Introduction
Mount Everest is located literally on top of the world, rising to 8850 meters (29,035 feet) above sea level. So who was crowned as the highest mountain in the world, the climbers inevitably felt tempted to climb it. And many have failed. While more than 2 million people have succeeded, almost 200 lost their lives trying to climb.
So why climb Everest? The most famous answer to this question came from the mountaineer George Mallory: “because it is there.”
In this article we will examine the history of climbing Mount Everest, which routes are used by most climbers and find out why and what they bring with them to survive the journey.
Everest was not always considered the king of the mountains. It was in 1852 that a Bengali mathematician and surveyor called Radhanath Sikhdar determined that “Peak XV” was the highest point on Earth. In 1865, the discovery of Sikhdar was confirmed. The Surveyor General of India, Sir Andrew Waugh renamed the mountain Mount Everest, because of Sir George Everest, surveyor general and former supervisor of the work of original topography correlating the “Peak XV”.
The Nepalese who live south of Mount Everest have always known that he was special. They called it Sagarmatha, which can be translated as “goddess of the sky” or “forehead of heaven.” Tibetans who live north of the mountain call Chomolungma or “Mother Goddess of the world.
Political interests have kept the candidate out of the Everest climbers for many years after its discovery, since neither the Tibetan or Nepalese want to receive foreigners in their countries. But in 1921, after much diplomatic negotiation, Tibet opened its borders and the first of many expeditions began on the north side of the mountain.
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