to the top by a beam of light and the llama, defeated, would have left his drum. Since then, whenever an avalanche occurs into the valley, the Sherpas play drums to drive away the spirits.
Before climbing, Sherpas practice puja , a ceremony to worship the victims of the mountain, calm their thoughts, their added peace of mind and soul to seek clemency mountain spirits. Between Dingboche and Lobuche , on the way to base camp , a cemetery was built in tribute to the victims of ascents. Each represented by a cairn . Of stupas , the mills and prayer flags , and the mantras are present at the foot of Everest to practice the ceremonies.
Activities
Mountaineering
Map of climbing routes in the three open sides of Everest by various expeditions between 1924 and 1996.
Everest has two routes of ascent main ridge south-east by Nepal and the northeast edge of the Tibet , and many other routes. The two main routes, the South East ridge is technically easier and is therefore the most popular route. This was the route taken by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953 and the first to have been recognized among the fifteen routes 82 identified in 1996 . However, the decision to go this way first is due to reasons of geopolitical rather than technical choices since the Chinese border was closed to foreigners since 1949 . On 20 August 1980 , the Italian Reinhold Messner was the first to reach the summit alone and without respiratory support or other additional support. He borrows the more difficult route northwest through the northern hill of the North Face and the Great Couloir. He realizes the full ascent alone for three days from his base camp at 6500 meters altitude. This route is recognized as the eighth route to reach the summit.
Most attempts are made in April and May before the monsoon summer. At this time of year, a change in the jet stream reduces the average speed of wind at high altitude. Other attempts are made after the monsoon months of September and October but the snow fell during the monsoon and more unstable weather conditions make the climb more difficult.
Southeast edge
View of the Nepalese base camp at the foot of the Khumbu Glacier .
The ascent by the south-east ridge begins with a trek to base camp at 5380 meters altitude on the southern slopes of Mount Everest in Nepal . Shipments usually travel by air from Kathmandu to Lukla at 2860 meters altitude and pass through Namche Bazaar . From there, climbers ascend to the base camp. This approach walk usually takes six to eight days, for travel and acclimatization altitude to prevent acute mountain sickness . The equipment and supplies are carried by yaks , the Dzos (cross between a yak and a cow ) or carriers to base camp on the Khumbu glacier . When Hillary and Tenzing have made the ascent of Everest in 1953, they went directly to the Kathmandu Valley because, at the time, no road went further.
Climbers typically spend two weeks at base camp to acclimatize to the altitude. Meanwhile, the Sherpas and some expedition members are installing ropes and fixed ladders in the dangerous Khumbu Icefall . Seracs , crevices and blocks of ice make this transition one of the most dangerous of ascent . Many climbers and Sherpas have been killed in this section. To reduce the risk, climbers usually begin their ascent well before dawn when temperatures still maintain low frost most ice blocks in place. Above the icefall is Camp I or Advanced Base Camp ( Advanced Base Camp , or ABC) at 6,065 meters above sea level 83 .
View from the bottom of the Khumbu Icefall .
From Camp I, climbers ascend the “west valley” in English Western Cwm , at the foot of Lhotse , where Camp II is established at 6500 meters altitude. This glacial valley which rises gently is hampered huge cracks in its center that prevent access to the upper parts of the glacier. Climbers are required to pass on the right side, near the base of Nuptse , along a narrow passage known as the Nuptse corner . This valley is also called “Valley of Silence” because of the topography shields wind. Because of the high altitude, on a clear day with no wind, the heat can become unbearable for climbers 83 .
Camp II, climbers ascend the slopes of Lhotse using fixed ropes to Camp III, located on a small plateau at 7470 meters altitude. Hence, there is still 500 meters of altitude to climb to reach the South Col where Camp IV at 7920 meters altitude. From Camp III to Camp IV, climbers are faced with two major difficulties: the “spur of Geneva” and “yellow tape”. The Geneva Spur is an anvil formed by a rib of black rock known as a shipping Swiss in 1952 . The yellow tape is a section of marble which usually requires a few hundred meters of fixed ropes to cross 83 .
