Who discovered Everest and the years of his life. Everest - the history of ascents... They were silent about this for a very long time! The Rise of Hillary and Norgay

Everest is the world's highest peak located in the Himalayas. Every year, a great many professional climbers and extreme sports enthusiasts try to conquer it. But is it that simple? Of course, such ascents require certain knowledge and thorough preparation.

The first attempt to measure the height of Everest was recorded in 1856 - according to the data obtained, the height of the summit was 29,000 feet (8839 meters). However, according to measurements taken by Chinese scientists during an expedition to Everest in May
2005, the height of the mountain was 8844.43 meters (± 21 cm) above sea level.

At the highest point of the mountain, you will inhale only a third of the amount of oxygen you normally breathe. The reason for this is low air pressure.

Every year since 1969, at least one person has died while climbing Everest. The only year without deaths on the mountain was 1977.

At times, wind gusts on the mountain reach almost 200 km/h, and the temperature drops to -40°C.

According to statistics, for every 10 successful ascents to Everest, there is one fatality.

A total of about 200 dead bodies rest on the slopes of the mountain, which are physically impossible to lower and bury. They are original landmarks for the conquerors of Everest.

In 1980, an Italian of German origin, Reinhold Messner, amazed the whole world by managing to climb the peak alone and without oxygen cylinders.

In May 2001, 23-year-old Marco Siffredi snowboarded down the planet's highest peak along the Norton Couloir, which runs down the center of Everest's North Face. In 2002, he again decided to conquer the peak, but disappeared without a trace.

80 years is the age of the oldest conqueror of Everest - the Japanese Yuichiro Miura.

Well, the youngest climber to reach the top of Everest was 13-year-old American Jordan Romero, who managed to break the record set before him by 15-year-old Nepalese Ming Kipa.

In 2011, the first message appeared on Twitter, sent directly from the top of Everest. User Kenton Cool wrote: “Top of Everest 9 times! The first tweet from the top of the world, made thanks to a weak 3G signal."

Every year, Everest rises approximately 4 millimeters higher due to the movement of two tectonic plates.

On Google you can see images from Everest - but without photographs of the summit. In 2011, the Google team spent 2 weeks walking about 140 kilometers and taking many pictures along the way.

Tim McCartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer became the first Australians to reach the summit, and at the same time the first to climb the North Face without oxygen (May 1990).

In the summer of 2013, the first telephone call was made from the top of Everest. The Nepalese authorities, however, were not impressed and even declared the incident illegal.

In 2007, Bear Grylls became the first person in the world to paramotor the Himalayas higher than Everest.

In 1999, Nepalese Babu Chiri Sherpa spent more than 21 hours on the summit of Everest without using oxygen equipment. He also set a speed record, reaching the summit in 16 hours and 56 minutes.

Nepalese Moni Mule Pati and Pem Georgi Sherpa became the first couple in history to get married on top of the world (2004).

There are also traffic jams on Everest. Sometimes hundreds of tourists want to conquer the peak at the same time.

Everest received its name in honor of the British geographer George Everest in 1856.

1974 was the last year in history during which no one conquered Everest.

Mount Everest is the highest point on the planet. Its height, according to various sources, ranges from 8844 to 8852 meters. Everest is located in the Himalayas on the border between Nepal and China. At the top of Everest, located in China, strong winds blow at speeds of up to 200 km/h, and the air temperature drops to -60 °C at night.

The history of conquering the highest point on the planet began in 1920, when the Dalai Lama first allowed British climbers here. According to statistics, about 1,500 people have climbed the mountain since then...
...and according to various estimates, from 120 to 200 people of different nationalities (including Russians) remained there forever. Both new and experienced climbers die on Everest. But not many people know that the dead remain where their fate overtook them. Everest has long been turned into a cemetery. Bodies lie on the slopes of Everest for years, some for decades, and no one is in a hurry to bring them down for burial.

Anyone who plans to climb to the top must understand that he has a chance of not returning. When climbing, not everything depends on you. Hurricane winds, a frozen valve on an oxygen cylinder, incorrect timing, an avalanche, exhaustion, etc. - all this can lead to the death of a climber.

