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The Top of the World. “Getting to the summit is optional; getting down is mandatory” — Ed Viesturs. Everest is 29,035 feet high. Everest is moving northeast at a rate of 2.4 inches a year. Temperatures can fall below -60 °F. Wind speeds can approach 120 mph. Statistics. Climbing Everest.
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The Top of the World “Getting to the summit is optional; getting down is mandatory” —Ed Viesturs
Everest is 29,035 feet high. Everest is moving northeast at a rate of 2.4 inches a year. Temperatures can fall below -60°F. Wind speeds can approach 120 mph. Statistics
Climbing Everest • Everest is usually climbed in spring. • Climbers spend up to a month becoming acclimated. • From base camp to summit and back can take over six weeks. • Between 300 and 400 climbers and support staff gather at Everest Base Camp each year.
Risky Business • Climbing Everest is extremely dangerous. • Altitude sickness causes many to return without reaching the summit. • Weather can change abruptly into life-threatening storms. • For every five who make the attempt, one person dies.
Tough Terrain • Khumbu Ice Fall, 17,600 feet • Massive crevasses and fissures in moving ice • Yellow Band, 25,000 feet • Transition from ice/snow to rock • South Col, 26,000 feet • Severe winds • Hillary Step, 28,750 feet • 40-foot section of rock, ice, and snow
First ascent: Hillary and Norgay, 1953 First ascent without oxygen: Messner and Habeler, 1978 First ascent by a woman: Tabei, 1975 Record Book