Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, measured from sea level. In Nepali it is called Sagarmāthā. In Sherpa it is called Chamolangma, and in Tibetan it is called Jomolangma or Čhomolangma. It is part of the Mahalangur Himal range, which belongs to the Himalayas. Its top sits on the China–Nepal border. Officials from Nepal and China measured its height together in 2020. It is 8,848.86 m (29,031 ft 8+1⁄2 in) tall.

Many climbers, including very experienced mountaineers, come to Everest. There are two main routes to the top. One starts in Nepal from the southeast and is called the standard route. The other starts from the north, in China. The standard route does not have many hard climbing problems. Still, Everest has real dangers. These include altitude sickness, bad weather, strong winds, avalanches, and the Khumbu Icefall. Some people have died on Everest.

Climbers usually climb only part of the mountain's full height. That is because the height is measured from the geoid, which is close to sea level. The nearest sea to the summit is the Bay of Bengal, about 700 km (430 mi) away. In 1990, Tim Macartney-Snape's team went a long way toward climbing the whole height of Everest, starting from this coast. Climbers usually start from base camps that are higher than 5,000 m (16,404 ft). On the Tibetan side, most climbers drive right up to the North Base Camp. On the Nepalese side, climbers usually fly to Kathmandu, then fly to Lukla, and walk to the South Base Camp.

The first known attempts to reach the top were made by British mountaineers. At that time, Nepal did not let foreigners enter. So the British tried several times from the Tibetan side, using the North Ridge route. The 1922 expedition was the first time a person climbed higher than 8,000 m (26,247 ft). On the 1924 expedition, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine made a final try for the top, but they never came back. This led to questions about whether they reached the summit first. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary made the first documented ascent of Everest in 1953, using the Southeast Ridge route. On 25 May 1960, a Chinese climbing team made up of Wang Fuzhou, Gonpo, and Qu Yinhua became the first to report reaching the top from the North Ridge.

Name

Mount Everest's Nepali name is सगरमाथा, written Sagarmāthā in IAST spelling. It can be loosely translated as "goddess of the sky." The Tibetan name is Qomolangma, meaning "holy mother." The name first appeared in a Chinese record in the 1721 Kangxi Atlas, made during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi. It first reached the West in 1733, on a map by the French geographer D'Anville. Today the official Chinese transcription is 珠穆朗玛峰, spelled Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng in pinyin, which sounds like the Tibetan name. An older Chinese name, Shèngmǔ Fēng ("holy mother peak"), was mostly dropped after a 1952 order from the Chinese Ministry of Internal Affairs chose one name.

In 1849, a British survey tried to keep local names where it could, as it did for Kangchenjunga and Dhaulagiri. Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India, could not find one common local name. So he named the peak after his predecessor, Sir George Everest, even though Everest did not want the honour. The Royal Geographical Society officially adopted the name "Mount Everest" in 1865. Some earlier names were "Peak XV," "Deodungha," and "Gauri Shankar." Many European cartographers also wrongly believed that Gaurishankar was the local name for the mountain.

Surveys

In 1802, the British started the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India. They wanted to measure the places, heights, and names of the world's highest mountains. The survey teams used giant theodolites to take their measurements. Each one weighed 500 kg (1,100 lb), so it took 12 men to carry it. Nepal did not let the British enter, so they worked from Terai, a region south of Nepal. The rain was heavy there, and malaria made the work hard. In 1847, Andrew Scott Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India, noticed a peak beyond Kangchenjunga. At that time, Kangchenjunga was considered the highest peak in the world. Later measurements showed that this new peak, called Peak XV, was taller. In 1852, Radhanath Sikdar was the first to find that Everest was the world's highest peak. He was an Indian mathematician and surveyor from Bengal. He used trigonometric calculations to find it. The official announcement was delayed for several years while the calculations were checked. In March 1856, Waugh announced that Peak XV was "most probably the highest in the world." He gave its height as 8,840 m (29,002 ft).

