Nepal is home to a man who has conquered the "top of the world" 21 times, and at the very top, which was once the seabed, there are amazing spiders. The mountain is still growing, it has not even two, but four official names and, by the way, is not the highest in the world.
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Source: restbee.ru
1. Himalayan spiders
Even high in the mountains, where oxygen is barely enough for breathing, we cannot hide from spiders. Euophrys omnisuperstes, better known as the Himalayan jumping spider, hides in the nooks and crannies of Mount Everest, making it one of the highest-living creatures on Earth. Climbers found them at an altitude of 6700 meters. These spiders are capable of feeding on almost anything that can fly so high. With the exception of some species of birds, these are the only living creatures that constantly live at such a height. However, in 1924, during the British expedition to Everest, a previously unknown species of grasshoppers was found here - now they are on display in the British Museum of Natural History.
2. The record of climbing Mount Everest - 21 times
Appa Tenzing, also known as Appa Sherpa, was able to conquer the top of the world 21 times. His first ascent took place in May 1990, after three earlier unsuccessful attempts... Apparently, having learned all the secrets of climbing, Appa continued to conquer Everest every year - from 1990 to 2011. He has repeatedly stressed that the effects of global warming are clearly visible in the mountains. Appa is worried about melting snow and ice, making climbing the mountain more difficult, as well as the safety of his people after a melted glacier flooded his home village. The last four ascents of Everest were made by Appa as part of ecological expeditions.
Conquering Everest is not as romantic as it might seem at first glance. Thanks to the significant development of the tourism industry, there has been a significant increase in the number of ascents to the most high mountain the world. So, in 1983 only 8 people made it to the top, and in 2012 only 234 people got there in one day. It is not surprising that when conquering Everest, traffic jams and even fights occur. So, in 2013, climbers Uli Stack, Simon Moreau and Jonathan Griffith got into a fight with the Sherpas after the latter asked to stop the ascent. The Sherpas have accused the climbers of causing an avalanche. An argument began, which, on emotions, escalated into a fierce fight using stones. It came to death threats, but the climbers returned to base camp, where the rest of the "colleagues" took their side. Even the Nepal army had to intervene in the incident - then both sides of the conflict signed an agreement on its peaceful settlement.
4.450 million years of history
Although the Himalayan Mountains were formed about 60 million years ago, their history begins much earlier. 450 million years ago, limestone and rocks were part of the sedimentary layers below sea level. Over time, the rocks at the bottom of the ocean came together and began to move up 11 centimeters a year. Fossils of sea creatures can now be found on the summit of Everest. They were first discovered in 1924 by the guide Noel Odell - thus it was proved that the summit of Everest was once under water. The first rock samples from the world's summit were brought back by Swiss climbers in 1956 and a team from America in 1963.
5. Disputes about height
What is the exact height of Everest? It depends on which country side you are on. China said it was 8,844 meters, while Nepal said it was 8,848 meters. This dispute happened due to the fact that China believes that the height should be equal only to the height of the rock, excluding meters of frozen snow from the total. Whether it is true or not remains a double-edged sword, but the international community still includes snow at the height of the mountain. China and Nepal came to an agreement in 2010, finally establishing an official height of 8,848 meters.
6. Everest is still growing
According to recent measurements, both China and Nepal may be in error regarding height. In 1994, a research team found that Everest continues to grow 4 millimeters a year. The Indian subcontinent was originally an independent piece of land that collided with Asia to form the Himalayas. But the continental plates are still moving and the mountains are rising in height. American researchers in 1999 installed special equipment that allows you to monitor its change. Their more accurate measurements could lead to the fact that the official height of the mountain will be changed to 8,850 meters. In the meantime, other tectonic activity leads to a decrease in Everest, but the results together still ensure its growth.
7. Everest has several names
Most of us know the mountain under the names Everest and Chomolungma. The last name came from Tibet, which means "Divine (qomo) mother (ma) of life (lung)". But these are not the only names by which the mountain is known. So, in Nepal it is called Sagarmatha ("Forehead in the sky"), and she herself is part of the Nepalese National Park "Sagarmatha". The mountain owes its name to Everest to the British surveyor Andrew Waugh, who did not manage to find a single common name even after careful study of all maps of the surrounding area and communication with its inhabitants. Andrew decided to name the mountain after the geographer who worked in India, George Everest, the leader of the British team that first explored the Himalayas. Everest itself refused such an honor, but still the British representatives changed the name of the mountain in 1865. Previously, it was simply called the 15th peak.
