Mount Everest (Sagarmatha)

Overview & Geography

Standing at 8,848.86m on the crest of the Great Himalayas, Mount Everest—known locally as Sagarmatha ('Goddess of the Sky') and Chomolungma ('Mother Goddess of the World')—is Earth's highest pinnacle.

Mount Everest crowns the Mahalangur Himal sub-range on the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. For centuries, the mountain was revered as a sacred cosmic pillar by the local Sherpa community before becoming the ultimate challenge for world mountaineers. Approached through the Sagarmatha National Park, the journey to its base traverses Buddhist monasteries, suspension bridges over the Dudh Koshi, and the Khumbu Icefall. The standard Southeast Ridge route pioneered in 1953 remains the premier line of ascent from the Nepalese side.

Ascent History & Heritage

Identified as Peak XV by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1852, it was named after George Everest in 1865. Following British reconnaissance expeditions through Tibet in the 1920s, Nepal opened its borders in 1950. On May 29, 1953, British expedition members Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary achieved the historic first ascent. In 1978, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler proved human survival was possible by completing the first ascent without supplementary oxygen.

Standard Route

Uncompromising alpine grandeur, sub-zero glacial conditions, roaring jet stream winds, and the deep Buddhist culture of the Khumbu Sherpas.