Climbing Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the world?s highest mountain, rising 8850 meters above sea level. Ever since Edmund Hillary and his sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit in 1953 mountain climbers from all over the world have tried to do the same. While more than 2,200 people havesucceeded in reaching the top nearly 200 have also left their lives on theslopes of Mount Everest.

Equipment

Mount Everest climbers need a lot of special equipment, like clothing, toolsand other utilities. Special lightweight climbing boots give you more room for your feet and reduce the risk of frostbite. Jackets should have severalinsulated layers that can regulate the temperatures. Headlamps with batteries, ski goggles and gloves are also important. Climbing tools include an ice axe and crampons, carabiners and ropes.

Guided Tours

Beginning in the 1990s experienced climbers started organizing group tours for climbers. It costs you about 30 000 to 50 000 Euros to get an expedition leader, other guides and sherpas to help you get to the top.

The Ascent

Most climbers try climbing Mount Everest during April and May. In the winter low temperatures and winds make climbing very difficult and between June and September the monsoon causes storms and a lot of rain and snowfall. A typical expedition takes about two or two and a half months. Climbers often fly to Nepal?s capital Katmandu and spend a few days there buying suppliesand getting travel visas. Then they proceed to Lukla, a small town at 2800 meters sea level.

All in all, there are about 15 different routes to the top of Mount Everest. Most climbers take the route Hillary and Norgay took in 1953 ? from the south. Climbers use five different camps as they get used to the thin air and the highaltitude. Base Camp is located at 5364 meters. During the spring climbing season about 300 people live here including doctors, scientists and others.

From Base Camp climbers must pass through the Khumbu Icefalls. Even withropes and ladders this part is extremely dangerous. Moving ice and deepcrevasses as well as avalanches have killed many mountaineers andsherpas. Another dangerous area is Western Cwm, a valley with little wind and very intense sunlight ? a place in which it can get extremely hot anduncomfortable.

The last part of the ascent includes The Hillary Step at 8440 meters sea level. Only one climber can go up or down at a time. At this point climbers often lose their concentration because of the very low temperatures and the thin air.

Supplemental Oxygen

Early Everest climbers thought that climbing the mountain withoutsupplemental oxygen would be totally impossible. When Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay climbed to the peak in 1953 they did so with the help ofbottled oxygen. In 1978 Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler were the first toreach the top of Mount Everest without it. Even though many others have also done, so most expedition members take bottled oxygen along with them.

Ecological effects of mountaineering

After 1953 more and more climbers began to tour the Himalayas. This flood of visitors brought the region a lot of money. Today there are new schools, hospitals as well as stores selling western goods. As tourists came more and more trees were cut down for firewood and they also left a great deal ofwaste on the mountain slopes. Today the government and other organizations are doing a lot to protect the environment around Everest.

Physical effects

The greatest Everest tragedy occurred in 1996 when eight people died on a single day. Altitude sickness, overcrowding at the summit and unexpected storms led to the disaster.

Mount Everest is an extremely unfriendly place. Temperatures at the top are around 36 degrees below zero. Avalanches are a constant threat and storms come up unexpectedly. Glaciers can create crevasses that are covered with snow so that you cannot see them.

The region above 8,000 meters is called death zone. There is only a third of the oxygen in the air. This leads to changes in your body. At such highaltitudes you may suffer from headaches, hallucinations or you may even loseconsciousness. That?s why it is important to stay at certain altitudes for a few days. By doing this the body will produce more red blood cells. Frostbiteand hypothermia are other dangers that occur in these regions.

 

Famous Quotes

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Definition and their usefulness

What are Idioms?

Idioms are words, phrases, or expressions that are either grammatically unusual, as in, ?Long time, no see!?, or their meaning cannot be taken literally, as in, ?It’s raining cats and dogs!? This expression does not mean that cats and dogs are falling from the sky, but it is a metaphorical expression (word picture) that means that it is raining very heavily.

Some examples

? After John had broken the window, he decided to face the music and tell his mother. Meaning: ‘to accept the unpleasant consequences of one’s actions’

? Mary had to learn a very long poem by heart. Meaning: ‘to rote-learn something’

? When John asked Mary out, she showed him the cold shoulder. Meaning: ‘to show deliberate coldness or disregard’ 

 WHY SHOULD YOU LEARN ENGLISH IDIOMS?

Idioms are an important part of every language. Therefore, as a language learner, knowing idioms is useful in at least two ways: 1) The more idioms you know, the more native-like your language will sound; 2) By learning idioms, you learn a lot about the culture of the community speaking the language you are learning. 

To find the meaning of idioms you need to consult  special idiom dictionaries. One helpful online idiom dictionary you can find here

Moreover you can visit: http://www.idiomsite.com/

Simple Past Uses

USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Examples:

  • I saw a movie yesterday.
  • I didn’t see a play yesterday.
  • Last year, I traveled to Japan.
  • Last year, I didn’t travel to Korea.
  • Did you have dinner last night?
  • She washed her car.
  • He didn’t wash his car.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Examples:

  • I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
  • He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
  • Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3 Duration in Past

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

  • I lived in Brazil for two years.
  • Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
  • They sat at the beach all day.
  • They did not stay at the party the entire time.
  • We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
  • A: How long did you wait for them?
    B: We waited for one hour.

USE 4 Habits in the Past

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as «used to«. To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

  • I studied French when I was a child.
  • He played the violin.
  • He didn’t play the piano.
  • Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
  • She worked at the movie theater after school.
  • They never went to school, they always skipped class.

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

  • Tom repaired the car. Active
  • The car was repaired by Tom. Passive

Irregular Verbs