8. Traffic jams from people
Climbing Mount Everest will cost a person several thousand dollars, but the number of those eager to conquer the summit is steadily growing. In 2012, German climber Ralf Dujmowitz took a photograph of hundreds of people queuing up to climb. By the way, due to bad weather and a long line, Ralph had to turn back at one of the passes called the South Col. And on May 19, 2012, those wishing to climb the top of the mountain were forced to queue for about two hours - in one day, 234 people climbed Everest. However, on the same day, during the ascent, four people died, which raised some concerns about the safety of conquering the summit, and experts from Nepal installed a railing that allows you to fight congestion. Now the question of installing the stairs at the top is being discussed.
There are many photographs showing the beauty of Everest from all possible angles, but there is also a downside to the coin: photographs of the huge amount of debris left by climbers. According to some estimates, there are about 50 tons of waste of various origins on Everest, and their amount increases in proportion to the number of visits. On the slopes of the mountain, you can see used oxygen tanks, climbing equipment and other climbers' waste. In addition, the mountain is "adorned" by the bodies of the dead climbers - because of the difficulties with their transportation, the victims of an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances remain lying on the slopes. Some of them serve as reference points for other climbers. Thus, Tsewanga Palzhora, who died in 1996, “marks” the height of 8,500 meters and even received the nickname “Green Shoes” for his noticeable bright green shoes. Since 2008, a special ecological expedition (Eco Everest Expidition) has been climbing the mountain every year, the purpose of which is to fight the pollution of Everest. At the moment, thanks to this expedition, more than 13 tons of waste have been collected. In 2014, the government of Nepal introduced a new rule that every climber must bring at least 8 kilograms of waste when descending the mountain - otherwise, the $ 4,000 deposit will be lost. There is also the creative project "Everest 8848": its artists turned 8 tons of waste into 75 pieces of art, using even the remains of broken tents and beer cans. Thus, they are trying to draw attention to the pollution of the mountain.
10. Everest is not the tallest mountain on Earth
Despite the assigned title, in fact, Everest is not the highest mountain in the world. Mauna Kea - an inactive volcano in Hawaii - rises above sea level by "only" 4205 meters, but another 6,000 meters of its base are hidden under water. When measured from the ocean floor, its height is equal to 10 203 meters, which is almost one and a half kilometers more than Everest.
Everest is also not the most "convex" point on the planet. The extinct volcano Chimborazo in Ecuador reaches an altitude of 6267 meters above sea level, but is located just one degree from the equator. Since our planet is slightly thickened in the center, the sea level in Ecuador is located farther from the center of the Earth than in Nepal, and it turns out that Chimborazo is the highest point of the Earth in terms of stereometry.
The highest peaks in the Chomolungma regionChomolungma is located in the Himalayan mountain system, namely in the Mahalangur-Himal ridge, which is located on the border of the Republic of Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of the PRC.
The height of its northern peak, located in China and considered to be the main one, is 8848 meters. This is an absolute record among the highest mountains on Earth, which number 117 (all of them are concentrated in the region of Central and South Asia). The southern peak is a little lower, 8760 meters, and it can be called "international": it is located on the border of two countries.
The mountain looks like a three-sided pyramid. The slope and ribs from the south are so steep that snow and glaciers do not hold onto them. The rock wall has no snow cover. The rest of the ribs are covered with glaciers, starting from about 5 kilometers in height.
The part of Everest, located on the side of Nepal, is part of national park "Sagarmatha". This is exactly how - Sagarmatha - is the name of the highest peak in the world in Nepali (translated as "Heavenly peak"). From this side, it is obscured by the mountains Nuptse (7879 m) and Lhotse (8516 m). Beautiful views of it open up from the surrounding mountains Kala Pathar and Gokyo Ri.
Chomolungma - this name is translated from Tibetan as "Lady of the Winds" - one of ten mountain peaks, the so-called eight-thousanders, located in the Himalayas (there are only 14 in the world). Undoubtedly, it remains the most attractive target for climbers around the world.
Everest panoramaHow the height of Everest was calculated
It is noteworthy that until 1852, the Dhaulagiri multi-peaked mountain range, also located in the Himalayas, was considered the highest point on the planet. The first topographic studies, carried out from 1823 to 1843, did not refute this statement at all.
After a while, doubts began to arise, and the Indian mathematician Radhanat Sikdar became their first bearer. In 1852, being at a distance of 240 km from the mountain, using trigonometric calculations, he made the assumption that Chomolungma, or, as it was then called, Peak XV, is the highest peak in the world. Only four years later, more accurate practical calculations confirmed this.
The data on the height of Chomolungma changed frequently: according to common assumptions of that time, it was approximately 8872 meters. However, the English aristocrat and geodesic scientist George Everest, who headed the Geodetic Survey of British India from 1830 to 1843, was the first to determine not only the exact location of the Himalayan summit, but also its height. In 1856, Chomolungma was given a new name, in honor of Sir Everest. But China and Nepal did not agree with this renaming, although the merits of the outstanding surveyor were beyond doubt.