The first conqueror of Everest and his first victim was the British climber George Mallory. In 1924, he and his group went to the top, but at an altitude of 8500 meters they lost sight of him, and for as much as 75 years. For many years they wondered whether Mallory had reached his highest point, and only in 1999 his remains were found very close to it. The body with a broken hip lay towards the top, which means that until the last seconds of his life the Englishman tried to literally crawl up the mountain of his dreams.

Alas, he was not the hero of Everest: only in 1953 did New Zealander Edmund Hillary, together with a Nepalese Sherpa, reach the peak of Everest. And after these two, daredevils from many countries of the world approached Everest from different directions. For some it became simply a personal feat, others set historical records here.

But man does not always triumph over harsh nature. Submitting to the people, the mountain collects a ransom of their lives. More than 200 people have died on Everest in 60 years. Until the 90s, the mortality rate here was a record 37%; in recent years it has dropped to 4%.
Even on neighboring Himalayan peaks, also above 8,000 meters, this percentage is higher. But it is on Everest that death takes on its most dramatic overtones. People die here not only from injuries and fatigue, but often because of the vain indifference of their neighbors.
A simple example: in 1996, a group of Japanese climbers, while climbing, came across three freezing Indian colleagues. The Japanese went further to the top, all the Indians died. In 1998, rock climber Sergei Arsentiev and his American wife Frances made an oxygen-free ascent of Everest, but the mountain did not let them go. The couple missed each other in a snowstorm, Sergei, while searching for his wife, went missing, his body was found only a few years later. And Frances died for two days on the descent. Several groups passed by without providing any assistance. And only another British couple interrupted their expedition in an attempt to save the dying woman. They could no longer do anything, and almost dying from the cold themselves, they returned back. A year later, the Woodhalls finally made their ascent and saw a dead woman in the place where they left her last time. For the next 8 years they saved money to return to Everest in order to bury Frances. After all, climbing the mountain is not cheap. For access to the mountain alone, the Chinese side charges $5,500 for a group of 20 people, and the Nepalese side charges about 70 thousand for a team of seven climbers.

Another Everest tragedy shocked the whole world in 2006. 42 people walked indifferently past David Sharp, who was dying without oxygen! One of them were television crews from the Discovery Channel, who asked Sharpe a couple of questions, gave him oxygen and left him alone.

Climbing Mount Everest is the dream of many people, both experienced climbers and beginners. Some of them managed to accomplish this dangerous feat, while the rest are only inspired by their determination and strength of character.

Mount Everest has attracted many visitors and, unfortunately, has claimed many lives along this dangerous path. However, the thirst for adventure never ceased to pull, and today Mount Everest is still a great goal for many. In this article we will talk about important points related to the world's highest mountain.

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, reaching 8848 meters above sea level. The first climbers to conquer this peak were New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his guide Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who climbed it on May 29, 1953 at 11:30 am. And although the success of this enterprise is attributed to the entire group, Tenzing later admitted that it was Edmund Hillary who first set foot on the top of this mountain!

Mount Everest is part of the Himalayan mountains and is located between the Sagarmatha region, Tibet, Nepal and China.

Mount Everest also goes by other names! In Tibet it is known as "Qomolangma" or "Qomolangma". The Chinese translated its name as "Shèngmǔ Fēng", but it is rarely used. Locals in Darjeeling call it "Deodungha", which means "Holy Mountain".

Although Mount Everest is known as the highest peak above sea level, there are actually other tall mountains on Earth. If measured from the base, the highest mountain is the Mauna Kea volcano, located in the Hawaiian Islands. Its height from the base is 10,200 m, but it rises only 4,205 m above sea level.

There are two important routes leading to the summit of Mount Everest. One such route follows the southeastern mountain range from Nepal, and the other follows the northeastern mountain range from Tibet. The first one is considered to be relatively easier to climb. In addition to these routes, there are others that are not used as often.

In addition, on August 20, 1980, Reinhold Messner made the first solo ascent to the summit of Mount Everest. This time he used a rather difficult route passing through the northwest side.

In 2007, Australian climber Christian Stangi achieved the fastest ascent of Everest. He climbed to the top along the northeastern mountain ridge.

