10 facts about Everest that you didn't know yet

A man lives in Nepal who has conquered the "top of the world" 21 times, and amazing spiders live on the very top, which was once the seabed. The mountain is still growing, has not even two, but four official names and is not, by the way, the highest in the world.

(10 photos in total)

1. Himalayan spiders

Even high up in the mountains, where there is barely enough oxygen to breathe, we cannot hide from the spiders. Euophrys omnisuperstes, better known as the Himalayan jumping spider, hides in the nooks and crannies of Mount Everest, making it one of the highest-living creatures on Earth. Climbers found them at an altitude of 6700 meters. These spiders are able to feed on almost anything that can fly so high. With the exception of some species of birds, these are the only living creatures that constantly live at such an altitude. However, in 1924, during the British expedition to Mount Everest, a previously unknown species of grasshoppers was found here — now they are on display in the British Museum of Natural History.

2. Everest climbing record — 21 times

Appa Tenzing, also known as Appa Sherpa, was able to conquer the top of the world 21 times. His first ascent took place in May 1990, after three earlier unsuccessful attempts. Apparently, having learned all the secrets of climbing, Appa continued to conquer Everest every year — from 1990 to 2011. He has repeatedly stressed that the effects of global warming are clearly visible in the mountains. Appa is concerned about the melting of snow and ice, which makes climbing the mountain more difficult, as well as the safety of his people, after his native village was flooded by a melted glacier. Appa has made the last four ascents of Everest as part of ecological expeditions.

3. The "highest" fight

The conquest of Mount Everest is not as romantic as it may seem at first glance. Due to the significant development of the tourism industry, there is a significant increase in the number of ascents to the highest mountain in the world. So, in 1983, only 8 people reached the top, and in 2012, 234 people got there in just one day. It is not surprising that when conquering Everest, traffic jams and even fights happen. So, in 2013, climbers Uli Stack, Simon Moreau and Jonathan Griffith got into a fight with Sherpas after the latter asked them to stop climbing. The Sherpas accused the climbers of causing an avalanche. An argument began, which emotionally turned into a violent fight with the use of stones. It came to death threats, but the climbers returned to the base camp, where the rest of their "colleagues" sided with them. Even the Nepalese army had to intervene in the incident — then both sides of the conflict signed an agreement on its peaceful settlement.

4. 450 million years of history

Although the Himalayan Mountains were formed about 60 million years ago, their history begins much earlier. 450 million years ago, limestone and rocks were part of sedimentary layers that were located below sea level. Over time, the rocks on the ocean floor came together and began to move up by 11 centimeters per year. Now fossils of sea creatures can be found on the top of Mount Everest. They were first discovered in 1924 by the guide Noel Odell — thus it was proved that the summit of Mount Everest was once under water. The first rock samples from the world summit were brought back by Swiss climbers in 1956 and a team from America in 1963.

5. Height disputes

What is the exact height of Everest? It depends on which country you are on the side of. China has stated that it is equal to 8844 meters, while Nepal claims 8848 meters. This dispute happened due to the fact that China believes that the height should be equal only to the height of the rock, excluding meters of frozen snow from the total. Whether this is true or not, it remains a double—edged sword, but the international community still includes snow in the height of the mountain. China and Nepal came to an agreement in 2010, finally approving the official height of 8848 meters.

6. Everest is still growing

According to the latest measurements, both China and Nepal may be wrong about the height. In 1994, a research team found that Everest continues to grow by 4 millimeters per year. The Indian subcontinent was originally an independent piece of land that collided with Asia — so the Himalayas were formed. But the continental plates are still moving, and the height of the mountains is growing. American researchers in 1999 installed special equipment that allows you to monitor its change. Their more accurate measurements may lead to the fact that the official height of the mountain will be changed to 8850 meters. Meanwhile, other tectonic activity leads to a decrease in Everest, but the results together still ensure its growth.

7. Everest has several names

Most of us know the mountain by the names Everest and Jomolungma. The latter name came from Tibet, which means "Divine (qomo) mother (ma) of life (lung)". But these are not the only names by which the mountain is known. So, in Nepal it is called Sagarmatha ("Forehead in the sky"), and it is part of the Nepalese National Park "Sagarmatha". Mount Everest owes its name to the British surveyor Andrew Waugh, who failed to find a single generally accepted name even after carefully studying all the maps of the surrounding area and communicating with its inhabitants. Andrew decided to name the mountain after the geographer who worked in India, George Everest — the head of the British team that first explored the Himalayas. Everest itself refused such an honor, but still the British representatives in 1865 changed the name of the mountain. Previously, it was simply called the 15th peak.

8. Traffic jams from people

Climbing Mount Everest will cost anyone several thousand dollars, but the number of those eager to conquer the summit is steadily growing. In 2012, German climber Ralf Duimowitz took a photo of hundreds of people queuing for the climb. By the way, due to bad weather and a long queue, Ralph had to turn back at one of the passes called the Southern Saddle. And on May 19, 2012, those wishing to climb to the top of the mountain were forced to queue for about two hours — 234 people climbed Everest in one day. However, on the same day, four people died during the ascent, which caused certain concerns about the safety of the summit, and specialists from Nepal installed railings that allow them to fight congestion. Now the issue of installing a ladder at the top is being discussed.

9. The highest mountain landfill in the world

There are many photos showing the beauty of Mount Everest from all possible angles, but there is also the flip side of the coin: photos of a huge amount of garbage left behind by climbers. According to some estimates, there are about 50 tons of waste of various origins on Everest, and their number is growing in proportion to the number of visits. On the slopes of the mountain, you can see used oxygen cylinders, climbing equipment and other waste products of climbers. In addition, the mountain is "decorated" with the bodies of dead climbers — due to difficulties with their transportation, the victims of an unfortunate combination of circumstances remain lying on the slopes. Some of them serve as a guide for other climbers. Thus, Tsevanga Paljora, who died in 1996, "notes" the height of 8,500 meters and even received the nickname "Green Shoes" — for the conspicuous bright green shoes. Since 2008, a special ecological expedition (Eco Everest Expedition) has been climbing the mountain every year, the purpose of which is to combat the pollution of Everest. At the moment, thanks to this expedition, more than 13 tons of waste have been collected. In 2014, the government of Nepal introduced a new rule according to which every climber must bring at least 8 kilograms of waste with him when descending from the mountain — otherwise the deposit of $ 4,000 will be lost. There is also a creative project "Everest 8848": its artists have turned 8 tons of waste into 75 works of art, using even the remains of broken tents and beer cans. Thus, they are trying to draw attention to the pollution of the mountain.

10. Everest is not the highest mountain on Earth

Despite the title, in fact Everest is not the highest mountain in the world. Mauna Kea— an inactive volcano in Hawaii, rises "only" 4205 meters above sea level, but another 6000 meters of its base are hidden under water. When measured from the ocean floor, its height is 10,203 meters, which is almost one and a half kilometers more than Everest.

Everest is also not the most "convex" point of the planet. The extinct Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador reaches a height of 6267 meters above sea level, but is only one degree from the equator. Since our planet is slightly thickened in the center, the sea level in Ecuador is located further from the center of the Earth than in Nepal, and it turns out that Chimborazo is the highest point of the Earth from the point of view of stereometry.