Today, according to officially confirmed data, Everest is located at an altitude of 8 km 848 m above sea level, of which the last four meters are solid glaciers.
Who are they, courageous pioneers?
Climbing Mount EverestOrganization of ascents to the "roof of the world" and conducting scientific research there were difficult not only because of the high cost of such events. Nepal and then independent Tibet remained closed to foreigners for a long time. Only in 1921 did the Tibetan authorities give the go-ahead and the first expedition began exploring possible routes for climbing Everest along the northern slope. In 1922, monsoons and snowfalls prevented researchers from reaching the summit, climbers used oxygen cylinders for the first time, and reached 8320 meters.
On the way to the top, there are Buddhist shrines and memorials every now and then.Englishman George Herbert Lee Mallory, a 38-year-old assistant professor from Cambridge and a famous climber with extensive experience, was obsessed with the idea of \u200b\u200bclimbing Everest. In 1921, a group under his leadership reached a height of 8170 meters and set up a camp, and he himself went down in history as a man who first set out to conquer this proud and inaccessible height. Subsequently, he made two more attempts to climb, in 1922 and 1924. The third of them turned out to be the last and ... fatal. On June 8, they, along with their teammate, 22-year-old student Andrew Irwin, went missing. From the ground, they were last seen with binoculars at an altitude of approximately 8500 meters. And then - that's it: the fearless researchers suddenly disappeared from sight ...
Mallory's fate became clear only 75 years later. On May 1, 1999, an American search expedition discovered the remains of a brave climber at an altitude of 8230 meters. There was no doubt that it was him: he was identified by the patch on his clothes “J. Mallory, ”as well as a letter from his wife found in her breast pocket. The corpse itself lay face down with outstretched arms, as if trying to embrace the mountain. When he was turned over, his eyes were closed, which meant only one thing: death did not come suddenly. Further examination of the remains of the first victim of Chomolungma showed that the legendary researcher had received fractures of the tibia and fibula.
Thus, two versions were refuted at once: about death from a fall from great height, and about death during the descent. As for Irwin, his body has not yet been found, although it is obvious to everyone that he also died then. And, most likely, then it was blown away by a strong wind into the nearest abyss, the depth of which is not less than 2 km.
Another famous conqueror of the Chomolungma was the British officer and climber Edward Felix Norton, who in 1924 reached 8565 meters, which became an absolute record that was held for the next thirty years.
In the period from 1921 to 1952 there were about 11 unsuccessful attempts to climb. In 1952, an expedition from Switzerland tried to conquer the summit twice. But the high-altitudes returned with nothing.
Edmund Hillary in 1953In 1953, New Zealand climbers joined the British expedition. On May 29, 1953, 34-year-old New Zealander Edmund Hillary and 39-year-old Nepalese Sherpa nation Tenzing Norgay became the first people on Earth to ascend the "roof of the world." They spent only 15 minutes there: due to insufficient oxygen, they simply could no longer. Norgay symbolically buried cookies and candies in the snow as an offering to the gods. It's funny that he could not photograph the New Zealander, at the top he managed to capture only the Nepalese.
Mount Everest (Chomolungma)Tenzing Norgay seven times tried together with other expeditions to climb to the top of Chomolungma. Each time he did it with the special philosophy of a representative of the mountain people. As the Sherpa later recalled in his book The Tiger of the Snows, there was no bitterness in him. He felt like a child climbing onto his mother's lap.
How did they feel, a citizen of a distant island nation in Pacific and a native of the mountainous Himalayan kingdom, who became the first conquerors of the top of the world? They hugged each other, patting each other on the back with feeling. It is probably impossible to convey the whole gamut of these emotions in words.
Everest at sunsetThe world learned about the conquest of Everest only three days later. It is difficult to overestimate the significance of this event. The restless Hillary, together with the expedition, crossed Antarctica a few years later. The British Queen Elizabeth II, who is also the monarch of New Zealand, knighted him. Also, the New Zealand climber became an honorary citizen of Nepal. In 1990, Hillary's son Peter climbed to the top.
After 1953, expeditions from the United States, India, Italy, and Japan were sent to the "roof of the world". The first American to set foot on the summit of Chomolungma was Jim Whittaker. This happened on May 1, 1963. After some three weeks, the world was waiting for a sensation akin to its first conquest - American climbers crossed the Western ridge, where a human foot had not yet set foot.
Since 1975, the fairer sex has moved to the storm of the highest peak of the planet. The first woman to conquer Everest was Junko Tabei, a mountaineer from the Land of the Rising Sun, and Polish citizen Wanda Rutkiewicz was the first European in this capacity. In 1990, the first Russian woman reached the top, it was Ekaterina Ivanova.
