Mount Everest Research Papers

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, standing at 29,028 feet, or 5.5 miles above sea level. It is as tall as 20 Empire State Buildings, and is more than two times as tall as Oregon’s Mount Hood. The mountain rises about 1/3 of an inch a year, and the summit temperature never rises above 32°F. The mountain was named after an Indian/British General, Sir George Everest. It is also called “Chomolungma,” or “Mother Goddess of the Earth,” by the Sherpas, or guides, that live in a Buddhist temple on the foothills of Everest. The summit of the mountain has been attempted more than 4,000 times, with 265 lives being lost in the process (as of 2014 statistics). The most tragic day on Everest was on April 18, 2014, when a massive

Surprisingly, most deaths don’t occur from falling, because the equipment is so advanced and almost fool-proof. Death on the mountain can result from simple unpreparedness, whether that be from the lack of climbing experience, lack of equipment, and/or lack of provisions. If they don’t die on the mountain itself, they can either contract broken or separated ribs from coughing, due to the lack of moisture and oxygen up on the mountain; or become susceptible to edema, which is excessive fluid to the lungs and brain, caused by climbing at high altitudes without acclimating. Most climbers die during the descent, when they succumb to the thin atmosphere, sheer exhaustion and freezing temperatures on the cold and unforgiving slopes of the mountain. People sit down to rest for a moment, and because of the lack of oxygen flow to the brain, they pass out and if not awoken, eventually freeze to death. When a teammate falls, attempts are made to help the exhausted climber, but in the end, it is every man for himself. The rest of the team either risks death themselves, or they must leave the exhausted climber in the snow and save themselves. It is all a matter of will to live, or to die, buried in a frozen, snowy, casket on the face of the Mother Goddess of