above
the
clouds
sagarmatha to nepal, chomolungma to tibet — the highest point on earth, where the sky begins
above the sea
hillary & tenzing, first summit
climbers have attempted
from the archive
39 facts from
the roof of the world
the mountain
01 — 06the highest point on earth, rising 8,848 meters — 29,029 feet — above the sea.
it sits directly on the border between nepal and tibet.
nepal calls it sagarmatha. tibet calls it chomolungma.
for many nepalese and tibetans, the mountain is a holy site, not a trophy.
lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world, stands just to its south.
it is one of the seven summits — the highest peak on each of the seven continents.
the route
07 — 16a full expedition takes about two months from arrival to summit.
everest base camp, the starting point for most climbers, sits at roughly 17,600 feet.
the khumbu icefall is one of the most treacherous sections — a maze of unstable, constantly shifting ice.
the hillary bridge spans a deep crevasse on the way up — narrow, unstable, and unavoidable.
the hillary step, a steep rock face just below the summit, collapsed in 2017.
the kangshung face is the steep, rarely climbed route up the mountain's east side.
ice axes are essential — climbers use them to cut footholds and handholds into the ice.
the right boots matter as much as the right rope; footwear failures end summit bids.
most climbers carry supplemental oxygen to fight the effects of altitude.
a climbing permit alone can cost as much as $70,000.
the firsts
17 — 25the first attempt on the mountain was a british expedition in 1921.
george mallory vanished on the mountain in 1924 — a mystery that endured for decades.
edmund hillary and tenzing norgay reached the summit first, in 1953.
the hillary step carries edmund hillary's name to this day.
lukla airport in nepal is named tenzing–hillary airport in honour of the pair.
junko tabei became the first woman to summit, in 1975.
reinhold messner made the first ascent without supplemental oxygen, in 1978.
the youngest summiteer is jordan romero of the united states — 13 years old.
the oldest is yuichiro miura of japan, who stood on top at 80.
the danger
26 — 34the average temperature at the summit is around -35°c, or -31°f.
air pressure at the top is about one-third of what it is at sea level.
above 26,247 feet lies the death zone — air too thin to survive in for long, even with oxygen.
snowblindness, caused by intense uv radiation at altitude, is a common injury on the mountain.
summit fever — the obsession with reaching the top at any cost — has killed experienced climbers.
the deadliest year was 2014, when an avalanche killed 16 climbers.
more than 4,000 people have attempted the climb.
only around 30% of them have reached the summit.
the mountain demands extreme fitness and deep experience; it forgives neither shortcut.
the people & the legend
35 — 39the sherpa are the ethnic group native to the region around the mountain.
renowned for their mountaineering skill, sherpas guide most expeditions to the top.
the legend of the yeti — the abominable snowman — has shadowed these slopes for generations.
more than 10 tons of garbage have been hauled off the mountain since 2018.
it remains a magnet for extreme adventurers — and unforgiving to the unprepared.
one mountain. a hundred years of attempts. the stories that made it legend.
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