Desperate climbers
More than 4 thousand people have already visited the summit of Chomolungma. Many more than once. For example, the Nepalese climber Apa Sherpa has conquered it 21 times. Scientists say that it is easier for the inhabitants of the mountains to stay at such an altitude. Still, the record set by a local resident Chkhurim, who climbed to the top twice a week, is surprising.
Everest exploration is primarily a test of the limits of human capabilities. The Italian R. Messner and the German P. Habeler climbed the mountain in May 1978 without oxygen masks. Messner subsequently climbed alone more than once and set a series of records. He was the first to climb the summit during the monsoon period, passed without the help of porters, and mastered a new route in record time. When you study the biographies of such desperate daredevils, you understand that the desire to conquer the peaks is like passion or illness.
In 1982, a Soviet expedition first climbed Chomolungma along a difficult route from the southwestern wall. The selection of athletes was similar to the selection of astronauts. 11 people climbed, one climber was without an oxygen mask, one climbed the summit at night. The photographs show that beauty with such a natural observation deck extraordinary opens. Words cannot express what a wonderful sight it is at night, in the light of the stars.
How the blind American Erich Weichenmeier (2001) and Mark Inglis with amputated legs (2006) were able to reach the top is known only to them. The goal of the daredevils was to show people all over the world that achieving the set goal is a reality. And they did it!
Extreme cases
In the history of the conquest of Everest, human courage often borders on madness. A person is tireless in striving to set new records and achievements, especially of this kind, with the prospect of going down in history.
The first attempt to go downhill skiing was made by the Japanese Miura, who only by a miracle did not fall into the abyss. Less fortunate was the French snowboarder Marco Siffredi. For the first time, the descent from the summit along the Norton couloir ended safely. In 2001, the brave athlete wished to move down a different route, along the Hornbein's sidelines - and went missing.
The speed of the skiers can be judged by the descent of the Frenchman Pierre Tardevel. From a height of 8571 meters, he drove 3 km in 3 hours. In 1998, Frenchman Cyril Desremo was the first to go down on a snowboard from the summit. Back in 1933, the Marquis of Clydesdale and David McIntyre flew over the top of the mountain on a biplane (an airplane with two wings located one above the other).
Pilot Didier Delsalle first landed a helicopter on the top of the mountain in 2005. They flew over Everest on hang gliders and paragliders, jumped from an airplane with parachutes.
Climbing these days
About 500 people a year decide to conquer Everest (Chomolungma). This is a very expensive pleasure. An ascent is possible from both Nepal and China. Departure from the former will be more expensive, while from the Chinese territory it will be cheaper, but technically more difficult. Commercial firms that specialize in escorting to the top of the planet's highest mountain charge between $ 40,000 and $ 80,000. The amount includes the cost of modern equipment, payment for the services of porters. Only the permission of the government of Nepal can cost from 10 to 25 thousand dollars. The rise itself lasts up to two months.
Namche Bazar is a village on the way to Everest, which has an expanded tourist infrastructure, where travelers can gain strength and prepare for the ascent 
It is naive to think that without good health and proper physical training, one can aim at such a difficult and serious event. Climbers are expected to climb the hardest, inhuman loads, cutting steps in the ice, laying bridges through cracks in the most severe natural conditions. A person spends about 10,000 kilocalories per day when climbing Mount Everest (instead of the usual 3 thousand). During the ascent, climbers lose up to 15 kg of weight. And not everything depends on them themselves, on the level of their training. A sudden hurricane or landslide can knock you off your feet and carry you into the abyss, and an avalanche will crush you like a small insect. Nevertheless, more and more daredevils decide to ascend.
The capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, is reached by plane. The road to the base camp takes about two weeks. It is located at an altitude of 5364 meters. The way here is not very difficult, the difficulties begin further. During adaptation to the extreme conditions of Everest, the ascents alternate with descents to the camp. The body gets used to rarefied air, cold. In preparation for the ascent, every detail is carefully checked. When a person is over an abyss, his life often depends on the strength of the cable and a steel carabiner driven into the rock.
Above 7,500 meters, the so-called "death zone" begins. There is 30% less oxygen in the air than under normal conditions. Blinding sun, wind knocking down (up to 200 km per hour). Not everyone can withstand such realities that one of the researchers compared with the Martian ones.
A mild cold can result in pulmonary or cerebral edema. The cardiovascular system works at the limit. Frostbite, fractures and dislocations during ascents are not uncommon. But you also need to go back down, which is no less difficult.
“The longest mile on Earth,” as climbers call the last 300 meters, the most difficult section. It is a steep, very smooth slope covered with snow. And here it is - the "roof of the world" ...
