You might wonder why we are calling Mount Everest as the Earth's highest mountain peak above sea level instead of just saying "Earth's highest mountain peak". It is because if we talk about peak including the portion below the Sea Level then Mauna Kea on Hawaii with an overall height of 10,203m is the highest one. Everest is located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas with its summit lies on the China-Nepal border. The trek to Everest summit is the most difficult among all the mountain ranges in the World. It presents dangers like altitude sickness, difficult terrain, high speed wind, regular avalanche, harsh weather conditions and many others.

Mount Everest - Earth's Highest Mountain Peak Above Sea Level

Also Read: 50 World’s Mountain Ranges Most Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

• The Tibetan name for Everest is Qomolangma and Nepali name for Everest is Sagarmāthā.
• It is over 60 million years old and is formed from the collision of convergent Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The denser plate subducted below resulting into the rise of lighter one forming into mountains. It is still continue to rise by about half a inch every year due to rotation of earth.
• The summit of Everest has been described as "the size of a dining room table". More on wikipedia.
• The mountain is made of different types of limestone and rocks like shale and marble.
• There are two main climbing routes to Mount Everest - the southeast ridge from Nepal and the north ridge from Tibet along with many other less frequently climbed routes.
• The month of may before the summer season is the best month to start the summit.
• Mount Everest is named after Sir George Everest who led a British Survey team in 1841.
• The first documented successful ascent of Mount Everest summit was done by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.
• Jordan Romero, at the age of 13 years became the youngest climber to climb Everest in 2010.
• Yuichiro Miura at the age of 80 years became the oldest to climb Everest in the year 2013.
• It takes around 2 months to climb Mount Everest.
• The wind speed over the mountain recorded to be more than 200 mph.
• Since 1969, atleast one person has died every year during the Everest Summit.
• There is almost 66% less oxygen at the summit of Everest than at the sea level.
• Lakpa Gelu Sherpa climbed the summit in record time of 10 hours and 56 minutes in 2003.
• Kami Rita Sherpa successfully climbed the summit a record 24 number of times.
• Chris Chandler and Bob Cormack were the first Americans to make an autumn ascent of Mount Everest in 1976.
• Erik Weihenmayer became the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 2003.
• Sudarshan Gautam, a man with no arms climbed to the top in 2013.
• The closest civilian airport to Everest is Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, Nepal.
• There is very little to no flora or fauna on the mountain. Moss is the only highest altitude plant species found to be grown at 6,480 metres. Another plant called Arenaria is known to grow below 5500 metres.
• Most climbers uses oxygen tanks and masks above 8000 m.
• Around 5% of the climbers does not use supplemental oxygen for climbing.
• Base Camp looks into most activity of all the camps on Everest where climbers can acclimatize and rest.
• The theft of oxygen tank before ascent is quite common here along with other gears.
• Every year hundreds of tourists from around the world flock to see the mesmerizing and breath taking mountain of Mount Everest. Tourists are allowed to go as far as the Rongbuk Monastery.
• Apart from mountaineering, tourists can also enjoy other sports like skiing and snowboarding.
• The problem of human waste management is identified as the major environmental problem here. Since human excretion does not decompose at that temperature, it converts into frost bites and degrades the environment.