Later surveys improved the height. From 1952 to 1954, the Survey of India used triangulation methods. They found a height of 8,847.73 m (29,028 ft). A Chinese measurement in 1975 gave 8,848.13 m (29,029.30 ft). In 1999, an American expedition led by Bradford Washburn used a GPS device on the highest bedrock. In 2005, the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced a height of 8,844.43 m (29,017.16 ft). This height was based on the rock rather than the snow. China and Nepal disagreed for a time about which height to use. In 2010, they agreed on 8,848 m. On 8 December 2020, the two countries jointly announced the new official height of 8,848.86 metres (29,031.7 ft). Scientists think that plate tectonics is helping the mountain grow. This movement happens along the Main Himalayan Thrust, where the Eurasian Plate and Indian Plate meet. It is also moving the top of the mountain toward the northeast. Everest's summit is the point on Earth's surface that is farthest above sea level. Some other mountains are sometimes called the tallest, such as Mauna Kea and Denali in Alaska. These are measured from their bases. Nearby peaks include Lhotse, Nuptse, Changtse, and Khumbutse. The Khumbu icefall and glacier is an obstacle for climbers.

List of highest mountains on Earth

Geology

Geologists have split the rocks of Mount Everest into three formations. Each one is separated from the next by a low-angle fault called a detachment. The rock layers have been pushed southward over each other. From the top down to the base, they are the Qomolangma Formation, the North Col Formation, and the Rongbuk Formation.

The top layer, the Qomolangma Formation, goes from the summit down to about 8,600 m (28,200 ft). It is mostly grey to white limestone from the Ordovician period. It also contains dolomite, siltstone, and thin layers called laminae. Scientists have found tiny fossils in this limestone, including crinoids, trilobites, and ostracods. A thick white layer of thrombolite forms the base of the "Third Step", near the summit. It was built by sediments held together by tiny living things, especially cyanobacteria, in shallow sea water. Several faults break up this top layer and end at the normal fault called the Qomolangma Detachment.

Most of Mount Everest, between 7,000 and 8,600 m, is the North Col Formation. Its upper part is the Yellow Band, made of intercalated beds of marble, muscovite-biotite phyllite, and semischist. The lower parts are mostly changed rocks that began as deep-sea layers of mudstone, shale, sandstone, and graywacke, from the Cambrian period. The Rongbuk Formation sits at the very bottom, below 7,000 m. It is made of gneiss with leucogranite sills and dikes. These rocks formed about 20 to 24 million years ago. Mount Everest is still rising by about 2 mm per year. In October 2022, the International Union of Geological Sciences included the Ordovician rocks of Mount Everest in its list of 100 geological heritage sites around the world.

Flora and fauna

There is very little plant and animal life on Everest. A type of moss grows at 6,480 metres (21,260 ft) and may be the highest plant species. An alpine cushion plant called Arenaria grows below 5,500 metres (18,000 ft) in the region. A study using satellite pictures from 1993 to 2018 found that plants are spreading in the Everest region, including in places that were once thought to be bare. A tiny black jumping spider, Euophrys omnisuperstes, has been found as high as 6,700 metres (22,000 ft). It may be the highest animal that lives there all year and can be seen without a microscope. Another species, E. everestensis, has been found at 5,030 metres (16,500 ft). It may eat insects that the wind blows up the mountain. Even smaller living things are likely found higher up.

The bar-headed goose flies over the Himalayas and has been seen at high heights on the mountain. Yaks are often used to carry gear on Everest climbs. They can carry about 100 kg (220 pounds). They have thick fur and large lungs that help them live in the cold, high air. Other animals in the region include the Himalayan tahr, which is sometimes hunted by the snow leopard, the Himalayan black bear, and the red panda. On the Nepalese side, Everest is protected as part of Sagarmatha National Park. On the Chinese side, it is protected as part of Qomolangma National Nature Reserve.

Climate

Mount Everest has an ice cap climate, so every month is well below freezing. The base camp for expeditions from Nepal is near the Khumbu Glacier. The glacier is getting thinner quickly because of climate change, and it is becoming unsafe for climbers. Nepal's officials said they planned to move the base camp to a lower height. This would make the walk to Camp 1 longer. They first said the move might happen by 2024, but climbers and Sherpa communities objected, so the plan was put on hold. One reason is that no good alternative site would let climbers cross the icefall in the safer early morning hours.