Climatic conditions, flora and fauna
In summer, the temperature on Everest during the day does not rise above -19 degrees, and at night it drops to minus 50. The coldest month is January. Often the temperature drops to 60 degrees below zero.
Of course, in such extreme conditions, the animal and plant world cannot be rich and diverse. On the contrary, it is very poor. However, it is here that the highest-living representative of the terrestrial fauna lives - the Himalayan jumping spider. Its specimens were found at an altitude of 6,700 meters, which seemed simply unthinkable for the existence of life.
A little lower, at the level of 5500 meters, a perennial herbaceous plant grows - yellow gentian. Even higher, at an altitude of 8100 meters, the researchers observed a mountain jackdaw or chough, a member of the corvidae family, a close relative of the alpine jackdaw.
Ecological situation
Recently, scientists have sounded the alarm and called to close access to the highest peak in the world. The reason is the catastrophic level of pollution of Everest and its environs.
Everyone who comes here leaves behind about 3 kg of garbage. According to preliminary estimates, more than 50 tons of waste have accumulated on the mountain. Teams of volunteers have been organized to clean the slopes from traces of human activity.
However, modern equipment and paved routes only increase the number of visitors, there are even congestions on the tracks. And the flow of tourists to the foot of Chomolungma is growing every year ...
Its peak, 8848 m high, was not conquered by man until the middle of the 20th century. Mount Everest has the shape of a pyramid, and its southern slope is so steep that it does not hold ice and snow.
At the top of Everest, winds constantly blow reaching speeds of 200 km / h, and the air can drop to -60 ° C, and even in summer, in July, on Mount Everest the temperature does not exceed zero ° C.
The active assault on the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest (its other names are Chomolungma, Sagarmatha), located mostly in the Chinese Himalayas, began in the 19th century. However the first to conquer Everest none of the more than ten attempts at the ascent succeeded. The first climbers who wanted to conquer the highest point of the earth could not climb Everest and other, nearby peaks of the Himalayan ridge - Chogori, Kanchenjungu, Nangaparbat above 8000 m.
First mount Everest was climbed in 1953, by the New Zealand explorer Sir Edmund Hillary, or to be more precise, the ascent to the highest point was completed on May 29, 1953, at 11:30.
The low oxygen content at an altitude of over 8000 meters, low ambient temperatures, which, in combination with strong winds, are felt by the human body even more, ruined the first conquerors of Everest. The conquest of Everest in 1953 ended well thanks to the fact that climbers figured out how to use oxygen devices.
Everest conquered Russian climbers in 1992. On May 12, 1992, 32 of our compatriots made a group ascent to Mount Everest, hoisting the Russian flag on its top.
Now Mount Everest still attracts a large number of people who want to get to its top, so the ascents are set to "stream". Such a commercial ascent is comparable to excursions and takes about 2 months with acclimatization in a mountain camp.
In 2007 alone, 40 thousand tourists visited the Chinese section of the Everest climb, and in 2008, the environment Tibet Autonomous Region collected 8 tons of waste left over from tourists wishing to conquer Everest.
Pemba Dorje made the record of the ultrafast ascent to Mount Everest 8 hours 10 minutes from the base camp near the Khumbu glacier on May 21, 2004. However climbers who decided to conquer Everest die Until now, on April 18, 2014, as a result of an avalanche at an altitude of about 5800 meters on the slope of Chomolungma, at least 13 Sherpas-guides, 13 climbers were killed, and 3 others were missing.
The Republic of Nepal, known as the highest mountainous country in the world. On the northern side, it is bordered by the Great Himalayan Range, famous for several peaks exceeding 8000 meters, including Everest - the most on the planet (8848 meters).
Everest: who conquered the place of the gods
According to popular beliefs, this place was considered the abode of the gods, so no one thought to climb there.
The top of the world even had special names: Chomolungma ("Mother - the goddess of the world") - among the Tibetans and Sagarmatha ("The forehead of heaven") - among the Nepalese. It began to be called Everest only since 1856, with which China, India did not agree, as well as the direct culprit of the renaming - the British aristocrat, surveyor, military man in one person - George Everest, who was the first to determine the exact location of the Himalayan summit and its height. In the press, from time to time there are still disputes that a mountain located in Asia should not have a European name. Who was the first to conquer Everest - the peak that almost every climber dreams of?
The graceful beauty of the top of the world
Everest's nature with rocks, snow and eternal ice is menacingly harsh and silently beautiful. It is almost always dominated by severe frosts (up to -60 ° C), frequent occurrences - avalanches and snow falls, and the tops of the mountains from all sides are blown by the worst winds, the speed of gusts of which reaches 200 km / h. At an altitude of about 8 thousand meters, the "death zone" begins, called such for the lack of oxygen (30% of the amount present at sea level).
Risk for what?
