1. It’s taller than you remember
Nobody can seem to agree just how tall this mountain is. In 1955, Nepal set the official height as 29,029 feet. In 1999, the US argued for six feet higher, and in 2005 a Chinese research group argued for 12 feet lower.
As if we need further confusion to this, tectonic plate shifts ensure that the peak of the mountain is literally shifting higher with every year.
2. A goddess’s living room
A goddess on your side isn’t a bad thing to have when enduring a task as insurmountable as scaling Mount Everest, and that’s exactly what Tenzing Norway was confident he had. He believed that the Tibetian Buddhist goddess Miyolangsangma gave him a helping hand to reach the top of the mountain. She’s believed to live on the mountain and protect it.
3. Monkeys and pandas
Nepal gray langur monkeys are known to hang around in the Himalayan forests, and certain types are considered sacred by the native people there. Take a look around, and you might also spot some other cuddly-looking creatures: Red Pandas. They’re not exactly hard to spot, with their red coats!
4. Karaoke time
Namche Bazaar is the largest town in the Khumbu Valley– a whopping 1500 people! It’s a popular tourist spot, and also a key last stop for climbers to experience the comforts of home. That, apparently, includes karaoke! One has to wonder about the song selection. . . maybe “Ice, Ice Baby?”
5. Yetis?!
If you’ve made it this far, about 15,000 – 20,000 feet above sea level, you might just sight a yeti! The yeti is a key piece of Himalayan folklore, and one that has attracted the public’s attention for a long time. Edmund Hillary even succeeded in finding evidence of the creature! At least, so it seemed, until it was found that the “yeti scalp” he’d returned home with belonged to a serow– an average animal not unlike a large goat.
6. A heaping pile of. . .
Everest attracts people from all over the world– and people leave behind problems. Problems like poop. The air is simply too cold for it to break down over time, resulting in a huge human waste crisis. Nowadays, hikers are required to take trash with them when they go. Whether that actually happens is. . . another story.
7. A Field of Popcorn
Popcorn? Don’t get excited. You’ll still have to bring your own supplies– unless you’d like to be eating chunks of ice the size of a car. The “popcorn field” is an area covered in these chunks, called “seracs”, along with some nasty crevices. That’s the popcorn in question, here, and it comes with a side of avalanches.
8. Spiders
“Wow!” you may think, “this climbing trip sure is hard. At least it’s a nice break from all those nasty bugs!” You would be sorely mistaken, there. There’s jumping spiders up here, some of the largest jumping spiders in the world.
9. Death
Lets face it– if you’ve made it this far, rescue is a slim chance. You’ve climbed higher than most aircraft are built for. You’ll get a reminder of this when you pass through the “death zone”, where the bodies of previous climbers remain.
10. A Really Long Queue
You’ve done it! You’ve reached the top. You’ve done something few people achieve in their lifetime. . . and now to wait in line to snap a photo. Have fun waiting for hours! Once you’re done, you get to climb down. . . and there’s an even higher chance than you had climbing up of revisiting the “Number 9” above.
Sources:
Information: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/world/scaling-everest/
Images:
– Mount Everest Landscape: https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Everest
– Miyolangsangma: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/miyolangsangma-the-goddess-of-inexhaustible-giving.html
– Nepal Grey Langur:
– Bazaar: https://www.himalayanglacier.com/10-facts-about-namche-bazaar-for-a-trekker-in-the-everest-region/
– Yeti: https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Yeti
– Outhouse: Summit Climb
– Popcorn Field: https://www.instagram.com/p/COhoN9gB3ze/
– Himalayan Jumping Spider: https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/uyoqks/meet_euophrys_omnisuperstes_the_himalayan_jumping/
– Hillary Step: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/climbing/everest-summit-traffic-jam/
All gifs from Tenor