Many daredevils were destined to die on the way to conquer the highest peak in the world. Many factors could have contributed to this, including lack of oxygen, extreme weather conditions, exhaustion, frostbite, etc. In 1996 alone, at least 15 people died attempting to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

But, despite the consequences, only a few who wish are able to resist trying their hand at such a dangerous business. In this article we have only scratched the surface of the enormous difficulties that face people who dare to push the boundaries of the possible.

Everest is the highest peak on Earth. They tried to achieve it more than once, but due to the danger of such an event, it usually ended in the death of the expedition members. Yet there was a man who succeeded. Who was the first to conquer Everest? Whoever he was, he was an amazingly brave and strong man. You will learn about him, as well as about the difficulties of climbing Everest, in the article.

Geographical features

The height of the mountain peak, on the way to which several dozen climbers died, is 8,848 meters. It is located in the Himalayas. Even a child knows that it is very cold in the mountains. Here the average temperature in January is approximately −36 °C. Everest itself has the shape of a pyramid, its slopes are quite steep. In the south there is almost no snow and firn (dense, recrystallized perennial snow). The strongest winds blow here. Their speed reaches 200 km/h.

For comparison: the strongest wind in Russia over the last century was recorded on Kharlov Island in the Barents Sea. It was February 8, 1986. The wind speed then was 187 km/h. It is impossible to live in such conditions. In 1998, there was a terrible hurricane in Moscow. Eleven people died. About two hundred were injured. The wind speed that day reached 31 m/s or 3.6 km/h.

Let's compare these figures with those recorded at the highest peak of the Earth - 200 km/h. Can a person really stay here for even a few minutes? Who was the first to conquer Everest? He was probably an extraordinary person with supernatural powers.

Research

As always, it all started with theoretical study. Indian topographer and mathematician Radhanath Sikdar established where the highest mountain peak is located. This was in the early fifties. The scientist was in India, 240 km from the subject of his study. A few years later, the geodetic service provided information about the height of Everest. They weren't entirely accurate. According to the conclusion of Indian scientists, the height was 8,839 meters. Perhaps this will not seem so important to a person far from science, but surveyors argued, clarified, and researched for a long time. Finally, the exact figure was announced - 8,848.13 km.

Extreme tourist route

The first people to conquer Everest proved that it can be done and still survive. Before they succeeded, was recorded many deaths. "Who will be the first to conquer Everest?"

- this question haunted climbers for a long time. Each of them wanted to become a pioneer and go down in history.

The question of who was the first to conquer Everest has lost its relevance. Now people go to the Himalayan mountains for thrills. This excursion lasts about two months and costs more than 80 thousand dollars. They climb to the top in spring or autumn. At this time of year there are no monsoons, that is, stable winds that periodically change their direction.

Tourist infrastructure is developing. In the 21st century, more and more people want to climb to the once unattainable peak. Hours-long traffic jams and conflicts between climbers have even been recorded here (almost like on the highways of megacities). Nevertheless, such a journey remains quite dangerous. The most difficult section is the one located near Everest. Its length is 300 meters. The climbers nicknamed the final finish line “the longest mile on Earth.”

Much depends on the weather and equipment. Before heading to the mountains, tourists are instructed, trained, and prepared for several weeks. Experts have all this knowledge thanks to pioneers. Their invaluable experience allows today thousands of people who want to make a journey that half a century ago was considered deadly.

First attempts

Before Everest was conquered, about 20 expeditions took place. French climbers reached Annapurna. But from this mountain range to the highest peak is still far away. The British managed to achieve greater results a little later - they used oxygen along the way. In the 1920s, more than one climber died here. In 1924, Andrew Irwin and George Mallory attempted to reach the summit. The body of the latter was discovered in the late nineties. Perhaps the English climbers managed to reach the top. At least this is something that is still being debated to this day.

Among the daredevils there were some rather eccentric personalities. So, in 1934, a man without special equipment went to the mountains, believing that supernatural forces would help him achieve his goal. He died after rising to a height of seven kilometers. This man's name was Maurice Wilson. The conquest of the highest mountain peak took place 20 years after his death. And it ended successfully. So, who conquered Everest first in the world?

Edmund Hillary

He did not have supernatural powers, he was an ordinary person. Edmund Hillary was born in 1919. I have been interested in mountaineering since childhood. Edmund made his first ascent at the age of 20. As a child, the future conqueror of Everest was very shy. He read a lot and dreamed of adventures. As a high school student, he began boxing, which gave him some confidence in his own abilities. And he took up mountaineering at the age of 16.