Nevertheless, despite such harsh natural conditions, the conquest of Everest has been and is the cherished dream of many climbers of the world. To stand at the top for a few minutes to go down in history, to look at the world from a heavenly height - isn't this happiness? For such an unforgettable moment, climbers are ready to risk their own lives. And they risk it, knowing that they can stay in the untouched land for eternal centuries. The factors of the possible death of a person who got there is a lack of oxygen, frostbite, trauma, heart failure, fatal accidents and even the indifference of partners.
So, in 1996, a group of rock climbers from Japan met with three Indians - climbers, who were in a semi-faint state. They died because the Japanese did not help their "competitors", indifferently passing by. In 2006, 42 climbers, along with the television crew of the Discovery Channel, indifferently walked past an Englishman who was slowly dying from hypothermia, and also tried to interview him and take photographs. As a result, the daredevil, who dared to conquer Everest alone, died from frostbite and oxygen starvation. One of the Russian climbers, Alexander Abramov, explains such actions of his colleagues as follows: "At an altitude of more than 8000 meters, a person striving to conquer the summit is completely occupied with himself and does not have extra strength to provide assistance in such outrageous conditions.
George Mallory's Attempt: Successful or Not?
So who was the first to conquer Everest? The discovery of George Everest, who had never conquered this mountain, served as the impetus for the unbridled desire of many climbers to reach the top of the world, which was the first (in 1921) to decide George Mallory, a compatriot of Everest.
Unfortunately, his attempt was unsuccessful: heavy snowfalls, strong winds and lack of experience in climbing to such a height stopped the British climber. However, the unattainable summit beckoned to Mallory, and he made two more unsuccessful ascents (in 1922 and 1924). During the last expedition, his teammate Andrew Irwin disappeared without a trace. The last one of the expedition members, Noel Odell, saw them through the gap in the clouds rising to the top. Only after 75 years, an American search expedition at an altitude of 8155 meters found the remains of Mallory. Judging by their location, the climbers fell into the abyss. Also in scientific circles, when studying all the same remains and their location, the assumption arose that George Mallory was the first person to conquer Everest. Andrew Irwin's body was never found.
The years 1924-1938 were marked by the organization of a number of expeditions, albeit unsuccessful. After them, Everest was forgotten for a while, because the Second World War began.
Pioneers
Who conquered Everest first? The Swiss decided to storm the unconquerable summit in 1952, however, the maximum altitude they climbed stopped at 8500 meters, 348 meters did not yield to climbers due to bad weather conditions.
If we assume that Mallory could not get to the top of the world's highest mountain, then the question of who first conquered Everest can be safely answered - New Zealander Edmund Hillary in 1953, and then not himself, but with an assistant - Sherpa Norge Tenzing ...
By the way, Sherpas (from Tibetan, “sher” - east, “pa” - people) are the very people, without whom, perhaps, hardly anyone would have managed to reach such a desired peak. They are a mountain people who settled in Nepal over 500 years ago. It was the Sherpas who most easily managed to climb Everest, since this mountain is their homeland, where every path is familiar from childhood.
Sherpas are reliable helpers on the way to the top
Sherpas are a very good-natured people who are not capable of hurting anyone. For them, killing an ordinary mosquito or a field mouse is considered a terrible sin, which requires very much praying. The Sherpas have their own language, but nowadays they almost all speak English. This is the great merit of Edmund Hillary - the first conqueror of Everest. As a token of gratitude for the invaluable help, he built a school in one of the main villages at his own expense.
Although, with all the penetration into the life of civilization Sherpas, their way of life remains largely patriarchal. Traditional settlements are stone two-story houses, on the first floor of which livestock are usually kept: yaks, sheep, goats, and the family itself, as a rule, is located on the second floor; there is also a kitchen, bedrooms, a common room. Minimum furniture. Thanks to pioneering mountaineers, electricity has recently appeared; they still don't have gas or some kind of central heating. They use yak droppings as fuel for cooking, which are pre-collected and dried on stones.
Inaccessible Mount Everest ... Who first conquered this distant peak: or George Mallory? Scientists are still looking for the answer, as well as the answer to the question of what year they conquered Everest: in 1924 or in 1953.
Everest conquest records
Everest succumbed to more than one person, even records were set for a temporary ascent to the top. For example, in 2004 the Sherpa Pemba Dorj reached it from the base camp in 10 hours and 46 minutes, while most climbers take up to several days for the same operation. The fastest descended from the mountain in 1988, the Frenchman Jean-Marc Boivin, however, he made the jump on a paraglider.
The women who conquered Everest are in no way inferior to men, also stubbornly and persistently overcoming every meter of ascent upward. The first representative of the weak half of humanity in 1975 was the Japanese woman Yunko Tabei, 10 days later - Pantog, a Tibetan mountaineer.
