It’s been over 60 years since the first ascent of Mount Everest, but there are still many enthusiasts wishing to climb this peak. We have heard many stories, some triumphant, others tragic, but there are many facts about this majestic peak that are almost not mentioned.
Mountain spiders
Even high in the sky, where there is almost no oxygen, we can not hide from spiders. Euophrys omnisuperstes, better known as Himalayan jumping spiders hide in crevices and hidden places on the slopes of Mount Everest and eat what strong wind brings them. They are the only permanent residents of Everest, with the exception of several bird species.
People climbed Everest 21 times
Two Sherpas – Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi hold the record for the most ascents of Everest – aims 21. According to Apa Sherpa global warming has changed quite Mount Everest, the snows melt, exposing rocks and causing flooding, one of which even he himself as and many other Sherpas have lost their homes.
450 million years ago
Although the Himalayas were formed 60 million years ago, the history of Everest is even more ancient. Limestone and sandstone rocks were part of the sedimentary layers below sea level before 450 million years. At the top of Everest can be found fossils of sea creatures that once inhabited the primary ocean.
The dispute over the height
According to China, Everest is 8844 meters, and according to Nepal – 8848 m. The difference comes from the fact that according to the Chinese, the tip should be measured only to the height of the cliff without snow, but according to Nepalese snow should also be included . In 2010, the two countries formally agree that the height is 8848 meters.
It grows
Actually maybe neither Chinese nor Nepalese are right because according to scientists Mount Everest grows about 4 millimeters a year. Two earth plates in the collision, which have formed the Himalayas continue to move toward one another Everest rising even higher.
Many names
Local Tibetans are calling it Everest Chomolungma, meaning “Goddess – mother of the world”, and Nepalese – Sagarmatha National Park – “Up in heaven.” Everest is the name given on top from the British surveyor who failed to learn its local name and named it on George Everest, who was the head of the first topographic team studied the Himalayas.
Human trafficking
Although the ascent of Everest was not exactly cheap, more people are trying to conquer it. In 2012, the German mountaineer Ralf Dujmovits managed to capture this shocking photo showing hundreds of climbers arranged in column and headed straight to the top.
Dirtiest Mountain
Countless photos documented climbers during the ascent of Everest, but we rarely see pictures of what they leave behind. The truth is that Everest has about 50 tons of junk and the number is increasing every year. Nepalese government has accepted a law that every tourist must come down from the mountain with eight kilograms of garbage, otherwise lose your deposit of 4000 dollars.
Everest is not the highest peak
Although Everest is the peak with the highest altitude, Mauna Kea, an extinct volcano on the island of Hawaii, holds the record for the highest peak. The volcano reaches a height of 4205 meters above sea level, but its base is 6000 meters below sea level, so that the full height is 10,200 meters.