From Camp IV at the South Col, climbers enter the “death zone” because of the altitude , the functioning of organs deteriorate inexorably and time spent in this area should be kept to a minimum. Climbers typically begin the final assault around midnight. They still have more than 900 meters of altitude it is reasonable to achieve in ten to twelve hours at this altitude. The climbers reach first the “balcony” at 8400 meters altitude, a small platform where they can rest and contemplate the ridges south and east in the first light of dawn. Continuing their ascent of the ridge, they are then faced with a series of rocky steps that often lead to cross to the east in a deep blanket of snow where the risk of avalanche is high. At 8750 meters altitude, a small dome of ice and snow marks the South runescape gold Summit 83 .
South Summit, climbers follow the ridge south-east, very tapered edge along what is known as the “crossing of the cornice.” This is the most exposed section of the climb as a misstep to the left send the climber 2,400 feet below the foot of the south face, while a false step to the right and the climber dévalerait 3050 meters from the front of Kangshung on the northern side Tibetan . At the end of this passage is the final challenge: the “Hillary Step”, a rock wall twelve feet high at 8760 meters altitude. Hillary and Tenzing were the first to overcome this obstacle and they have done with the equipment of the time and without fixed ropes. Today, most climbers traverse this passage using fixed ropes that Sherpas have previously installed. From there, the ascent to the summit, relatively easy, but through gentle slopes at particular risk. However, climbers must also pass through a rock which mixed old fixed ropes that can become a hassle in bad weather 83 .
Climbers typically spend less than half an hour on the roof of the world because they have to descend to Camp IV before dark. They must also pay attention to weather conditions often deteriorate in the afternoon and their reserves of oxygen 83 .
Panoramic view of the glacier Ngozumpa with Everest in the center, in the background, hiding a sunrise.
North Ridge East [ change ]
View of the north face of Everest from Tibet .
The ascent of the north-east ridge of Everest begins with the north face side Tibetan in China . The base camp at 5,180 meters above sea level on the moraine of the Rongbuk glacier is accessible after a trek . To reach Camp II, climbers borrow Moraine East Rongbuk Glacier to the foot of Changtse to about 6100 meters above sea level. Camp III (ABC – Advanced Base Camp) is located beneath the North Col at 6500 meters altitude. To reach Camp IV at North Col at 7010 meters altitude, the climbers ascend the glacier at the foot of the pass where the strings are typically fixed installed. North Saddle, climbers ascend the rocky ridge north to Camp V at around 7,775 meters above sea level. The route follows the north side before reaching the site of Camp VI at 8,230 meters above sea level. Camp VI, climbers begin the final assault of the top 84 .
Climbers must first navigate their route through three rock bands known under the names “first jump” from 8500 to 8534 meters above sea level, “second jump” from 8577 to 8626 meters above sea level and “third jump “from 8690 to 8800 meters above sea level. Above, the way borrows topset slopes between 50 to 60 degrees 84 .
Face of Kangshung
Main article: Face of Kangshung .
Another route less traveled and more dangerous through the east face of Everest. This rock face is 3,350 meters of altitude 19 . The first in this direction is accomplished by 1983 by a team American .
The climb starts with a long approach march by the glacier Kangshung . At the foot of the east face, the climber must prepare for more than 3000 meters of vertical drop of icy walls, exposed to avalanches . The isolation of this face is that retirement is difficult and dangerous. George Mallory had noted in his book expedition: “Other men, less wise, might try this face, but clearly, this n ‘ is not for us ” 85 .
Statistics
Figurative map of the increased flow of tourists to the Everest region between 1980 and 2000.