In 1951, Hillary took part in the British expedition to Everest. But then the climbers did not achieve their goal. After two years, Hillary again took part in the expedition. In the middle of the 20th century, the Chinese closed the road to Everest from Tibet. The climbers set off from Nepal, whose government had nothing against mountain expeditions.

Tenzing Norgay

Of course, it is impossible for one person to conquer a mountain peak. We named Edmund Hillary. But in reality there were two discoverers. Hillary managed to get to Everest together with Tenzing Norgay. It is worth saying that he was a very experienced climber. Perhaps it was thanks to him that Everest was conquered in 1953. Norgay later admitted that the highest point on earth offers an amazing view - beautiful, wild and terrible.

Women's expeditions began to scale Everest in the mid-seventies. And quite successfully. The first woman to conquer Everest was Japanese citizen Junko Tabei. This was in 1976. Four years later, Wanda Rutkiewicz from Poland rose to the top. In 1990 - our compatriot Ekaterina Ivanova.

The Republic of Nepal is known as the highest mountainous country in the world. On the northern side it is bordered by the Great Himalayan Range, famous for several peaks exceeding 8000 meters, including Everest - the highest on the planet (8848 meters).

Everest: who conquered the place of the gods

According to popular beliefs, this place was considered the abode of the gods, so no one thought of climbing there.

The top of the world even had special names: Chomolungma (“Mother - Goddess of Peace”) among the Tibetans and Sagarmatha (“Forehead of Heaven”) among the Nepalese. They began to call it Everest only in 1856, with which China, India, and the direct culprit of the renaming did not agree - the British aristocrat, geodesist, military man - George Everest, who was the first to determine the exact location of the Himalayan peak and its height. Disputes still arise from time to time in the press that a mountain located in Asia should not have a European name. Who was the first to conquer Everest - the peak that almost every climber dreams of?

The graceful beauty of the top of the world

The nature of Everest with rocks, snow and eternal ice is menacingly harsh and silently beautiful. Here, severe frosts almost always prevail (down to -60 °C), avalanches and snow falls are frequent, and the tops of the mountains are blown from all sides by fierce winds, the gust speed of which reaches 200 km/h. At an altitude of about 8 thousand meters, the “death zone” begins, so called for the lack of oxygen (30% of the amount present at sea level).

Risk for what?

Nevertheless, despite such harsh natural conditions, conquering Everest was and is the cherished dream of many climbers around the world. Standing at the top for a few minutes to go down in history, to look at the world from heavenly heights - isn’t this happiness? For such an unforgettable moment, climbers are ready to risk their own lives. And they take risks, knowing that they can remain in an untrodden land for eternity. Factors in the possible death of a person who ends up there are a lack of oxygen, frostbite, injury, heart failure, fatal accidents, and even the indifference of partners.

So, in 1996, a group of rock climbers from Japan met with three Indian climbers who were in a semi-fainting state. They died because the Japanese did not help their “competitors” and passed by indifferently. In 2006, 42 climbers, along with Discovery Channel television crews, indifferently walked past an Englishman who was slowly dying from hypothermia, and also tried to interview him and take photographs. As a result, the daredevil who risked conquering Everest alone died from frostbite and oxygen starvation. One of the Russian climbers, Alexander Abramov, explains such actions of his colleagues as follows: “At an altitude of more than 8,000 meters, a person striving to conquer the peak is completely occupied with himself and does not have extra strength to provide assistance in such extreme conditions.”

George Mallory's attempt: successful or not?

So who was the first to conquer Everest? The discovery of George Everest, who had never conquered this mountain, was the impetus for the unbridled desire of many climbers to reach the top of the world, which George Mallory, Everest’s compatriot, was the first to decide on (in 1921).

Unfortunately, his attempt was unsuccessful: heavy snowfalls, strong winds and lack of experience in climbing to such a height stopped the British climber. However, the unattainable peak beckoned to Mallory, and he made two more unsuccessful ascents (in 1922 and 1924). During the last expedition, his teammate Andrew Irwin disappeared without a trace. One of the expedition members, Noel Odell, was the last to see them through a gap in the clouds rising to the top. Only after 75 years, an American search expedition discovered Mallory’s remains at an altitude of 8155 meters. Judging by their location, the climbers fell into the abyss. Also in scientific circles, when studying the same remains and their location, an assumption arose that George Mallory was the first person to conquer Everest. Andrew Irwin's body was never found.