In 2008, a new solar-powered weather station about 8,000 m (26,000 ft) up, near the South Col, began working. The Mount Everest webcam was set up in 2011. Mount Everest reaches into the upper troposphere and even into the stratosphere. The air pressure at the summit is about one-third of what it is at sea level. Fast, freezing winds of the jet stream can reach the top. Winds often reach 160 km/h (100 mph). In February 2004, a wind speed of 280 km/h (175 mph) was recorded at the summit. These winds can blow climbers off their feet into deep cracks. They can also lower the air pressure further, through Bernoulli's principle, which reduces oxygen by up to 14 percent. To avoid the strongest winds, climbers usually aim for a 7- to 10-day window in spring or fall, when the Asian monsoon season is starting or ending. The Balcony Station is the highest weather station on Earth, at about 8,430 metres (27,660 ft). Climate scientists Tom Matthews and Baker Perry set it up in 2019. It stopped sending data on January 20, 2020.

See also: List of people who died climbing Mount Everest

Because Everest is the highest mountain in the world, many people have tried to climb it. It is not known whether anyone climbed it in ancient times. It may have been climbed in 1924, but this was never confirmed, because neither man who tried came back. The summit was first known to have been reached by people in 1953. By 1987, only about 200 people had reached the top. As of December 2024, The Himalayan Database recorded just under 13,000 summits by around 7,200 different people. Climbers can face very strong winds from the jet stream, as well as blizzards and avalanches.

Early climbers tried to reach the top from Tibet. However, the northern route was closed to Western expeditions in 1950, after China took control of Tibet. That same year, Bill Tilman explored a route through Nepal. It later became the standard approach from the south. In 1952, a Swiss expedition from Nepal reached about 8,595 m (28,199 ft), which set a new climbing height record. In 1953, a British expedition led by John Hunt returned to Nepal. On 29 May 1953, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit by the South Col route. In the decades that followed, more climbers made first climbs. Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit, in 1975. In 1978, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler reached the top without extra oxygen.

Climbing

Main article: Altitude tent

Further information: Xenon § Sports doping and mountaineering

See also: Three Steps

See also: Effects of high altitude on humans

For a step-by-step history, see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest.

See also: List of Mount Everest records

Climbers need a permit to climb Everest. Nepal gives out a set number of permits each year. In 2026, it gave out a new record of 492. In April 2025, Nepal made a new rule. Climbers must first climb at least one 7,000-metre peak inside Nepal before they can get a permit for Everest. This rule will begin with the Spring 2026 climbing season. China also gives permits for the Tibet side of the mountain. In March 2020, both countries cancelled their permits because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese side stayed closed to foreign climbers for a while. Many climbers now join guided trips, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Some people, including Edmund Hillary, have said these trips are not real mountaineering. Others have pointed out the help that Western climbers brought to local communities. Most Sherpas carry the equipment for these trips.

The main route is the Southeast Ridge from Nepal. It is easier from a technical point of view and is used more often than the North Ridge from Tibet. Most climbers try in May, before the summer monsoon season. Winds high on the mountain are usually calmer then. Climbers spend days going up to the death zone. This is the area above about 8,000 metres, where the air has very little oxygen and the cold and danger are very high. Most climbers use bottled oxygen to reach the top, though some have climbed without it. People have debated the use of oxygen for a long time. Reinhold Messner made the first climb without it in 1978. After that, many climbers saw this method as the proper way to climb.

Main article: Houston–Mount Everest flight expedition

Flying has a long history on Everest. In 1933, Lucy, Lady Houston, a wealthy millionaire and former showgirl, paid for a flight over the mountain. A group of airplanes, led by the Marquess of Clydesdale, flew over the summit to take photos of the unknown land.

In 1988, Jean-Marc Boivin climbed the mountain and then made the first paraglider descent of Everest. He set records for the fastest descent and the highest paraglider flight.

In 1991, four men flew in two hot-air balloons and made the first balloon flight over the mountain. Eric Jones and Andy Elson flew in one balloon. Leo Dickinson and Chris Dewhirst flew in the other. Dickinson later wrote a book about the adventure. Reinhold Messner called one of Dickinson's photos, taken on Kodachrome film, the "best snap on Earth," according to the UK newspaper The Telegraph.

