Highway Information
YVR
Weather
Fire Rating
Page 6 of 7
"There was a traffic jam on the mountain on Saturday," Nepali mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha told news wire services.
"Climbers were still heading to the summit as late as 2:30 p.m., which is quite dangerous."
In April a Sherpa lost his life after falling into a crevasse while crossing a ladder bridge. He didn't clip himself to safety ropes on either side of the ladder. Another died of altitude sickness.
The Sherpas are hired to do the heavy lifting for Everest adventure seekers. Their genetics are better suited for the task as they live their lives at 4,000 metres above sea level.
It takes more than three weeks for most people to acclimatize to high altitude. Teams trek back and forth between Everest Base Camp and the smaller tent camps that are built along the route to the summit.
Along the way the dangers include wind, exposure, exhaustion, altitude sickness, equipment failure, falling rocks, frostbite, hypothermia, snow blindness, acute mountain sickness and more.
For Furneaux, Jones, Ainscough, Congdon and Austen the tallest peak in the world is a long way off from a geographic perspective.
But the mountain is close to their hearts, and from time-to-time they can't help but find themselves thinking about what the climbers on the mountain right now are going through in their quest to stand at the top of the world.
Everest by the numbers
2 – Main climbing routes up the mountain
3 – Countries visible from the summit
4 – People killed in 1982 Canadian expedition
5 – Glaciers on the mountain
7 – Countries along the Himalayas
11 – Minutes to paraglide from the summit
13 – Youngest summit visitor (Jordan Romero)
14 – Mountains around the world over 8,000 metres
15 – Deaths in one day in 1996
16 – Nepal's minimum age to climb
18 – Total routes to the peak
21 – Apa Sherpa's summits
30 – Summit atmospheric pressure percentage
40 – Largest number to summit in one day (May 10, 1993)
60 – Mountain age in millions of years
76 – Age of oldest climber (Min Bahadur Sherchan)
234 – Lives lost (at least)
6,065 – Camp 1 elevation in metres
8,840 – Original incorrect elevation in metres
8,848 – Elevation in metres
19,900 – Camp 1 elevation in feet
29,002 – Original incorrect elevation in feet
29,029 – Elevation in feet
Everest's Personalities
George Mallory - Some believe he may have been the first to summit Everest in 1924 with the help of his partner Andrew Irvine. Both died on the mountain a few hundred metres below the summit.
Edmund Hillary - New Zealander commonly credited as being the first person to reach the summit. At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953 he reached the summit and took some photographs before descending.
Comments (1)
Showing 1-1 of 1
-
May 23, 2013, 5:02 AM
Task force formed to address long weekend mayhem
Locals frustrated by damage to village; police log 17 cases of mischief over one night More...
-
May 23, 2013, 5:01 AM
Council to review pay parking
Task handed to EPI Committee for attention More...
-
May 23, 2013, 5:00 AM
Budget for municipal hall renos up $200K
Work to begin this summer in an effort to update hall, improve customer service More...
Latest in Feature Story
-
Jumbo-skiers' dream or B.C. taxpayer's sinkhole?
As Jumbo gets set for summer operations Pique looks at the future of new 'resort'
- May 24, 2013
-
Mammoth a story of survival
Mother Nature, fickle skiers, and the global economy all part of the equation when it comes to finding success in the ski industry
- May 16, 2013
-
Global warming's reluctant poster child
Ski area owners are aware that many scientists are predicting snowfall amounts are declining
- May 16, 2013
- More »
More by John French
-
Delayed Squamish dredging project on hold again
Water and sewer rates to rise by 15 per cent
- Mar 21, 2013
-
HST about to give way to PST and GST
B.C. businesses urged to register for new tax
- Mar 23, 2013
- More »
