25 Amazing Facts About Mt. Everest

Have you ever thought besides being the world’s highest mountain on this planet, are there more facts that everyone in this world should know? 

Besides being the world’s highest mountain, Everest also has so many facts related to it that everyone should know. So in this post, you will get to know a number of amazing and interesting facts about Mt. Everest.

Mt. Everest which is located in Nepal near the Tibet border of China is the highest point on the planet with a height of 8848 meters. This is the height where there is even not enough oxygen to breathe. At this level of height, the oxygen layer is very thin and the cold at this height can even freeze your blood.

You may have wonder what does it look like from the top of Mt. Everest? I hope after reading this article completely, you won’t have anything related to Mt. Everest unknown to you. 

In this article, you are going to know about some very interesting and amazing facts about the world’s highest peak Mt. Everest that you might not have heard before.

Amazing And Interesting Facts About Mt. Everest

There are many facts about Nepal and Mt. Everest that you probably don’t know. You are going to know at least 10 new facts about Mt. Everest that you haven’t known before. So now, let’s together unrevealed and know some amazing, interest, and fascinating facts about Mt. Everest.

1. Age Of Mount Everest

Although there is no official written record on the exact age of Mt. Everest, according to the several types of research conducted by the scientist, it is believed that Mt. Everest is 50-60 Million years old. It means Mt. Everest has originated about 50-60 million years ago.

2. Its Discovery And Naming

Mt. Everest is officially discovered and known to the world around 1852 by British-led surveyor Andrew Waugh and was accredited as the highest mountain in the world. 

There were several controversies in its naming. In 1865, the official name of the mountain was given as “Everest” as recommended by Andrew Waugh as the tribute to Sir George Everest, who had selected Andrew as his predecessor. Locals and several wanted to give its local name as its official name, even Sir George Everest objected to this decision of Royal Geographical Society. 

Everest is known as “Sagarmatha” in the Nepali language which means Forehead Of The Earth and is known as “Chomolungma” in the Tibetan language which means Mother Goddess in the local language.

3. Pronunciation Is Different Than Its Name

Though its official name was given after the name of Sir George Everest in 1865, its name is not pronounced like the name of Sir George Everest which is EVE-RIST. 

The name of Mt. Everest is pronounced as EH-VEH-RIST.

4. Climbing The Everest Is Expensive And Enduring

If you are going or planning to climb the world’s highest mountain, then it won’t be so cheap for you. One of the toughest works to climb Everest is raising funds for it. 

The typical cost of climbing Everest through a non-Nepali agency or Western Agencies may cost $45,000 or even more. But if you choose your plan with a Nepali agency and operator, it may cost up to $30,000 to $40,000. The costs include the royalty fee for the mountain which is $11,000. 

Climbing Everest isn’t only expensive, but it will also take too much time for the expeditions. Most of the expeditions for Everest take about 90 days.

5. Over 5000 Climbers Have Made It To The Top Of Everest

Since the first official and successful ascent of Mt. Everest by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953, over 5000 climbers have climbed the summit of Everest by now. 

By the yea 2013, According to the reports of The Himalaya Database, 6,871 successful expeditions to Everest have been recorded by 4042 different peoples. 

6. Youngest And Oldest Climbers

As you know now, over 5000 climbers have climbed Everest, and there have been several records made among them. 

The youngest climber to touch the summit of Everest is Jordan Romero who made this record in 2010. He was of 13 years and 10 months when he achieved this feat. In the same way, the oldest climber to touch the summit of Everest is Yuichiro Miura of Japan who achieved this in 2013 at the age of 80. 

7. A Man Who Climbed Everest Alone And Without Oxygen

In 1980, Reinhold Messner became the first climber to successfully make the solo ascent for Everest and without supplemental oxygen. 

Before 2 years of this in 1978, he already had made an ascent without supplemental oxygen but with another climber Peter Habeler.

8. Paragliding From The Top Of Everest

In 2011, two Nepali climbers climbed the summit of Everest, but they ran out of oxygen and supplies on the summit. 

So, they decided to take the fastest way off the mountain, and that was paragliding. They paraglided from the summit of Everest, and landed in Namche Bazar in just 42 minutes, and made the world record of paragliding from the summit of Everest.

Fun Fact: One of them had never climbed the mountain before and one had never paraglided, but together, they achieved this ground-breaking feat.

9. Snowboard On Mt. Everest

Previously, we get to know about the descent of Mt. Everest by paragliding. 

In 2001, a French snowboarder and Mountaineer Marco Siffredi became the first person to descent Mt. Everest on a snowboard.

10. Marine Limestone On Top Of Everest

This is the fact that shocked many geologists and the scientist.

The uppermost part of Everest is made up of gray limestone. According to the researches, it is said that the uppermost part of Everest was beneath the sea during the early Ordovician Period of the Paleozoic Era, long before India began its northward journey towards Eurasia and the eventual collision of tectonic plates that uplifted the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau.

Isn’t this very amazing fact knowing that the highest point on the Earth was once beneath the sea? 

11. Rainbow Valley

Rainbow Valley that is also known as the Death Zone Of Mt. Everest and also known as the Graveyard Of Mt. Everest has become the darkest side of the world’s highest mountain.

After hearing the name Rainbow Valley for the first time, everyone may get a picture of some beautiful valley. But this isn’t the fact. This valley has got this name because of another reason. Basically, it is an area on the northern side of Everest above 8000 meters. 

Over 300 people have lost their lives in this zone and most of these bodies are still there because of the difficulties in bringing these dead bodies.