The years 1924-1938 were marked by the organization of a number of more expeditions, although unsuccessful. After them, Everest was forgotten for some time, because the Second World War began.

Pioneers

Who conquered Everest first? The Swiss decided to storm the unconquered peak in 1952, but the maximum height they climbed stopped at 8,500 meters; 348 meters was beyond the reach of climbers due to bad weather conditions.

If we assume that Mallory was unable to reach the top of the world's highest mountain, then the question of who was the first to conquer Everest can be safely answered - New Zealander Edmund Hillary in 1953, and not by himself, but with an assistant - Sherpa Norgay Tenzing .

By the way, Sherpas (from Tibetan, “sher” - east, “pa” - people) are the very people without whom, perhaps, hardly anyone would have been able to reach such a coveted peak. They are a mountain people who settled in Nepal more than 500 years ago. It was the Sherpas who were the easiest to climb Everest, since this mountain is their homeland, where every path is familiar from childhood.

Sherpas are reliable helpers on the way to the top

Sherpas are very good-natured people who are not capable of causing offense to anyone. For them, killing an ordinary mosquito or field mouse is considered a terrible sin, which must be prayed for very strongly. The Sherpas have their own language, but nowadays they almost all speak English. This is the great merit of Edmund Hillary, the first conqueror of Everest. As a token of gratitude for the invaluable help, he built a school at his own expense in one of the main villages.

Although, with all the penetration of civilization into the lives of the Sherpas, their way of life remains largely patriarchal. Traditional settlements are stone two-story houses, on the ground floor of which livestock is usually kept: yaks, sheep, goats, and the family itself is usually located on the second floor; There is also a kitchen, bedrooms, and a living room. Minimum furniture. Thanks to pioneer mountaineers, electricity recently appeared; They still don’t have gas or any kind of central heating. They use yak dung as fuel for cooking, which is first collected and dried on stones.

The inaccessible Mount Everest... Who was the first to conquer this distant peak: or George Mallory? Scientists are still looking for the answer today, as well as the answer to the question of what year Everest was conquered: in 1924 or 1953.

Everest Conquest Records

Everest has succumbed to more than one person; even records were set for the temporary ascent to the summit. For example, in 2004, Sherpa Pemba Dorj reached it from base camp in 10 hours 46 minutes, while most climbers take up to several days to complete the same operation. The fastest person to descend the mountain in 1988 was the Frenchman Jean-Marc Boivin, although he made the jump on a paraglider.

The women who conquered Everest are in no way inferior to men, also stubbornly and persistently overcoming every meter of the climb to the top. The first representative of the weak half of humanity in 1975 was the Japanese Junko Tabei, 10 days later - Phantog, a Tibetan climber.

Who was the first senior person to conquer Everest? The oldest conqueror of the summit is 76-year-old Nepalese Min Bahadur Sherkhan, and the youngest is 13-year-old American Jordan Romero. Of interest is the persistence of another young conqueror of the “top of the world” - 15-year-old Temba Tseri Sherpa, whose first attempt was unsuccessful due to lack of strength and frostbite on both hands. Upon his return, Tembe had 5 fingers amputated, which did not stop him; he conquered Everest on his second ascent.

Among the disabled is also the first person to conquer Everest. This is Mark Inglis, who rose to the top of the world in 2006 using prosthetics.

The hero even joked that, unlike other climbers, he would not get frostbite on his toes. Moreover, his legs were frostbitten earlier, while trying to climb the highest peak in New Zealand - Cook's Peak, after which they were amputated.

Apparently, Everest has some kind of magical power if hundreds of climbers rush towards it. The one who conquered him once returned more than once, trying to do it again.

Alluring peak - Everest

Who was the first to conquer Everest? Why are people so drawn to this place? There are quite a lot of reasons explaining this. Tickling nerves, lack of thrills, the desire to test yourself, the boringness of everyday life...

