Everyone who studied geography at school will easily remember the name of the highest peak on the planet. Everest has long attracted climbers, extreme lovers and fans of everything mysterious. Its height has been re-measured several times recently. Therefore, even in official materials, there are three sets of numbers: 8848 m, 8850 m, 8844 m. The first of them is firmly embedded in our memory. The latter was measured from the Chinese side. This is not an easy question, because we are talking about the height of the highest mountain on Earth. And it is very correct that the interested parties agreed to conditionally consider the height equal to 8848 meters for the near future.
Meanwhile, the highest mountain on the planet received its current name relatively recently, only one and a half centuries ago. Tibetan monks, from time immemorial, called her Chomolungma - "Mother Goddess of the Earth." French missionaries who reached the Himalayas in the 18th century mapped it under the name Ronkbuk - that was the name of a Tibetan monastery built by the order of the Dalai Lama on the northern slope of the mountain.
In Nepal, the highest of the mountains was called Sagarmatha - "Heavenly peak". However, today the mountain is known to the whole world under the name given to it by the British.
They were given in honor of a person who never climbed to its top and did not even approach it.
George Everest was born on July 4, 1790 in Wales, in the town of Gvernvale, into an aristocratic family. For boys from wealthy English families of the time, military careers were typical, and George was no exception. After graduating from high school, he entered the military academy at Woolwich. George studied well, especially delighting the teachers of mathematics with his successes. Everest graduated from school early, at the age of 16, and was sent to serve in India as a cadet artilleryman.
The command, appreciating his brilliant mathematical abilities, transferred the young military man to the geodetic service. In 1814, Everest went on an expedition to the island of Java, where he spent two years.
In 1816, the 26-year-old officer was returned to India, and two years later he became the deputy of William Lambton himself, the head of the British Geodetic Service in India.
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At this time, Lambton and his subordinates are solving a truly titanic task - conducting geodetic surveys of India. It was not only about the country within its modern borders, but also about the territories in which other states have now been formed, first of all, about Pakistan.
Theodolite - the measuring device used by George Everest.
FEATURES OF THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF EVEREST
During the year, the climatic conditions on Everest are considered to be very extreme. January is recognized as the coldest month, as the average temperature ranges from -36 to -60 ° C! But the warmest month, if you can call it that, is July, when the temperature does not drop below -19 ° C. An amazing fact is that the boiling point of water at the top of the mountain is only 70 ° C. This phenomenon is due to the pressure indicator, which is only 326 mbar. Usually in the spring and winter time of Chomolungme there is a characteristic western wind.
Only a small fraction of plants and animals can withstand extreme conditions. In 1924, scientists made an amazing discovery, as it turned out, at an altitude of about 6700 meters, a jumping spider was found, belonging to the genus Araneomorphic. In order to survive, the small spider has to hunt small springtails and flies that live within 6,000 meters. But insects, in turn, feed on lichens and some types of fungi.
As part of an expedition in 1925, experts discovered about 30 species of those same lichens. Also, in the area of 5600 meters, scientists discovered a mountain goose. Only a few species of birds can withstand the pressure at the summit, and they use the waste of the climbers' food as their food.
Peak XV
This work began in 1806, and ended only half a century later, in 1856. George Everest has spent most of his life on it.
In 1823, William Lambton died, and Everest succeeded him. True, two years later he was mowed down by a serious illness, which forced him to return to England.
In Britain, however, Everest continued to deal with issues of the geodetic service of India - provided the supply of new instruments, solved theoretical problems and organizational issues.
In 1830, with health problems behind him, George Everest returned to India, where he worked for another 13 years.
During these years, the mountain peaks of the Himalayas were also recorded, but their height was not measured. All peaks were given a code name, and Chomolungma was included in this list as "Peak XV"
Merit award
In 1843, 53-year-old George Everest retired with the rank of colonel and returned to England. Despite his considerable age, the honored surveyor decided to do what he had not had time for before - creating a family. I must say that the scientist more than succeeded in this, having acquired six children.
The services of George Everest to the British Empire were highly appreciated. In 1861 he was awarded the title "Sir", and in 1862 he was elected Vice President of the Royal Geographical Society.
After working for many years in the geodetic service in India, Everest educated a galaxy of students, one of whom, Andrew Waugh, in 1852 worked on determining the height of the Himalayan peaks. Vaud's measurements showed that "Peak XV" is not only the highest mountain in the Himalayas, but also the highest point in the world.
The world's highest mountain needed a proper name. In 1865, the Royal Geographical Society of England decided that in recognition of services to science and in honor of the 75th anniversary of Sir George Everest "Peak XV" should be named after him. Andrew Waugh was the first to come up with this idea in 1856, and over the next nine years, the English community has come to the conclusion that Sir Everest deserves it.
The hero of the day did not like this idea at first, but his colleagues insisted on their own. As a result, "Peak XV", first in English documents, and then throughout the world, began to be called "Everest".
Sir is dead and the name lives on
George Everest died on December 1, 1866, and was buried in Greenwich.
The memory of the merits of the scientist-geodesist remained only in special literature and in encyclopedias, but the name given to the peak was so firmly entrenched that it supplanted all its other names.
In countries whose territory is directly adjacent to the Himalayas, in particular, in China and Nepal, proposals have long been heard to return the "historical" name to the peak. Cartographers, trying to reconcile the opposing sides, offer this option: the entire mountain range is named Chomolungma, and the peak acquires the double name of Everest (Sagarmatha).
However, whatever one may say, for most people who do not delve deeply into such disputes, Everest remains Everest. The surname of sir the surveyor turned out to be painfully suitable for the highest peak of the planet.
It's funny that John Everest himself was of Welsh origin and called himself a Hebrew. But the mountain in English transcription was immediately called Everist. For the whole world, who speaks bad English, she also began to be called Everest … that with a certain stretch can be called "always resting." Again, it is interesting that George himself had the nickname "Neverest" - "never resting."
Note that Everest himself in 1857 took part in a conference on the names and spoke out against the use of his name. In his opinion, the name does not correspond well to the local languages and cannot be learned by the natives.
FIRST ASCENT OF JOMOLUNGMU
On May 26, 1953, the first attempt was made to climb the impregnable Everest, but Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon, members of the British expedition, did not reach the summit of only 100 meters! The reason for this was an acute lack of oxygen. But a few days later, on May 29, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquered the impregnable mountain. The climbers did not stay at the summit for long, they managed to take a few pictures and buried a cross with a couple of chocolates in the snow.
Since Everest bears the title of the highest mountain in the world, tourists and climbers from all over the world gather at the foot of the mountain to make a difficult climb and conquer the inaccessible slopes of Chomolungma. Thanks to many years of professional experience, there is a wide range of safe routes. There are two most popular routes: the North Ridge from Tibet and the Southeast Ridge from Nepal. The latter is considered technically easier, so it is recognized as the most popular among beginners.
Most of the ascents to the highest mountain in the world take place in May, and all because there are no powerful gusts of wind at this time. Also, October and September are very favorable months, but the large amount of snow formed after the monsoons makes climbing slightly difficult.
