How Do People Have The Determination To Climb A Mountain Like Mt?
The Epic of Mount Everest — by Sir Francis Younghusband Chapter I. — The Idea That Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world, and 29,002 feet in height, everybody knows. And most people know also that in attempting to climb the mountain two Englishmen lost their lives; that these two, Mallory and Irvine, were “last seen going strong for the top;” and that the top being only 800 feet away they must have very nearly, perhaps actually, reached it. How this was done; and how Norton, without oxygen, reached an altitude of 28,100 feet, and his companion, Somervell, scarcely a hundred feet less; how Odell, also without oxygen, twice reached a height of 27,000 feet, and might well have reached the summit itself if more porters had been available; how these feats were made possible by Himalayan porters carrying loads to nearly 27,000 feet; and how all this was done after the Expedition had suffered from a blizzard of exceptional severity and cold as low as 240 below zero at an altitude
Peak of ambition Compiled by Vikki Leone The Age, Wednesday June 4, 2003 Height of endeavour or exploitation? What inspires climbers to scale Mount Everest? Why climb Everest? On May 29, 1953, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his fellow climber, a Nepalese Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, were the first men to climb the world’s highest mountain – Mount Everest. Everest is the English name for the mountain. It was named after Sir George Everest, a British surveyor, in 1865. In Nepal it is known as Sagarmatha – “goddess of the sky”. Last week Sir Edmund returned to Nepal to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the climb. Festivals, music and processions were a part of the golden jubilee celebrations. Fifty years on, many are still attempting to climb Everest and some will die trying. What is it that continues to inspire climbers to risk their lives in an attempt to reach the summit? The challenge of scaling the world’s highest mountain seems sufficient motivation for most. Some want to make histor
