Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world measuring 8,848 m(29,028 feet) in height. It was first climbed on May 29, 1953 by a New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal. Mount Everest is also known by the Tibetan name Chomolangma (Goddess Mother of the Snows), and by the Nepali name Sagarmatha (Mother of the Universe). Everest had been attempted many times before the imp
ortant expeditions being that of 1922, 1923 and 1924. The body of George H. Mallory, who died in an earlier attempt (1924), was discovered on the mountain in 1999. More than 600 climbers from 20 countries have climbed the summit by various routes from both north and south. Climber’s ages have ranged from nineteen years to sixty. Climbing on Everest is very strictly regulated by both the Nepalese and Chinese governments. Climbing Everest and Treks to Everest Base Camp are becoming increasingly popular on both the north and south sides of the mountain. On the north side, a Buddhist monastery stands at the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier, beneath Everest spectacular north face. The monastery is one of two whose locations were selected specifically to allow religious contemplation of the great peak. The other is the Thyangboche Monastery in Nepal. The once active Rongbuk monastery in Tibet has required much rejuvenation from the destruction it experienced following China’s invasion of Tibet.
