Mount Everest is one of the most interesting places on Earth. For additional episodes and more, check out the All About Everest Podcast page.

All About Everest Podcast Episode 1: Facts About Mt. Everest Shownotes

This is the very first episode of the All About Everest Podcast. In this episode, I go over some of the most interesting facts about Everest I also answer some of the most popular questions that are asked about Everest. I thought it would be a good introduction for anyone who is newly interested in Everest. And, most of the topics will be covered in future podcasts. Future topics will be marked with a “*”.

You can listen to this episode wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, or in the player below. Join us next week for Episode 2: Dead Bodies on Everest and the bonus episode Everest and Mountaineering Vocabulary.

For future reading, there are many books about Mt. Everest. For this episode, I recommend the following:

• “The Hunt for Mt. Everest” by Craig Storti
• “High Adventure: The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest” by Sir Edmund Hillary

Interesting Facts About Mount Everest

1. Mount Everest is not the world’s tallest mountain.

Mt. Everest is not the world’s highest mountain, however, it is the highest mountain above sea level. And, the peak is the highest point on Earth. Everest is 29,032 ft. (8849 m.) above sea level. Mauna Kea measures 33,500 ft. tall (13,803 m.) from base to peak, but only 13, 796 ft. (4205 m.) is above sea level.

2. It can cost about $40-60,000.00 to climb Mt. Everest. *

It can be very expensive to climb Mt. Everest. Every year, Alan Arnette breaks down the costs of climbing Everest. ExpedReview also has a good breakdown as well. There are many different costs, and a lot depends on:

• Which guiding company is used
• Travel costs
• Gear costs
• Insurance
• Permits and fees
• Vaccinations
• Food

The $40-60,000.00 is the average, but some companies because of luxury accommodations and fine dining will cost you about $175,000.00.

3. The first people to climb Everest were Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary. *

Norgay and Hillary were the first ones to summit Everest on May 29, 1953. History books often overlook that two people summited it, partly because Hillary is a Westerner.

4. Norgay and Hillary may not have been the first people to reach the summit of Everest. *

George Mallory and Andrew “Sandy” Irvine may have summitted Everest June 8-9 of 1924. But, they died on the mountain and therefore it was never confirmed if they summitted or not. They had a camera with them, but the camera was never found. Multiple searches have been made for both bodies, with Mallory’s body discovered in 1999. The camera and Irvine’s body have yet to be found.

5. The oldest person to climb Everest was Yuichiro Miura at the age of 80.

On May 23, 2013, the Japanese skier and mountaineer Yuichiro Miura broke the record for the oldest person to climb Mt. Everest. The previous record was also his when he became the oldest person to climb Everest at the age of 70 in 2203.

6. The youngest person to climb Mt. Everest is Jordan Romero. *

American Jordan Romero holds the current record for being the youngest person at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 10 days old. This was a very controversial topic because of his age and the support he received in climbing the mountain.

7. The first woman to reach the top of Everest was Junko Tabai. *

Junko Tabai from Japan was the 36th person to climb Everest and the first woman to reach the summit on May 16, 1975. She was a very successful mountaineer and achieved many things in the mountaineering world.

8. There are over 200 dead bodies on Mount Everest. *

Seeing dead bodies on Everest is very common. There is a viral photo online from 2019 of climbers waiting in the queue, with a deceased climber hanging off to the side. It is very expensive and even dangerous to bring down the dead climbers. That is why most bodies are left on the mountain.

9. Mount Everest has several names.

There is a very long history of why Mt. Everest was named for Sir George Everest. Even though it is known more popularly as Mt. Everest, it has also been called Peak XV. The Nepalese know it as Segarmatha and the Tibetans know it as Chomolungma.

10. There are many dangers when climbing Everest. *

Climbing Mt. Everest can be extremely dangerous. As of 1/1/2022, 309 people have died on the mountain. Some of the dangers of climbing Everest are:

• Frostbite
• Exhaustion
• Hypothermia
• Altitude sickness
• Hypoxia
• Falling
• Avalanches
• Ceracks (large chenks of ice) falling
• Crevasses

11. The first expedition to climb Everest was in 1922 by Britain’s Royal Geographical Society. *

In 1922, Britain led an expedition to Mt Everest. They were not successful. George Mallory was in the group and became the first person to attempt to climb the mountain.

12. Reinhold Messner and Pete Habeler were the first climbers to reach the top of Mt. Everest without supplemental oxygen.

Many mountaineers are purists, and believe that a summit should only be counted if it was made without oxygen. Messner and Habeler were the first to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen in 1978.

13. Mt Everest is in two different countries.

Mt. Everest is located on the border of China in the region of Tibet, and Nepal. Summit attempts are made from both sides. There are pros and cons to climbing either side. I hope to cover this in a future episode.

14. Kami Rita Sherpa has climbed Everest the most times on record.

Kami Rita Sherpa has made the most summits of Everest, with a total of 25. His last ascent was in May of 2021.

15. It takes about 2 months to climb Mt. Everest.

Because the top of Mt. Everest is at such a high altitude, climbers have to acclimatize. Their bodies need to get used to the elevation change which takes weeks.

16. You can visit Everest Base Camp. *

Everest Base Camp (both of them) has become a popular tourist attraction. There are two base camps, one on the North side (Tibet) and one on the South side (Nepal). The one in Nepal is extremely popular. The base camp on the Tibetan side has been closed since 2019.

17. The Death Zone is one of the most dangerous places on Everest.

So many deaths are attributed to the Death Zone on Mt. Everest. The reason that it is so dangerous is because the air is so thin. Climbers are discouraged from spending a considerable time in the Death Zone.

18. Everest is considered one of the 14 peaks.

There are 14 peaks that are over 8,000 m. Everest is one of them. Nirmal Purja (aka Nimsdai) currntly hold the record for summiting all 14 peaks in the least amount of time.

If you loved this episode, please rate/ subscribe/ follow the podcast. Besides the topics of above, there were be episodes with season updates and interviews. Do you have any questions or comments? Drop a line in the comments below.