Texas millionaire Dick Bass is the man who conquered Everest. He, not being a professional climber, was not going to spend years carefully preparing for a dangerous climb and decided to conquer the peak of the world right away, as they say: here and now. Bass was ready to pay any money to anyone who would help make his seemingly unrealistic dream come true.

Dick Bass was still able to conquer the top of Everest, and the expedition’s assistants were an assembled team that provided the millionaire with comfort while climbing; people carried all the cargo, tents, water, food. So to speak, the ascent was all-inclusive, and this served as the beginning of commercial travel to the summit.

Since then, since 1985, anyone who has enough money to do so can conquer the peak. Today, the cost of one such ascent varies from 40 to 85 thousand dollars, depending on the side of the climb up the mountain. If the journey takes place from Nepal, then it is more expensive, because a special permission from the king is required, costing 10 thousand dollars. The rest of the amount is paid for organizing the expedition.

And there was even a wedding...

In 2005, Mona Mule and Pem Georgi had a wedding on top of the world. Having climbed up, the newlyweds took off the traditional colored garlands around their necks for a few minutes. Pem then anointed the forehead of his bride with scarlet powder, symbolizing marriage. The newlyweds kept their act a secret from everyone: parents, acquaintances, expedition partners, because they were not sure of the successful outcome of the planned event.

So how many people have summited Everest? Surprisingly, today there are more than 4,000 people. And the most optimal period for climbing in mild weather conditions is considered to be spring and autumn. True, such an idyll does not last long - only a few weeks, which climbers try to use as fruitfully as possible.

According to statistics, every tenth of those who storm Everest dies, and most of the accidents occur during the descent, when there is practically no strength left. Theoretically, Everest can be conquered in a few days. In practice, gradualness and an optimal combination of ascents and rests are required.

Who was the first to conquer Everest?

The message that spread around the world in early May 1999 left none of the climbers indifferent. According to ITAR-TASS, the body of Mallory, the leader of the English expedition of 1924, was found 70 meters from the summit of Everest. In accordance with this information, the Russian press, based on comments from specialists, including mine, clearly concluded that Mallory had reached the summit. And therefore it is necessary to rewrite the history of the conquest of the highest mountain on Earth. (Until now, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Norgay Tenzing, who climbed Everest on May 29, 1953, were considered the first climbers.)

However, as it turned out later, the body was found much lower - at an altitude of 8230 m;

It is not clear where ITAR-TASS received other information.

After reading the article “The mystery of Everest has been solved” in the Izvestia newspaper, on May 5 V. Simonenko called me from Kyiv, who talks daily on a satellite phone from the station. coach of the Ukrainian expedition M. Gorbenko, located in the base camp near Everest. Mstislav said: “The peak from the north, from the side of Tibet, will be stormed by 12 expeditions this spring. All except the Ukrainian one use oxygen and have Sherpas in their composition. There is also a large (45 people) American expedition here, whose task (besides the ascent) is to find Mallory and Irwin, who disappeared in 1924. On the evening of April 29, Ukrainian climbers climbed to a height of 8230 m and set up a tent, and in the morning they discovered that it was actually placed on the body of the deceased climber. The tent was moved 20 m higher up the slope. On May 1, an American, accompanied by two Sherpas, climbed to the same place. Only 15 minutes were enough for them to determine by clothing that this was one of the participants in the 1924 expedition. No one rose above 8230 m from the north.”

The deceased's jacket had a clothing manufacturer's label on it. The back was bare. A tag with Mallory's name was found on the clothing. An oxygen tank from the 1924 expedition was also found. With the consent of the relatives, a skin sample was taken from the body to accurately confirm the identity of the deceased by biopsy.

Back in 1924, on the almost windless morning of June 8, two people set off from Camp 6 (8170 m) to the summit along the north-east ridge: an associate professor from Cambridge, an experienced high-altitude climber, George Mallory, and a student who was in the Himalayas for the first time, Andrew Irwin (22 of the year). They had with them an oxygen apparatus with two cylinders and the most necessary things. They were separated from the highest point of the mountain by a height difference of only 678 m. Their friend, professor of geology N. Odell, watched both of them from camp 6 (where he climbed lightly that day from camp 5) through field binoculars. They moved along the ridge to the so-called Second Stage. At 12:55, Mallory and Irvine disappeared from sight into the clouds. They were not destined to return.

