A Brief History of Mount Everest

Known in Tibet as the “Goddess Mother of the World” and “Goddess of the Sky” in Nepal, Mount Everest seems almost divine as it looks over the snowy landscape below. However, this stoic peak is not a benevolent deity. Luring adventurers from the world over, the massive peak has led to the deaths of hundreds since the first attempts to conquer it were made in the early twentieth century. How did Mount Everest become such an irresistible target for elite climbers and curious onlookers from around the globe?

Located in the Himalayan Mountain Range, Mount Everest is the tallest point on Earth. Rising into the sky at 29,032 feet, or 8,849 meters, the mountain looms between the neighboring countries of Tibet and Nepal. It was formed when India’s continental plate crashed into the Asian plate over 60 million years ago and continues to grow at a rate of 44 millimeters a year due to continuous plate action.

Mapping the Mountain

Although the Indigenous people local to the mountain have been familiar with it for centuries, the Western world did not become curious about Everest until the 19th century, when the British government began investigating it. While the mountain was not accessible from Nepal or Tibet at this time due to an isolationist policy and borders closed to foreigners, the British began observing the mountain from the Indian town of Darjeeling, about 140 miles away.

Surveying, still from a distance and taking into consideration factors like light refraction, barometric temperature, and temperature, ensued. After a few years, it was determined that the height of the mountain, now referred to as “Peak XV,” was 29,002 feet, or 8,839,8 meters, though that measurement has been contemporarily adjusted using GPS and other modern survey technology.

In 1865, the mountain received its official and current western name from the Royal Geographic Society: Mount Everest. This name was suggested by India’s surveyor general, Andrew Waugh, who wanted to name the peak after his predecessor, Sir George Everest. Everest had been the original supervisor of the extensive surveying project that included Everest, investing 23 years into the endeavor. However, Everest did not want to name the mountain after himself, as he always preferred to use local names. Waugh protested that since the surrounding countries were closed, there was no way to know these names, and Everest remained the chosen title.

Several groups of Indigenous people lived near the mountain, including the Sherpa. The Sherpa are a Nepalese ethnic group who have become especially adapted to mountain survival, including an acclimation to low-oxygen situations. The Sherpa proved invaluable to the upcoming attempts to scale the mountain. From the beginning, they served as guides and porters, lending their unique local knowledge to precarious situations.

Now that the mountain had been mapped, British explorers were eager to get access to it and determine what secrets the mountain might hold. This proved difficult, as both countries surrounding the mountain blocked outsiders from entering. However, diplomacy ensued, and in 1921, the British government got special permission from the Dalai Lama to enter Tibet and begin exploration.

Starting in May, a group of mountaineers, surveyors, and naturalists set off across the Tibetan Plateau toward their destination. They spent four months studying the mountain and exploring potential approaches. The team’s oxygen expert, Dr. Kellas, died on the trip, and others suffered ill health as a result of the conditions. The team did not make a successful foray up the slope but gathered a great deal of information that proved useful in future attempts.

The following year, a voyage led by George Leigh Mallory, who had attended the first trip, set out to tackle the mountain, hoping to complete an actual ascent. Two men in the party, Geoffery Bruce and George Ingle Finch, made it to the altitude of 27,000 feet, a historic accomplishment. However, that meant there was still a mile to go to reach the summit. Mallory made a second relay toward the top on this trip, but it was interrupted when an avalanche swept the group away. Seven Sherpa porters were killed in this event, and the ascension attempt was concluded.

Gone

Though George Mallory had failed in 1922, he wasn’t ready to give up on Everest. He tried again in 1924 with a new group, of which two men made it over 28,000 feet. Mallory followed their trek with an attempt at the final ascent, accompanied by student Andrew “Sandy” Irvine. With supplemental oxygen in tow, the pair set out on June 8 and were not seen again for decades.

In 1999, George Mallory’s body was discovered and identified by a group of climbers, battered as if he may have died from a fall. Since Mallory’s disappearance, there has been some discussion as to whether he and Irvine may have reached the summit, becoming the first to the top of Everest, and then experienced a tragic accident on their descent.

Some pointed out that Mallory was not in possession of his wife’s photo, which he always carried and had promised to leave on the summit. He was also not wearing his goggles, which indicated that he may have been moving at nighttime. Irvine’s body has never been located, though it is suspected that a Chinese climber spotted it in 1975.

The first documented ascent of Mount Everest was completed in 1953. Edmund Hillary, a New Zealander, and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay succeeded in their attempt. They were part of a large group of ten climbers and 320 porters. Norgay had almost completed the summit the year before, as part of a Swiss group that was eventually forced to turn back at 28,210 feet, and had been involved in five Everest expeditions before that. The pair spent about fifteen minutes at the summit, taking photos to prove their accomplishment. They gained international fame even before they left the mountain and remained friends until Norgay’s death in 1986. Hillary passed away in 2008.

Other Notable Adventures (and Tragedies)

When Hillary and Norgay completed their trek, they believed efforts to summit Mount Everest would cease. They couldn’t have been more wrong. Since their climb, over 6,000 people have successfully summited the peak. About 800 adventurers attempt the trip each year, with hundreds more visiting the base camp area as tourists. Well over 300 of these climbers have perished on the slopes since 1922. This is clearly not a climb for novices, and the price tag is astronomical, coming in at about $50,000 for permits and supplies.

Junko Tabei became the first woman to successfully summit in 1975, following the same route as Hillary and Norgay. In 1978, Rheinhold Messer and Peter Habler, an Austrian pair, made the trip as it had never been made before: without the use of supplemental oxygen. Messer made the trek a second time two years later, again forgoing oxygen and becoming the first person to ascend solo, establishing a new route on the North Face of the mountain.

Not all journeys up the mountain have resulted in achievements; others have resulted in disaster. In 1974, a French team fell victim to an avalanche, resulting in the disappearance of the expedition’s leader and five Sherpas. No remains were ever found.

A 1996 blizzard stranded seventeen mountaineers, of which only half returned alive.

In 2006, climber David Sharp froze to death after ascending, passed by numerous people as he sat in distress.

Despite its popularity as a climbing destination, Mount Everest has become the root of contemporary controversy. A main concern surrounding the mountain is the rights and exploitation of the Sherpa people, who have been historically paid less than white guides. Their jobs in relation to the mountain have a high death risk, with little compensation. In addition, the Sherpa people who are not directly involved in the mountain business have found their way of life disrupted by constant tourism.

Pollution has become a big concern for the mountain as more and more people attempt to ascend every year. Also left behind are dozens of bodies that are unable to be retrieved, forcing climbers to travel past them as they move up the mountain. The increase in the mountain’s popularity in recent years has resulted in crowds waiting to reach the top, congesting the trails. More specifically, these trails are located in what is known as the “death zone,” and standing around here can be deadly.

The ultimate destination for mountaineers from around the world, Mount Everest has proven that she may be ascended but never conquered. The peak’s history demonstrates that the challenges it offers are far from surmountable, even as climbing technology has increased.