What is the highest place you have ever stood?
Perhaps you’ve been to the top of a tall hill, or the observation deck of a
skyscraper. Imagine standing on the highest point on Earth—the top of Mount
Everest.
WHERE IS MOUNT EVEREST?
Mount Everest is part of the Himalayas, a mountain
range in Asia. This mountain range forms a wall between India and China. Mount
Everest itself straddles the border between Nepal and Tibet. Nepal is a small
country sandwiched between India and China. Tibet is a part of China.
HOW TALL IS THE MOUNTAIN?
Scientists have measured Mount Everest very carefully.
The top of the mountain is 29,035 feet (8,850 meters) above sea level. That is
almost 5 ½ miles, 17 times taller than the tallest skyscraper in the
world!
The air at the top of Mount Everest is
very thin. It’s hard to breathe up there. The thin air can make people sick
even on the lower slopes of the mountain.
WHY “EVEREST”?
Mount Everest is named after a British land
surveyor, Sir George Everest. In 1865, he became the first person to accurately
estimate the height of the mountain.
People living near the mountain, however, have
other names for it. One name, Sagarmatha, means “Forehead in the Sky.”
Another local name, Chomolungma, means “Mother Goddess of the World.”
HOW’S THE WEATHER UP THERE?
Harsh weather makes this giant mountain
particularly tough to climb. The top is covered with a thick layer of ice. The
temperature there never climbs above freezing. In the summer, violent
snowstorms batter the mountain. Winds reach speeds of 177 miles per hour (285
kilometers per hour). In winter, the temperature can drop to -76° Fahrenheit
(-60° Celsius).
CLIMBING MOUNT EVEREST
Thousands of people have tried to climb Mount
Everest. Most have failed. Many have died trying.
The first two people to stand on top of Mount
Everest did so in 1953. They were the New Zealand climber Sir Edmund Hillary
and his Sherpa helper, Tenzing Norgay. Sherpas are a people who live in the
Himalayas. Since then, several hundred climbers have reached the top of the mountain.
But among most climbers, Mount Everest remains the most prized peak to conquer.
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