Odell waited for them for a long time at Camp 6, and at 17:00 he went down. At 19:00 he was already in camp 3, where, together with other observers, he began to wait for the return of the climbers who had left for the assault. The night turned out to be unusually cold. Odell, for example, could not sleep, although he wrapped himself in two sleeping bags at once.

On June 9, Odell with two porters climbed to Camp 5 (7600 m), and on June 10 he came alone to Camp 6 (the porters refused to go above 7600 m). Everything in the tent remained the same as it was two days ago. No new traces of people were visible. Odell climbed above the camp and tensely scanned the entire path from the top to the ridge and back many times.

Conquering Everest was Mallory's life goal. He gained worldwide fame even before his disappearance in the mountains. when asked by an American reporter why he was still going to climb Everest, he answered: “Because it exists.”

Mallory wrote: “The spirit of adventure must not die. And if you have to pay with your life to save him, so what? It would be a sacrifice for a good purpose..."

R. Messner also believes that the two climbers were able to overcome only the First Stage, since the route up the Second Stage was along the inner corner and was not visible from the place where Odell was. The observation was conducted in the afternoon, leaving little time for Mallory and Irwin to climb the Second Step, reach the top, and return before dark. Messner, who single-handedly stormed Everest from the north, discussed this issue in London with expedition veterans D. Nowell and Odell. But even together they could not solve the riddle - whether Mallory and Irvine were at the top.

Shi-Zhangchong, president of the Chinese Mountaineering Federation, speaking in Los Angeles in December 1981, said that the 1960 Chinese expedition had seen much evidence of British presence on the north face of Everest even before World War II. He said a length of manila rope and a short wooden pole were found above the Second Step. This evidence would prove that Mallory and Irvine had indeed overcome this severe obstacle. If so, then reaching the top two becomes realistic. ( From the Second Step to the top it takes about 2 hours. - V.Sh.

). Two oxygen tanks were found below. However, when Shi indicated the locations of the finds in the photograph, it turned out that they were all below the First Step or at the site of Camp 6.

Chris Bonington later met with Shea and asked about the findings. Shi again showed the place in the photographs - below the First Step. The Chinese also found the oxygen system in good condition; the cylinder contained 20 atmospheres of gas. But it also does not belong to Mallory and Irwin, but was thrown by the Englishman Peter Lloyd during the descent from 8325 m on June 8, 1938.

Shi does not explain why he hid the findings of their expedition for 21 years.

On May 30, 1933, Harris and Wager discovered a piece of equipment belonging to the missing members of the 1924 expedition. It was Irwin's ice axe. The stainless steel tip was engraved with the name of the blacksmith Willisch and the place of production. The ice ax lay among the brown rocks 299 m east of the First Step and 18 m below the ridge leading to the summit.

During one of the expeditions, fate brought the Japanese climber Hasegawa together with the Chinese porter Wang Hongbiao, who participated in a major Chinese expedition to Everest in 1975. Wang told the Japanese that at altitudes of 6508 and 8100 m he came across two corpses. Hasegawa was clear from the very beginning whose corpse lay below.

It was Maurice Wilson, an eccentric native of Yorkshire, obsessed with the idea of conquering Everest. Death overtook him in 1934, when, after repeated unsuccessful attempts to storm the North Col, the exhausted Englishman died in his tent.

But who was the second person killed? Wang believed that this was another “ingguozhen” - that’s what the British are called in Chinese. “I could not have made a mistake,” Hasegawa assures. Wang also told him that upon contact, part of the deceased’s clothing collapsed, “danced in the air,” and was carried away by the wind. Hasegawa did not have a chance to question Wang in more detail - the next day the Chinese, along with two other porters, died in an avalanche. Hasegawa was the leader in a group of four and was also caught in the avalanche, but was lucky to escape with five broken ribs.

It can be assumed that Mallory's body was found on May 1, 1999. It was located only 60 m from the tent from which Mallory and Irvine emerged on June 8. Perhaps on June 9, Mallory was a few steps away from shelter. And Odell returned again to a height of 8170 m to the tent only on May 10 and rose above the camp. How long? Why didn't he notice anything? Irwin's ice ax was previously found near this site, and his body may be somewhere nearby. However, it is unlikely that any of them reached the summit of Everest on June 8, 1924.

