These are some historical facts on Mount Everest which are relatively unknown to most people:
Prior to being named as Mount Everest, the mountain was commonly referred to as 'Peak XV' for a few years. Later on, it was formally named as 'Everest' after Col. George Everest who was the Surveyor General of India in the early 1860's. It also has a few local names such as Sagarmatha (Nepali) and Chomolungma (Tibetan).
The first people to scale this peak were Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. They managed to achieve this feat on May 29, 1953.
The first woman to have successfully scaled Mount Everest was the Japanese Junko Tabei, who did so on May 16, 1975.
Till date, an estimated 4,000 people have made attempts to climb this mountain. The fact that barely 1,000 have actually succeeded in accomplishing this tough task speaks volumes about the difficulties involved in scaling this peak.
However, although Mount Everest is taller than K2, almost all mountaineers agree that scaling K2 is much more difficult and dangerous than scaling Everest.
As per latest figures, a total of 142 people have lost their lives in trying to climb Mount Everest. Brutal weather conditions have made it very difficult to recover bodies with around 120 corpses still left lying on the mountain. The worst accident in the history of Mount Everest happened in May 1996 when a group of 11 climbers perished during a summer climbing expedition.
Most climbers attribute the Khumbu Ice Fall as being the most tricky and dangerous part of Mount Everest. It is situated between the Everest base camp and camp 1 and has so far accounted for 19 fatal casualties.
A Nepali by the name of Appa Sherpa holds the unique distinction of having climbed Everest the most number of times - a whopping 11 times!
The youngest person to climb Everest is Nepali Temba Tsheri who did so at the young age of 15. At the same time, the oldest climber to successfully scale this peak happens to be an American by the name of Sherman Bull, who did so at the ripe-old age of 64!
Another American, Erik Weihenmayer, holds the record of being the first blind person to climb Mount Everest. He achieved this feat on May 25, 2001.
Prior to being named as Mount Everest, the mountain was commonly referred to as 'Peak XV' for a few years. Later on, it was formally named as 'Everest' after Col. George Everest who was the Surveyor General of India in the early 1860's. It also has a few local names such as Sagarmatha (Nepali) and Chomolungma (Tibetan).
The first people to scale this peak were Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. They managed to achieve this feat on May 29, 1953.
The first woman to have successfully scaled Mount Everest was the Japanese Junko Tabei, who did so on May 16, 1975.
Till date, an estimated 4,000 people have made attempts to climb this mountain. The fact that barely 1,000 have actually succeeded in accomplishing this tough task speaks volumes about the difficulties involved in scaling this peak.
However, although Mount Everest is taller than K2, almost all mountaineers agree that scaling K2 is much more difficult and dangerous than scaling Everest.
As per latest figures, a total of 142 people have lost their lives in trying to climb Mount Everest. Brutal weather conditions have made it very difficult to recover bodies with around 120 corpses still left lying on the mountain. The worst accident in the history of Mount Everest happened in May 1996 when a group of 11 climbers perished during a summer climbing expedition.
Most climbers attribute the Khumbu Ice Fall as being the most tricky and dangerous part of Mount Everest. It is situated between the Everest base camp and camp 1 and has so far accounted for 19 fatal casualties.
A Nepali by the name of Appa Sherpa holds the unique distinction of having climbed Everest the most number of times - a whopping 11 times!
The youngest person to climb Everest is Nepali Temba Tsheri who did so at the young age of 15. At the same time, the oldest climber to successfully scale this peak happens to be an American by the name of Sherman Bull, who did so at the ripe-old age of 64!
Another American, Erik Weihenmayer, holds the record of being the first blind person to climb Mount Everest. He achieved this feat on May 25, 2001.
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