In 2005, French pilot Didier Delsalle landed a Eurocopter AS350 B3 helicopter on the summit. The landing helped set world rotorcraft records for the highest landing and take-off. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) confirmed these records.

In 2011, Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa and Sano Babu Sunuwar paraglided from the summit to Namche Bazaar. They then hiked, biked, and kayaked to the sea. They became the first people to complete a continuous trip from the summit to the sea. Footage of their flight was later shown on Nightline.

In 2014, Wang Jing used a helicopter to reach a higher camp, which let her skip the Khumbu Icefall. She then climbed to the summit. Her climb caused much debate in the mountaineering world.

In 2016, helicopters were used more often to carry supplies over the Khumbu Icefall. Bell also tested the 412EPI at high altitudes near Everest.

Extreme sports

Mount Everest has been the site of other winter sports and adventures besides mountaineering. These include snowboarding, skiing, paragliding, and BASE jumping. Yuichiro Miura became the first man to ski down Everest in the 1970s. He skied nearly 1,300 vertical metres (4,200 ft) down from the South Col, but then he fell and was badly hurt. In 2001, Stefan Gatt and Marco Siffredi snowboarded Mount Everest. Other skiers include Davo Karničar of Slovenia, who skied from the top to South Base Camp in 2000. Hans Kammerlander of Italy skied the north side in 1996. Kit DesLauriers of the United States skied it in 2006. Marco Siffredi died in 2002 during his second snowboarding expedition. In 2025, Andrzej Bargiel became the first person to complete a ski descent without extra oxygen.

Some types of gliding descents have slowly become more popular. They are known for their quick trips down to lower camps. In 1986, Steve McKinney led an expedition to Mount Everest. In September 1988, Frenchman Jean-Marc Boivin made the first paraglider descent of Everest. He flew down from the Southeast Ridge to a lower camp in just minutes. In 2011, Nepalis Sano Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa made a gliding descent from the summit. They flew down 5,000 metres (16,400 ft) in 45 minutes.

Religious significance

The southern part of Mount Everest is seen as one of several "hidden valleys" of refuge. Padmasambhava, a ninth-century "lotus-born" Buddhist saint, named them. Near the base of Everest's north side is Rongbuk Monastery. It has been called the "sacred threshold to Mount Everest, with the most dramatic views of the world." For Sherpas who live on Everest's slopes in the Khumbu region of Nepal, Rongbuk is an important place to visit on a pilgrimage. The trip takes a few days across the Himalayas through Nangpa La. Miyolangsangma, a Tibetan Buddhist "Goddess of Inexhaustible Giving", is believed to have lived at the top of the mountain. Sherpa Buddhist monks say Everest is her palace and playground. They say climbers are only partly welcome, like guests who arrived without an invitation. The Sherpa people also believe the mountain is blessed with spiritual energy. People should show respect in this sacred land and avoid unkind or impure thoughts.

Further information: Impacts of tourism § Mount Everest

In 2015, the president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association warned that waste on the mountain, especially human waste, had reached dangerous levels. About 12,000 kg (26,500 lb) of human waste is left on the mountain each season. It lies along the route to the summit. Over the many years that people have climbed the mountain, climbers have often buried their waste in the snow, dropped it into deep cracks in the ice, or left it wherever was convenient. Base Camp, at about 5,500 m (18,000 ft), is the only place where climbers can use a toilet without polluting the mountain. In the late 1990s, expeditions began using blue plastic barrels with toilet seats as toilets.

Other waste includes used oxygen tanks, old tents, and empty cans and bottles. The Nepali government now requires each climber to carry out eight kilograms of waste when coming down. In February 2019, China closed the base camp on its side of Everest to visitors without climbing permits because of the growing waste problem. Tourists can still go as far as Rongbuk Monastery. In April 2019, the Solukhumbu district's Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality started a campaign to collect nearly 10,000 kg (20,000 lb) of garbage from Everest. Five years later, in 2024, cleaning up waste on the mountain was still getting attention.