The highest point on Earth. Mount Everest

Mount Everest is a highest mountain in the world. It is an autonomous region of Chinaand located between Nepal and Tibet, . (Hight)At 8,849 meters (29,032 ft), it is considered the highest point on Earth. In the 19th century, this mountain was named after the former Surveyor General of India, George Everest. The Tibetan name is Chomolungma, meaning "Mother Goddess of the World." The Nepali name Sagarmatha has various meanings. The first recorded people to climb Everest were Edmund Hillary from New Zealand) and his Tibetan guide Tenzing Norgay. He claimed the record by climbing the mountain in 1953. The first record of the height of Everest came back in 1856. British surveyors in their great trigonometrical survey of the Indian subcontinent named Everest as the highest peak in the world.

Climbing Mount Everest has become a popular expedition for mountaineers. However, this is a risky move. Climbing Everest requires mountaineering experience as well as good health, equipment and a certificate from a trained Nepali guide. Snow and ice on the mountain pose life-threatening hazards such as avalanches, and the climbing season is limited only by poor weather conditions. But perhaps the biggest risk is altitude. Most climbers are not used to high altitude and low oxygen levels and rely on bottled oxygen they bring with them. This is why the area above 8,000 meters (26,000 ft) on Everest is called the "Death Zone". Climbers who spend long periods in this region can develop altitude sickness and even brain swelling. The Himalayan mountains have long been home to indigenous groups living in the valleys. The most famous of these are the Sherpa people. The word "Sherpa" is often used to mean a mountain guide, although it originally refers to an ethnic group. Sherpas have valuable mountaineering experience, which they can pass on to other climbers. Most Everest climbs would be impossible without the logistical support and knowledge of the Sherpas. However, their way of life surpasses that of Everest climbers. Traditionally, their lifestyle consists of farming, herding and trading. And, because they live at such a high altitude year-round, they are used to low oxygen levels. The Mount Everest climbing industry has become controversial. As climbing has grown in popularity, there have been more "traffic jams" as climbers spend too much time in the death zone waiting for a chance to summit. With more people, pollution near the summit has also increased as climbers often discard unwanted items along the mountain. Additionally, the Sherpa people have been exploited by climbers, and their traditional way of life has been disrupted by foreign climbers. Sherpa guides face one of the highest mortality rates of any relatively low-paid job. Most disturbingly, many climbers have died en route, and it is impossible to recover their bodies.