Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world, reaching an elevation of 8,849m. It straddles the countries of Nepal and Tibet and is part of the Himalayan mountain range in Asia. The border between the two countries runs across Everest’s summit.

Since New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali-Indian Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people officially known to have reached the summit, in 1953, more than 9,000 summits have been attempted – some by the same person multiple times. More than 300 climbers have died on the mountain, and Nepal’s government estimates that most of the bodies are still there. Most climbers die from exposure to the elements – the freezing temperatures and the high altitude, as well as from falls and avalanches. In recent years, climbers have become worried about the increasing crowds on Everest, where routes can be jammed with people desperate to reach the top.

Most hikers climb Everest from the Nepal side. From Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city, mountaineers take a short flight to Lukla, then hike about 10 days to Everest Base Camp at 5,334m. Nearly all hikers climb Everest during its short climbing season, which usually lasts a few weeks in May, between the winter and the region’s summer monsoons.

Local guides in the Himalayas are often called “sherpas”, although not all are part of the ethnic group of Sherpa, from which many take their surname.