Who was the first to conquer Everest among the elderly? The oldest conqueror of the summit is 76-year-old Nepalese resident Min Bahadur Sherkhan, and the youngest is 13-year-old American Jordan Romero. Of interest is the persistence of another young conqueror of the "top of the world" - 15-year-old Sherpa Temba Tseri, whose first attempt was unsuccessful due to lack of strength and frostbite of both hands. On his return, Tembe had 5 fingers amputated, which did not stop him, he conquered Everest on his second ascent.
Among the disabled is also the first person to climb Mount Everest. This is Mark Inglis, who climbed to the top of the world in 2006 with the help of prostheses.
The hero even joked that, unlike other climbers, he would not freeze his toes. Moreover, he froze his legs earlier, while trying to climb the highest peak in New Zealand - Cook Peak, after which they were amputated to him.
Apparently, Everest has some magical power if hundreds of climbers rush to it. The one who conquered him once returned more than once, trying to do it again.
Alluring peak - Everest
Who was the first to conquer Everest? Why are people so drawn to this place? There are many reasons explaining this. Tickling nerves, lack of thrill, desire to test oneself, boring everyday life….
Texas millionaire Dick Bass is the man who climbed Mount Everest. He, not being a professional climber, was not going to spend years carefully preparing for a dangerous ascent and decided to conquer the peak of the world right away, as they say: here and now. Bass was willing to pay any money to anyone who would help make his seemingly unrealistic dream come true.
Dick Bass was still able to conquer the summit of Everest, and the assembled team turned out to be assistants in the expedition, which provided the millionaire with comfort when climbing up; people carried all the cargo, tents, water, food. So to speak, the ascent was all inclusive, and this was the beginning of commercial travel to the summit.
Since then, since 1985, anyone who has sufficient funds for this can conquer the top. Today, the cost of one such ascent varies from 40 to 85 thousand dollars, depending on the side of the ascent to the mountain. If the trip takes place from the side of Nepal, then it is more expensive, because a special permission from the king is required, which costs 10 thousand dollars. The rest of the amount is paid for organizing the expedition.
And there was even a wedding ...
In 2005, Mona Mule and Pem Georgie got married at the top of the world. Climbing upstairs, the newlyweds took off for a few minutes wearing traditional colored garlands around their necks. Pem then anointed his bride's forehead with scarlet powder, symbolizing marriage. The newlyweds kept their act a secret from everyone: parents, acquaintances, expedition partners, since they were not sure of the successful outcome of the planned event.
So how many people have conquered Everest? Surprisingly, today there are more than 4,000 people. And the most optimal period for climbing in mild weather conditions is considered to be spring and autumn. True, such an idyll lasts a short time - only a few weeks, which climbers try to use as fruitfully as possible.
According to statistics, of those who storm Everest, every tenth person dies, and most of the accidents occur during the descent, when there is practically no strength left. Theoretically, Everest can be conquered in a few days. In practice, however, gradualness and an optimal combination of ascents and stops are required.
Factrum wants to tell you some stories about the conquest of Everest. Warning: the text is not for the impressionable!
1.40 people walking by and one Discovery TV crew
For the first time, the general public learned about the "terrible" morals prevailing on the approaches to Everest in May 2006, when the circumstances of the death of David Sharp, a British climber who tried to conquer the summit alone, became known. He never made it to the top, dying from hypothermia and oxygen starvation, but it is noteworthy that a total of 40 people passed the slowly freezing math teacher, and no one helped him. Among those who passed by was the film crew of the Discovery channel, whose journalists interviewed the dying Sharpe, left him oxygen and went on.
The general public was outraged by the "immoral" act of the "passed by", but the truth is that no one could help Sharpe at such a height, even with all the desire... It was simply not humanly possible.
2. "Green Shoes"
It is not known when the concept of "green shoes" entered the everyday life of the conquerors of Everest and became folklore. But it is known for certain that they belong to the Indian climber Tsewang Paljor, one of the victims of the "Bloody May" of 1996 - that month a total of 15 people died on Everest. This is the largest number of victims in one season in the entire history of conquering the highest peak on the planet. For years, Paljor's green boots have been a landmark for those who climb the mountain.
In May 1996, several commercial expeditions climbed Everest at once - two American, one Japanese, one Indian and one Taiwanese. They are still arguing about who is to blame for the fact that most of their participants never returned. Several films were filmed on the events of that May, the surviving participants wrote several books. Someone blames the weather, some guides who started descending earlier than their clients, someone other expeditions who did not help those in distress or even hindered them.
