SO what is that makes Mt Everest so famous? What is it about this mountain that makes climbers want to risk their lives and reach the top? When in 1923, while on a lecture tour in the US, a reporter asked British climber George Leigh Mallory why he wanted to climb Everest. His now immortal reply was, “Because it’s there”.
Though Mallory never conquered the summit, he died a year later trying, he left a vision for others to tame their fears and reach the top. Everest is today the most famous of famous mountains. Nudged safely between Nepal and Chinese occupied Tibet, the 29,028 feet tall mountain achieved eternal flame more than Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the top of the world. In May 1953. Since then, more than 600 people have accented this 60 million year old mountain’s throne and nearly a 150 have died in the process of doing so. But if your adventure cells don’t give you the adrenaline in trying to reach its top, then you can surf the web and find your own high in trying to find information about the mountain.
For any climber who has every wished to conquer, not only the Everest, but the whole of the Himalayas, this is the site to visit. Information, by the untold tons, reside on Everest News http://www.everestnews.com/. From simple news, to expedition news, like who is coming and what equipment to carry and what not, this site is the perfect online sherpa for the Himalayan adventurer. There is even a Pakistan link here that lists all the expeditions that are to leave, for other mountains as well, including K2 and Nanaga Parbat. For history buffs, there is the usual history link as well.
But as far as celebrating 50 years of Hillary’s and Norgay’s great feat is concerned, this is the site to click. At Mt Everest Anniversary http://www. nationalgeographic.com/everest/ our favourite documentarians, the people from the National Geographic Society have put together possibly the best Web site for the most famous assent in history. With news, articles, photos, lesson plans, kids games and more. There is also a virtual climb link, meaning that from the safety of your computer chair, you can get to the top. And when you are finally there, you can get an absolutely breathtaking view from the top, in full 360 degrees. By the way, this is at another link. And after a tediously, unnecessarily long flash intro (better click the skip intro button), we enter the main page of Finding Mt Everest from Space http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/education/Everest/. And since we are not going to astronauts in this lifetime (at least I am not going to be), we can take a look at Mt Everest, as astronauts and cosmonauts would, while orbiting the big blue planet, from many miles above. Though this fantastic Nasa hosted web site may get boring, also academic in more than one ways, still, it worth visiting and a spending a few extra visits.
And now we are up to our simple sites. This web link, http://www.mnteverest.net/history.html houses history and facts on the Everest. And tough some of the links don’t work, there is a Everest humour link as well. Also available, a guide to basic Nepali. Will definitely help in knowing what water stands for in Nepali. Here’s a quiz for you. Where is the highest junkyard of the world? Yes, you are absolutely right, it is at Mt Everest. In fact, there is so much trash on the highest mountain in the world, that if the problem isn’t tackled immediately and effectively, then Mt Everest could well become THE highest garbage dump in the world.
This web page http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2000/04/front.060400.everest.jhtml gives us a good insight into the environmental damage being done to Nepal’s No 1 tourist attraction. That is why, the government there enacted laws that prevent the abuse of Everest. For example, if climbers leave any non-biodegradable trash such as plastic containers on the mountain, they lose a $4,000 pre-expedition deposit. Also, do you know that in 1998, 520 used batteries were collected from Everest?
My Story Edmund Hillary and Mt Everest http:// teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hillary/index.htm showcases the history of the two people who were the first to make it to the top. The site has links not only to the Kiwi, but also to the Nepali sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, without whom it would probably have been impossible for Hillary to reach the top. There are also links to World Famous Mountains, Facts about Mt Everest.
Easily the most mundane and unexciting of Everest site encountered so far, the Geology of Mt Everest in Nepal, http://www.21cep. com/nepal/npgeo.htm is one big text page that tells us, well about the geological status of the mountain, from the Nepalese side. From tectonic processes, to glaciers and the structure of Mt Everest, the site has information for whosoever gets excited about the geological happenings of this mountain.
Yet another site, that isn’t exactly about climbing the mountain. In fact, 3-D models, Gallery Mt Everest http://www.photogrammetry.ethz.ch/research/3Dmodels/everest.html isn’t about snows and peaks and ridges. This site has three dimensional models of not only Mt Everest, but also other of nature’s wonders, like the Ayers Rock. There are also 3-D models of human endurance, like the long gone Bamiyan Buddhas. Not exactly exciting though.
Now here is a good enterprising site. Australian photographer, Roderick Mackenzie climbed the mountain in 1989. It was in that climb that he took a bundle of photographs that he has put here, http://www. everestviews.com/, on this site. Not free, but if you want you can buy a print of the view of the South Summit for $25. There is also a limited edition of prints signed by Sir Edmund Hillary. The print depicts the view on his approach to the summit of Everest, as he experienced it 50 years ago. However, the picture costs no less than $450/- Want a good picture, pay a good price. Finally, a web address that suggests, this isn’t exactly a site about the mountain. Everest http://www.everestfilm.com/ is more the official site of the documentary. Shot in IMAX photography, the site includes the film summary, still shots and behind the scenes features. To bad we won’t be able to see the movie, as no IMAX theatre exists in the country.
SO what is that makes Mt Everest so famous? What is it about this mountain that makes climbers want to risk their lives and reach the top? When in 1923, while on a lecture tour in the US, a reporter asked British climber George Leigh Mallory why he wanted to climb Everest. His now immortal reply was, “Because it’s there”.
