The peak of Mt. Everest is the highest point on Earth and stands at 29,035 ft. above sea level. It's believed that Mt. Everest was formed by two tectonic plates of Asia and India, which collided millions of years ago and created the mountain range known as the Himalayas. The Tibetans in the North call Everest "Chomolungma" or "Goddess, Mother of the World". In Nepal, it is named "Sagarmatha" or "the Goddess of the Sky.
In 1852, British Surveyor General George Everest discovered the mountain and called it "Peak XV." In 1856, Sir Andrew Waugh proposed "Everest" as the English name of the mountain. In 1861 George Everest was knighted and in 1865, Peak XV was officially renamed Mount Everest, the world's highest peak.
By the end of the 19th century, British and European mountaineers were looking toward Asia in hopes of reaching Everest, but the path was not clear. Neither Tibet nor Nepal allowed Europeans to cross their borders. In addition, the incredible height of the mountain made the physical effects of altitude a major concern.
It wasn't until January 1921, that scientists from the Royal Geographical Society and the British Alpine Club received permission from Tibet's 13th Dalai Lama to send an expedition to Everest from the Tibetan side. Because little was known at the time about Everest's geography, the 1921 expedition was not trying to reach the summit but merely to chart the best course to the summit. However, George Leigh Mallory (the only climber to take part in all three of the British Everest expeditions in the 1920s) was interested in going to the top. Accompanied by some of the other climbers from the team, Mallory left the scientists and attempted to climb Mt. Everest. After weeks of climbing, backtracking, and detouring around obstacles, they reached a height of 23,000 ft. in an area called the North Col. High winds forced them to turn back at that point.
With a summit route map completed, a second expedition set out in 1922, led by George Mallory. The team of climbers made three separate attempts at the summit. The first attempt was without the use of oxygen. Mallory, E.F. Norton and Howard Somervell, reached a height of 27,000 feet before turning back. The second attempt, made a few days later by several other climbers with oxygen, reached 27,300 feet. The third attempt by yet another group of climbers, ended in disaster before reaching the summit. Seven sherpas were killed by an avalanche in the North Col.
In 1924, Mallory came back to Everest for the third time, accompanied by Sandy Irvine. The two attempted the push for the summit and were last seen at midday high on a ridge close to the top. Whether Mallory and Irvine made it to the summit and were killed on the way down or whether they died before reaching the top, is one of Everest's great mysteries.
Nearly 30 years after Mallory's disappearance, the summit of Everest was finally reached. On May 29, 1953 at 11:30 AM, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norgay, a Nepalese Sherpa, made the ascent on the Southeast Ridge, past South Peak, to the summit, 29,035 feet above sea level, the highest spot on the earth. The success of a British-led expedition combined with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, restored the confidence of a nation weary from long years of wartime hardship and postwar shortages. When Hillary returned to Britain he was knighted by the new Queen, and became Sir Edmund Hillary.
Since that first climb to the top of Mt. Everest, the mountain has been successfully summitted by hundreds of people. But even with the most high-tech climbing gear, it remains a very dangerous enterprise. Some of those individuals who have reached the famous peak have included Junko Tabei (the first woman to summit Everest), Tom Whittaker (the first disabled person to climb to Mt. Everest), and Reinhold Messner (the first person to do a solo climb of Everest without supplemental oxygen). There have also some famous Sherpas who have made the climb since Tenzing Norgay reached the top. Ang Rita Sherpa has made 10 successful summits of Everest and Appa Sherpa has made 11 successful attempts to the summit.
In May 1996, Everest was very much in the world spotlight when world renown climbers Rob Hall and Scott Fischer were confronted by a freak savage storm on the upper mountain. The storm claimed the lives of nine climbers, including Hall and Fischer. Jon Krakauer, who was part of Hall's team, survived and later wrote "Into Thin Air," documenting the events surrounding the 1996 tragedy on Everest.
Mt. Everest, throughout its history, has remained in the hearts of many climbers as the ultimate conquest, though in reality, no human can ever 'conquer' Everest. He or she can only hope to be allowed to climb and return home safely.