3. Spouses Arsentievs
In May 1998, the spouses Francis and Sergey Arsentievs attempted to conquer Everest without additional oxygen. A daring idea, but quite real - without additional equipment (at least 10-12 kg) you can climb and descend faster, but the risk of complete exhaustion from lack of oxygen is very high. If during the ascent or descent something goes wrong and the climbers stay in the "death zone" longer than the physical capabilities of the body allow, they will inevitably die.
In the base camp at an altitude of 8200 meters, the couple spent five days, twice their attempts to climb ended in failure, time passed, and the strength left with it. Finally, on May 22, they went out for the third time and ... conquered the summit.
However, during the descent, the couple lost sight of each other and Sergei was forced to descend alone. Frances lost too much strength and simply fell, unable to continue. A few days later, an Uzbek group walked past the freezing Francis without helping her. But its members told Sergei that they saw his wife and he, taking oxygen cylinders, went in search ... and died. His body was found much later.
The last people Frances saw and who, accordingly, saw her alive, were British climbers Ian Woodall and Katie O'Dowd, who spent several hours with the dying woman. According to them, she kept repeating “do not leave me,” but the British could not help her and left, leaving her to die alone.
4. Perhaps the first true conquerors of Everest
No wonder those who strive to conquer Everest say that it is not enough to climb - until you descend, the summit cannot be considered conquered... If only because there will be no one to tell that you really were there. Such is the sad fate of climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irwin, who attempted to conquer Mount Everest in 1924. Whether they reached the top or not is unknown.
In 1933, at an altitude of 8460 m, the hatchet of one of the climbers was found. In 1991, at an altitude of 8480 m, an oxygen cylinder was found, produced in 1924 (and, accordingly, belonging to either Irwin or Mallory). And finally, in 1999, Mallory's body was found - at an altitude of 8200 m. Neither a camera nor a photograph of his wife was found with him. The latter fact makes the researchers believe that something Mallory, or both climbers still reached the summit, as Mallory, before going to Everest, told his daughter that he would definitely leave a photo of his wife at the top.
5. Everest does not forgive "not like everyone else"
Everest severely punishes those who try to act "not like everyone else." It is not for nothing that most successful ascents are made either in May or in September-October - during the rest of the year the weather on the mountain is not conducive to ascents and descents. Too cold (until May), weather conditions change too quickly, and the risk of avalanches is too high (in summer).
Bulgarian Hristo Prodanov decided to prove that climbing Mount Everest in April is quite possible - to do what no one had done before. He was a very experienced mountaineer who climbed many iconic peaks.
In April 1984, Christo undertook the ascent of Mount Everest - alone and without oxygen. He successfully conquered the summit, becoming at the same time the first Bulgarian to set foot on the highest mountain on the planet and the first person to do so in April. However, on the way back, he was caught in a violent storm and froze to death.
6. The creepiest corpse on Everest
Hannelore Schmatz became the first woman and the first German citizen to die while approaching the summit of Mount Everest. It happened in October 1979. However, she is known not only for this reason and not because she died of exhaustion on the descent, successfully conquering Everest, but because for another good 20 years her body frightened those who tried to conquer Everest. She, blackened in the cold, froze in a sitting position towards the ascent of Everest, with wide eyes and hair fluttering in the wind. They tried to lower her body from the top, but several expeditions failed, and the participants of one of them died.
In the end, the mountain took pity and during one particularly strong storm at the beginning of the 2000s, Hannelore's body was thrown into the abyss.
7. Leave anniversaries alive
Sherp Lobsang Shering, nephew of Tenzing Norgay, the first official conqueror of Everest, decided in May 1993 to climb in memory of what his uncle had done. Fortunately, the 40th anniversary of the conquest of the mountain was just approaching. However, Everest is not very fond of "heroes of the day" - Shering successfully climbed the highest mountain on the planet, but died during the descent, when he already believed that he was safe.
8. You can climb Everest as much as you like, but one day he will take you
Babu Chiri Sherpa is a legendary Sherpa, a guide who has visited Everest ten times. The person who spent 21 hours on the top of the mountain without oxygen, the person who climbed to the top in 16 hours 56 minutes, which is still a record. The 11th expedition ended tragically for him. At an altitude of 6,500 meters, the "nursery" for this guide, he photographed the mountains, accidentally miscalculated his movements, stumbled and fell into a crevice, in which he crashed to death.
9. He died, and someone survived
Brazilian Vitor Negrete died in May 2006 during the descent after conquering Mount Everest. This was the second ascent of Negrete, and this time he planned to become the first Brazilian to conquer the mountain without oxygen. As he climbed, he made a cache in which he left food and oxygen, which he could use on the descent. However, on the way back, after successfully completing the mission, he found that his cache had been ravaged and all supplies had disappeared. Negreta did not have the strength to get to the base camp and he died very close to it. Who took the supplies and the life of the Brazilian remains unclear.
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