Mt. Everest/Qomolangma/Sagarmatha, as she is called by
the World, Tibetans and Nepalis respectively, is at 29035' or 8850m, the
highest point on the surface of the Earth and every climbers dream. There
are a number of routes up the mountain with two main base camps - the North
Face Base Camp which is located near the base of the Rongphu glacier, a
brisk half hours walk from the Rongphu monastery and the South Face Base
Camp located at the foot of the Khumbu glacier. Most recreational climbing
teams go up the hill along the South-East ridge. The fatality rate relative
to the number of succesful summit bids is about 4 percent based on data
from the NYT mainly because of recent advancements in gear and climbing
techniques. Until the end of the 70's the fatality rate was a gruesome
30 percent.
The chart below provides the historical evolution of number of successful
summit bids versus the number of fatalities.
A sample of my pictures from Everest North Face Base Camp
Everest playing strip tease
Elated at getting till Base Camp. The Summit is still 12000' above
Beautiful Changtse in the foreground. Traditionally she has been an
acclimatization climb for the North Face summit baggers
Click here
for other fascinating factoids.
The fourteen 8000+ meter peaks in the
World
Picture of the Himalayas from Space
