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.