Between 1921 and 2006 , more than 14 000 climbers participated in expeditions to Everest, with just over 6000 Sherpa 86 . At 31 December 2010 , 5,101 people 87 reached the summit since the feat of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay , including 286 women. The Nepal leads the ‘hit list’ records since 2261 at the top climbers, it is followed cna certification by the United States with 536, of China with 299, the United Kingdom with 264 and Japan with 169 88 . 59% of successful ascents are held by the South Col and the southeast edge against 39% by the North Col and Northeast Ridge 89 . Only 142 climbers reached the summit without ventilatory support 90 . However, 219 climbers have died since 1922 91 .
The absolute speed record of an ascent, with respiratory support, is 8 hours and 10 minutes in detention since 21 May 2004 by Sherpa Pemba Dorjie 92 . The youngest person at the top is an American of 13 years, Jordan Romero , who made the ascent in 2010 with his father 93 followed by a Nepalese aged 15. Other honorable mentions are those of a California 18 in 2007 and a French 17 in 1990 , it is not officially recognized 94 . Since 2008 , the Japanese Yuichiro Miura is officially recognized as the oldest person to reach the top of http://www.insuranceforincomeprotection.co.uk/ the world, at the age of 76 years, despite two heart operations , while the Nepalese Min Bahadur Sherchan, arrived two days before him at the top, could not prove to be aged 77 95 .
Environmental protection
The slopes of Nepal ‘s Everest is listed since 19 July 1976 in the Sagarmatha National Park which covers 114,800 hectares , covering much of the region of Khumbu , north-east. 69% of the park lies above 5,000 meters above sea level and is virtually sterile. The rest are 28% of high meadows and 3% of forests , constituting six of the eleven biotopes identified in Nepal. The park was inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1979 31 .
Crossing point of the normal route to the summit, the South Col has become a dump . Shipments to abandon equipment and waste which reappear when the melt patches of snow . Mandated by the Nepalese government and UNESCO, a team led by mountaineer Peter Royer began his great spring cleaning in 1993 . In May, the expedition, with a score of Sherpas , went down eight tonnes of waste (bottles of oxygen , plastic , glass , paintings, etc..) 96
The Qomolangma Nature Reserve is a biosphere reserve located in China over the northern part of Everest 97 . The ounce or snow leopard is the symbol of the Qomolangma Nature Reserve 98 .
Everest in popular culture
In a song titled simply Everest , Ani DiFranco opposes the depth of the Pacific at the height of the mountain and Cliff Richard says in Climbing Up Mount Everest climb that is like to crawl up unconscious Memphis or dig a hole until China to discover that the beloved no longer loves you. The singer-songwriter Fabien Martin came out in 2003 an album and a song titled Ever Everest .
For the heart face
Sometimes I look
A landscape
Ever Everest
Nothing ‘fades
The nights pass
And dreams remain
Representation of Everest on a ticket of 500 Nepalese rupees .
The fatal adventure of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine has inspired several works ( Mallory & Irvine – In Search of Ghosts of Everest ), some more romanticized. Thus, in fiction, The Summit of the Gods is a manga which tells of the discovery, by a photographer and mountaineer Japanese , then the theft of the camera Mallory supposed to help solve the riddle about the ascension of 1924 with Andrew Irvine 99 . The climb that defeated the summit in 1953 has also been a book of Edmund Hillary , the summit of Everest: 50 years ago the Everest, the expedition that conquered the top of the world and a documentary titled The Conquest of Everest released in 1954 . Other climbers have since delivered their own experience. The tragedy of 1996 has motivated several stories from survivors and has inspired many adaptations bibliographic and film , often adapted from such testimony. Into Thin Air – Death On Everest , for example, taken from the Everest Tragedy by Jon Krakauer . Children of Everest , from National Geographic , is an overview of the achievements made towards the summit.
Everest Ascent is a game of adventure released in 1983 whose aim was to reach the top in less than twenty days in properly managing its resources to maintain its Sherpa
A couple quick tips to keep your heels from flopping around in your boots. Blister prevention in under two minutes. Another film by mother-daughter team Jilly and Alison Salva.
Ali from Fitclimb.com shows what equiptment to carry and how to pack for an overnight backpacking, mountaineering, or climbing trip.