The highest peak of the World Mount Everest

Mount Everest is also called Qomolangma Peak ( (Nepali: सगरमाथा), Tibetan: Chinese Zhumulangma Peak simplified Chinese: 珠穆朗玛峰; pinyin: Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng), Chajamlangma (Limbu), or Mount Chomolangma – is the world's highest mountain above sea level at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). Part of the Himalaya range in Asia, it is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China.

In 1856, the Great Trigonometric Survey of India established the first published height of Everest, then known as Peak XV, at 29,002 ft (8,840 m). In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India at the time. Chomolangma had been in common use by Tibetans for centuries, but Waugh was unable to propose an established local name because Nepal and Tibet were closed to foreigners.

The highest mountain in the world attracts well-experienced mountaineers as well as novice climbers who are willing to pay substantial sums to professional mountain guides to complete a successful climb. The mountain, while not posing substantial technical climbing difficulty on the standard route other eight thousanders such as K2 or Nanga Parbat are much more difficult), still has many inherent dangers such as altitude sickness, weather and wind. By the end of the 2008 climbing season, there had been 4,102 ascents to the summit by about 2,700 individuals.Climbers are a significant source of tourist revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to US $ 25,000 per person.By the end of 2009 Everest had claimed 216 lives,including eight who perished during a 1996 storm high on the mountain. Conditions are so difficult in the death zone (altitudes higher than 8,000 m/26,246 ft) that most corpses have been left where they fell. Some of them are visible from standard climbing routes.

Death Zone

At the higher regions of Mount Everest, climbers seeking the summit typically spend substantial time within the "death zone" (altitudes higher than 8,000 m/26,246 ft), and face significant challenges to survival. Temperatures can dip to very low levels, resulting in frostbite of any body part exposed to the air. Since temperatures are so low, snow is well-frozen in certain areas and death by slipping and falling can also occur. High winds at these altitudes on Everest are also a potential threat to climbers. The atmospheric pressure at the top of Everest is about a third of sea level pressure, meaning there is about a third as much oxygen available to breathe as at sea level.

In May 2007, the Caudwell Xtreme Everest undertook a medical study of oxygen levels in human blood at extreme altitude. Over 200 volunteers climbed to Everest Base Camp where various medical tests were performed to examine blood oxygen levels. A small team also performed tests on the way to the summit.

Even at base camp the low level of available oxygen had direct effect on blood oxygen saturation levels. At sea level these are usually 98% to 99%, but at base camp this fell to between 85% and 87%. Blood samples taken at the summit indicated very low levels of oxygen present. A side effect of this is a vastly increased breathing rate, from 20-30 breaths per minute to 80-90 breaths, leading to exhaustion just trying to breathe.

Lack of oxygen, exhaustion, extreme cold, and the dangers of the climb all contribute to the death toll. A person who is injured so he can't walk himself is in serious trouble since it is often extremely risky to try to carry someone out, and generally impractical to use a helicopter.

People who die during the climb are typically left behind. About 150 bodies have never been recovered. It is not uncommon to find corpses near the standard climbing routes.

Various records

The youngest person to climb Mount Everest was 13-year-old Jordan Romero in May 2010. Apa Sherpa holds the record for reaching the summit more times than any other person (20 times as of May 2010^[update]).

The fastest ascent over the northeast ridge was accomplished in 2007 by Austrian climber Christian Stangl, who needed 16h 42min for the 10 km distance from Camp III to the summit, just barely beating Italian Hans Kammerlander's record of 17 hours, accomplished in 1996. Both men climbed alone and without supplementary oxygen. The fastest oxygen-supported ascent over the southeast ridge was Nepalese Pemba Dorjie Sherpa's 2004 climb, using 8h 10min for the 17 km route. The fastest ascent without supplementary oxygen over the southeast ridge was accomplished by French Marc Batard who reached the summit in 22h 30min in 1988.

The first descent on ski was accomplished in 2000 by Davo Karnicar.

The oldest climber to successfully reach Mt. Everest's summit is 76-year-old Min Bahadur Sherchan, who did so 25 May 2008 from the Nepal side. Sherchan beat the previous record set in 2007 by 71 year old Katsusuke Yanagisawa.The oldest climber to successfully reach Mt. Everest's summit from both sides (Nepal and Tibet) of the mountain is 60-year-old Dr. Julio Bird, a Puerto Rican cardiologist at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Dr. Bird reached the summit of Mt. Everest from the north side at 7:00am on May 17, 2010.