User:Christine A. Lawley

Mount Everest

Mount Everest,  mountain on the crest of the Great Himalayas of southern Asia that lies on the border between Nepal and the TibetAutonomous Region of China, at 27°59′ N 86°56′ E. Reaching an elevation of 29,032 feet (8,849 metres), Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

Over 330 people have died attempting to reach the summit of Mount Everest which, at 8,848.86 m (29,031 ft 8+1⁄2 in), is Earth's highest mountain and a particularly desirable peak for mountaineers. This makes it the mountain with the most deaths, although it does not have the highest death rate. The most recent years without known deaths on the mountain are 1977, in which only two people reached the summit, and 2020, when permits were suspended by Nepal because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising at the border of Tibet and Nepal, Mount Everest formed from a tectonic smashup between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates tens of millions of years ago. The collision crumpled the landscape, raising mountains along some 1,5000 miles, a range we know as the Himalaya. In the nineteenth century, the mountain was named after George Everest, a former Surveyor General of India. The Tibetan name is Chomolungma, which means “Mother Goddess of the World.” The Nepali name is Sagarmatha, which has various meanings.

The dangers faced by climbers pushing for the summit of Mount Everest are vast. These include the risk of avalanche, falling rocks/ice, danger when crossing the Khumbu Icefall, hypothermia from exposure to extreme cold, falls, severe fatigue and exhaustion, and illness associated with extremely low oxygen. If the brain doesn't get enough oxygen, it can start to swell, causing a condition called high altitude cerebral edema (HACE). It's often considered to be a severe, end-stage version of acute mountain sickness. This swelling can trigger nausea, headache, and difficulty thinking and reasoning.

So if you ever consider climbing Mount Everest, Think twice!