It is a place where you can see the bodies of a number of climbers who couldn’t make it to the summit. The numbers of dead bodies in different colors of jackets, shoes, and reds, yellows, oranges, blues, and others. Besides this, there are numbers of colored garbage, tents, cans, oxygen tanks that seem very colorful from the distance. That’s why it is known as the Rainbow Valley.

And this is what climbers see from the top of the summit of Everest.

12. Extremely Temperature And Fast Cold Winds

The mean temperature on Everest varies from -18 degree-Celsius to –36 degree-Celsius that makes it also one of the coldest places on the planet. 

Besides the extreme cold, the average speed of winds that are capable of freezing someone is 280km/hr. 

13. One-Third Of Oxygen Than At The Sea-Level

At the sea level, the blood of normal human beings is 98-99% saturated with oxygen and this decreases to 88-89% at 3000m above sea level.

But when you are at the summit of Mt. Everest, your blood will be saturated with only one-third of the oxygen than at sea level. It means oxygen in your blood will decrease even less than 40%.  

14. Valley Of Garbage-Making it the world’s dirtiest mountain

As I said earlier, there is a Rainbow valley consists of dead bodies and tons of garbages on the northern side of Everest. 

The garbage isn’t only on Rainbow valley, but you will see tons of garbage on the way to the summit that makes Everest also the world’s dirtiest mountain despite being the highest mountain on Earth.

15. Himalayan Jumping Spider

Many of you may think there will be no form of life on Mt. Everest as the climate above 8000m isn’t so suitable for lives. But one species of Spider is the living being having the resistance at the highest altitude on Earth.

16. The Bodies Of Everest Legends

In 1924 June 8, the greatest mystery in the history of Everest occurred when two climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared mysteriously aven after being spotted very high on Everest.

It is believed that they were the first to ascend the summit, but as they were disappeared into the ocean of snow on Everest, it became a matter of debate whether they were the first to climb Everest or not.

In 1999, the dead body of George Mallory was found on the North face of Everest, but the body of Andrew has never been found. These both became the most popular legends of Everest.

17. Marine Fossils On The Everest

We know that the uppermost part of the summit of Mount Everest is made up of Marine limestone that we talked about earlier. But apart from that, there is the presence of marine fossils on the rocks of the summit of Everest. 

Watch this video to know about this:

Related Article: Marine Fossils On Mt. Everest

18. A Dead Body With Green Boot

A Dead Body With Green Boot or simply known as “Green Boot” is the name given to an unidentified dead body wearing a green boot on the Northeast route to the summit. 

Though the body is unidentified it is believed to be the body of Indian climber Tsewang Paljor who died on Everest in 1996. 

Everyone who goes climbing the summit of Everest encounter this dead body with a green boot and this place has become a place of attraction for the climbers. 

19. Its Height Keep Increasing Every Year

We all know, the height of Mt. Everest is 8848m from sea level which was measured in 1953 that made Everest the highest mountain on Earth. 

It’s really amazing to know that the height of Everest keeps on increasing every year. I don’t say this. The scientists have been saying this. It is said that the height of Everest keeps increasing by 0.1576 inches(4mm) per year. According to reports, the new height of Mt. Everest is 8850m. 

20. Shrank Due To 2015-Earthquake In Nepal

After the earthquake of 7.8 magnitudes struck Nepal in 2015, it not only causes heavy losses of lives and properties in Nepal, but it also shook Everest. 

According to the satellite images, Mt. Everest became 1 inch(2.54 cm) shorter than before. Well, this doesn’t make any big difference in the height of Everest, but literally, that earthquake had shortened the height of the world’s highest mountain.

21. Marriage On The Top Of Everest

How does it will feel like to get married on the top of the summit of the world’s highest mountain? 

On 30th May 2005, Nepali climbers Pem Dorjee Sherpa and Moni Mulepati became the first couple to get married on the summit of Mt. Everest in the history of Everest and climbing.

22. 360-Degrees View Of Base Camp On Google Map

In March 2014, a group of engineers and international development specialists from Google made a trek to make a detailed map of the area. 

After the survey, Google published more than 45,000 panorama shots to create this awesome interactive 360-degree street viewing map from Lukla to the Everest Base Camp. This is both so cool and useful at the same time. 

23. A Man From Rode His Bike From Sweden To Everest

In 1995, a man named Goran Kropp from Sweden made a ride on his bicycle from Sweden to Nepal. 

He not only rode his bicycle from his hometown of Sweden to Nepal. But after reaching Nepal, he also made a successful solo-ascent of Mount Everest, that too without any bottled oxygen and without the support of any Sherpas. 

24. First Tweet From The Summit Of Mt. Everest

Have you ever thought of tweeting from the summit of Mt. Everest? 

Though we might not have thought so. There is a guy who has done this.

In 2011, the first tweet was sent by a British mountaineer Kenton Cool direct from the summit of Everest. 

This was the tweet he had sent:

25. The Year When None Climbed Everest

Since, the first ascent of Everest in 1953, every year climbers and mountaineers around the world have made an expedition to the summit of Everest. 

Due to the struck of 7.8 magnitude of Earthquake in Nepal, even Mount Everest was shaken by this natural calamity causes the death of 24 climbers in a horrifying avalanche in April 2015. 

This is the year when no one reached the top of the summit of Mt. Everest. 

Conclusion: Facts About Mt. Everest

These are the 25 amazing facts about the world’s highest Mt. Everest that many of you probably don’t know. We hope these facts about Mt. Everest amazed you. Some of the facts are really amazing, while some are scary, and some are interesting. If you enjoy reading these amazing facts about Mt. Everest, and also want others to know about these facts, then share them with them.