Mount Everest

“The Roof of the World”

Everest Facts

• Location: on the border between Nepal and Tibet (China).

• Height: 29,035 ft. • Name in Nepal: Sagarmatha

– (means: goddess of the sky)

• Name in Tibet: Chomolungma: – (means: mother goddess of the universe)

• Named After: Sir George Everest in 1865 – (the British surveyor-general of India).

Mt.Everest vs. King’s Peak

• Tallest Mountain in Utah: King’s Peak

• Height: 13,528 ft.• Uintah • Mountains

29,035

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Mt. Everest

Kings Peak

Sherpas• An ethnic group of the Himalayan regions of

Nepal• Regarded as experts in mountaineering• Hired as guides and porters for Himalaya

expeditions• The majority practice Buddhism • Believe Mt. Everest to be a holy place and make

a Puja offering before climing• Prayer flags are placed on Everest for the gods• Tourism has brought jobs and money to the

Sherpa people in Nepal

Sherpas

Ascents of Everest

• First Ascent: May 29,1953 – by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

• First Solo Ascent: Aug. 20,1980– Reinhold Messner, Italy

• First American Ascent: May 1,1963– James Whittaker

• First Female Ascent: May 16,1975 – Junko Tabei, Japan

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hillary/navart/homepage.map

Everest Video Clips

• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061226-everest-video.html

• http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0305/sights_n_sounds/media2.html

• http://nationalgeographic.com/everest/

• http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0305/feature1/online_extra2.html