Mount Everest and unknown facts about it

It is a well-known fact that Everest is the highest peak on planet Earth. The famous mountain is located between Nepal and China to climb from the Nepalese or Chinese side. Therefore, everyone chooses one of two camps located on opposite sides of the top. These camps are the starting point for climbing Mount Everest. The most popular time for this is spring.

Everest continues to grow

This will surprise many, but the height of this peak (8849) m is an inconclusive indicator. The reason for the growth of the mountain is the peculiarities of the seismic situation in this region, namely, seismic activity, which continues to push the lithospheric plates together. As a result, every year, the height of Everest increases by approximately 0.5 cm. Therefore, in the future, the height of Everest will constantly be adjusted upward.

Everest Records

The traditional way to conquer the famous peak involves severe training and the availability of the appropriate equipment. Also, it is essential to stock up on additional oxygen. Due to the low pressure, the air in the upper part of Everest is rarefied, and the percentage of oxygen in it is 60-70% lower than in air under normal conditions.

Lack of oxygen often became the main problem that provoked altitude sickness and led to tragic consequences. Specific biological processes at high altitudes proceed differently. For example, a lack of oxygen prevents a person from getting warm, leading to severe consequences. Despite this, in 1980, Italian climber Reinhold Messner conquered Mount Everest without additional oxygen tanks.

However, this is far from the only record associated with climbing Mount Everest. So, 23-year-old athlete Marco Siffredi was able to go down from the top on a snowboard. A year later, the extreme decided to repeat his record, but Marco disappeared without a trace on the way to the top.

In 2007, Bear Grylls set another extreme record. He managed to fly higher than Everest on his paramotor.

Sherpa Babu Chiri is the first person who managed to set two records at once. He spent more than 22 hours on the summit without additional oxygen, and the time he spent on the ascent was only 17 hours.

Everest and hi-tech

In 2011, the first message was sent from Everest using the Internet. This was done by Kenton Cool, who posted on Twitter a message about his ninth ascent to the highest point of the planet. Sending the message was made possible thanks to a weak but available 3G signal and the Samsung Galaxy S2, the device Kenton used.

The first phone call from the summit of Mount Everest was recorded in 2013. For climbers, this event seemed incredible, but the government of China and Nepal did not share enthusiasm about the news. Nevertheless, the Nepalese authorities recognized this fact.

Live line of climbers

Climbing Everest is challenging; not everyone can do it. In addition, the climber is required to pay a fee for permission to climb the highest point in the world. But all this did not stop in 2012 from gathering a colossal line of climbers who wanted to conquer Everest. The queue was very long, so some climbers waited more than 2 hours to start their ascent finally. So, on May 19, 230 climbers visited the summit in half a day.

Some might think that the long line indicates the ease of climbing to the summit. But, this statement is erroneous because during the expedition that day, four people died at once.

This fact became why the Nepalese and Chinese governments initiated the creation of a second line of the ascent and additional installation of the railings.

In addition, the authorities of these two countries are planning to install a particular ladder for climbing in the near future, which will significantly secure the process of conquering Everest and reduce the queue of those wishing to do this.

Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth. Is it so?

Everyone knows that Everest is the highest point on our planet, but few people know that the mountain itself is not the highest. This fact is difficult for most people to perceive. Despite this, the inactive volcano Mauna Kea (Hawaii) is considered the highest mountain.

The fact is that the volcano is part of a mountain range that is located below sea level. The height of the volcano is 4205 m above sea level. But if we consider the height of this mountain from the base, which is located at the bottom of the ocean, then the total height of the Mauna Kea volcano is 10,200 m.

Another mountain that can be considered higher than Everest is Mount Chimborazo. The height of the latter is 6267 m above sea level. But, if we consider that our planet has the shape of not a ball but an ellipsoid, and Chimborazo itself is located only 1 degree from the equator, then its top is more distant from the center of the Earth than the top of Everest.