Everest At Sunrise
Photo Source: USGS

We have talked about Mt. Everest in the past from the point of view of it being the highest mountain on Earth that is above the sea. I put it this way to you, because there are mountains under the sea that are actually higher than Everest. Wouldn't it be something if someday people were able to descend to the bottom of the ocean with the sole purpose of climbing these undersea mountains? Now that might be quite an adventure. But back to Everest. Mt. Everest is like a magnet to some people and it might even attract a lot more of these other people if they had the extra funds to attack the mountain. You see, you require more than just the desire and deep commitment to climb this mountain, you need to be flush as they used to say. The trip has to be financed and licenses acquired and they are not cheap. The amount of money needed to attempt this climb would be considered a fortune to some people, so they have to concern themselves with more mundane pastimes.

So why are people attracted to Everest? This is a very hard question to answer. Some people just want to get their names on the list of people that have climbed the old girl. I guess this is a great topic when you go to parties. "Oh I am sorry for being a little late, I just got back from climbing Mt. Everest." Yup, this no doubt would be an attention getter. I knew someone that used to say things like this, but he was full of baloney. They group of people that have climbed Everest have been a strange group and quite a mixture. Mario Locatelli, 72 years old, who is know as the “Mountain Goat of the Bitterroots,” wants to become the oldest person to climb the mountain. An interesting aside is that he has figured that it will cost him $70,000 to join an expedition to the top. The record for oldest climber of Mt. Everest is held by a Japanese gentlemen named Takao Arayama. He celebrated by leaving a photograph of his dog at the summit.

Another great line at a party might be, "I have to leave early, I'm heading out to Mt. Everest tomorrow." It seems that for some people, Mt. Everest is THEE PLACE. You are just not anyone to be taken seriously unless you have climbed to the top. Everest was discovered by George Everest. He was the Surveyor General of India. In 1852 the fate of the mountain was sealed when it was determined that the highest peak in the world was at the top of Mt. Everest, it was Peak XV. It was not possible to get to Everest to climb it until Tibet was opened to outsiders in 1920. In 1921 a British reconnaissance expedition established the northern route and reached about 23,000 feet. In 1922 a second British force reaches 27,300 feet on the north face using oxygen. Several Sherpa climbers were the first to die climbing the mountain. In 1923 Lt. Colonel Edward Norton reaches 28,126 feet. The following years are full of stories about climbers being hit by unexpected storms. People even attempted to climb the mountain illegally and there are patrols that check for this kind of thing. People died attempting the climb over the years and in 1952 six Soviet climbers disappeared, but the existence of the climbing party was denied by the Soviets. A camp was found that was believed to have belonged to the Soviets which could not be linked to any other climbing party. In 1953 a group of British climbers including Sir Edmund Hillary reach the South *Col. On May 29, 1953 Sir Edmund Hilary reaches the summit of Mt. Everest and states, " Well, George, we knocked the bastard off!"

Climbing Mt. Everest is hard enough for anyone, but can you imagine someone climbing it that has a physical disability? It has happened and the climber must have had great grit. Gary Guller climber the mountain in 2003. This climber had only one arm when he did it. In 2003 one of the Sherpas named Apa, broke his own record, he climbed the mountain 13 times. Wow, it is hard enough to climb the mountain once. In 2000, Davo Karnicar skied down Everest. People of all ages have gone against the mighty mountain. Most don't make it to the top and some died, but people just keep trying. There are other mountains out there to climb such as K2, which is the second highest mountain in the world. No matter how hard it is to climb, it will never have the prestige of Mt. Everest, epically to the non climbing world. Everest has been called the highest graveyard in the world.

Most climbers lose body mass as they attempt high altitude climbs. It sort of reminds you of what happens to astronauts in space. There is a difference here in cause however. Scientists studied the phenomena and decided that it was due to the fact that people lost some of their appetite at high altitudes and thus ate less, which caused the loss in body mass. Psychologists and Psychiatrists have studied the attraction to climbing Mt. Everest and some have come up with papers on the subject. One paper suggests that some people crave the uncertainty of the outcome. They also suggest that they thrive on the group effort and welcome the extreme challenge. Some papers even go so far as to state that they enjoy the close communication between the parties. All of this may be true, but as I said before, I believe that it is more than the challenge. I believe it is the reward of being able to say that you did it, if you are successful. One has to remember that humans have a strange quirk. They always think that bad things are going to happen to the other guy, so they probably don't think that they are going to die when they attempt to climb the mountain. They know that the chance of death is there, but they just don't think it will happen to them.

Mt. Everest is the symbol of man conquering nature. It is the ultimate challenge. Not everyone can take advantage of it for different reasons, but for those that can, there is no greater challenge. in the world. You can go to the bottom of the ocean or fly into orbit in a rocket, but if you are the guy that climbed Mt. Everest, you are the one that will acquire the most admiration from you fellows.

*A dip in a ridge that forms a small, high pass,