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With so many climbs, simply reaching the top of the world is no longer fun, so the list of achievements on Everest is becoming more and more extraordinary. Everest has already witnessed a wedding, seen a man in shorts and watched topless people. It was from then on that the government of Nepal began to check all ascents to ensure the intentions of those wishing to do so. In this article we have collected the most amazing moments from the history of Everest, which have become world records.

In this article we have collected the most amazing moments from the history of Everest, which have become world records.

First ascent

On May 29, 1953, New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay had their last meal of sardines and biscuits before their final push to the summit. To achieve their goal, they battled strong winds, blizzards and bitter cold.

The successful ascent in 1953 came just three years after Nepal opened its borders to an easier route than the North Face from Tibet. Only one hoist per year was allowed, and they were already booked by France and Switzerland, and their flags could be replaced by the British one.

First ascent of a woman

Twenty-two years after her first ascent, Junko Tabei of Japan became the first woman to reach the summit as part of an all-female team following the same route as Hillary and Norgay.

Amazingly, during the ascent, an avalanche swept her out of the way, and Yunko was unconscious for a full 6 minutes, but was saved and eventually made it to the top. She will soon become the first woman to climb the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on the continents.

Highest number of ascents

Reaching the top once is already incredible. But there are three men, each of whom conquered Everest 21 times. Apa Sherpa did so in 2011, and Kami Rita and Phurba Tashi Sherpas joined his company in 2013. Dave Hahn has made most of his climbs with non-Nepalese climbers—the American guide reached the summit for the 15th time in 2013.

Fastest ascent

The climb from base camp to the summit - almost 3.5 km - is rarely done all at once. Most climbers stop between camps to gain strength before the final stage of the climb.

The entire route takes approximately 34-38 hours for a healthy and acclimatized person, with four six-hour stages from base camp to Camp 1, from Camp 1 to Camp 2 and so on to Camp 4, with many intermediate stops, and the final climb to the summit , which lasts 10-14 hours.

But in 2004, Pemba Dorhe Sherpa made it all the way from base camp to the summit in one push, lasting 8 hours and 10 minutes. Last year, Kilian Yornet climbed from base camp without safety ropes or supplemental oxygen in 26 hours.

Fastest descent

In 2001, Marco Siffredi set a record by snowboarding from the summit to base camp at 6,400 meters. The journey took him two and a half hours, but he was not the first to slide down the mountain.

Slovenian Davo Karnikar skied from the summit to base camp in 2000. He descended without a break for 5 hours, frostbitten his entire body. Compared to this, his ski slopes of Mont Blanc, Matterhorn, Eiger and Annapurna were child's play.

But in reality, none of these descents can be considered the fastest. In 1988, brave Frenchman Jean-Marc Boivin paraglided down a 40-meter mountainside to fly to a camp at 5,900 meters in 11-12 minutes.

Meditation

Most expedition participants only stay at the summit for a few minutes. But Nepalese guru Bhakta Kumar Rai—also known as the “Supreme Godengel Master” of the Celestial Path Sect—spent 32 hours at the summit in 2011, 27 of which were in meditation and 11 without artificial oxygen.

First tweet

In 2011, British climber Kenton Cool sent the first tweet from the summit as part of a marketing campaign, in which he wrote: “Climbing Everest #9! First tweet from the top of the world thanks to a weak 3G signal.”

Astronaut Rise

Not content with 5 shuttle flights and 47 hours of spacewalks, in 2009 American Scott Parazynski became the only astronaut to reach the summit on his third attempt. “It’s useless to compare,” he said afterward. “I would never do it again.”

The oldest

In 2013, Yuichiro Miura from Japan, at the age of 80, became the oldest participant in the climb - four months after heart surgery. But during the ascent he was so tired that he was transported 6500 meters from the camp. In 1970, he was the first to ski Mount Everest and plans to do it again in 2022 if he is still alive at 90. 73-year-old Japanese woman Tama Watanabe set the record as the oldest woman on Everest in 2012.

The youngest

American climber Jordan Romero in 2010 became the youngest person to reach the summit at the age of just 13 years and 10 months. After 4 years, Purna Malavas from India became the youngest woman - she was only 1 month older than Jordan (13 years and 11 months).

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