“It is still the top of the world, make no mistake. In recent year’s it’s taken on something of a less rarified air, something closer to a ‘tourist attraction’.” – Brain Williams of NBC Nightly News
Edmund Hillary, a bee-keeper from New Zealand, and Tenzing Norgay, a sherpa from Nepal, summited Mount Everest 60 years ago today on May 29th, 1953.
Summiting Everest for the first time, in the 50s, with wool and heavy gear was extremely impressive. Is summiting Everest nowadays less impressive? Yes. It’s still a feat, but the experience has changed unimaginably.
NBC’s Mt. Everest report above delves into this issue and the history of the first summit of Mt. Everest in 1953.
INTERESTING EVEREST FACTS:
– Everest grows 4mm higher every year due to geologic uplift
– 1 in 10 successful summits ends in death
– Over 4,000 people have attempted to climb Everest
– Over 235 people have died on Everest (exact number unknown)
– There are around 120 dead bodies of climbers on the mountain
– Avalanches are the greatest cause of death for climbers scaling Everest (Avalanches at about a 2:1 ratio over falls)
– Over 2000 people have summited Everest
Learn More here: 17 Mount Everest Facts
base jump from the top
Why was everything always better in the past? C’mon, people are doing the best they can given what they have right now. Nepal needs to start limiting the amount of climbing permits. They will soon enough