--- Facts and Stories ---
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--- Facts and Stories --- |
"The Third Goddess":
The
most beautiful view of Mt. Everest (from North side)
Mt. Everest is famous for being the highest peak in the world.
To the local Nepalese Mt. Everest is known as Sagarmatha.
To the Tibetans (China) it's known as Mt. Quomolongma - means "The Third Goddess" in Tibetan. There was a beautiful story among Tibetan people:
During ancient time there was a sea in this region. Then a group of Devils came and destroyed every life. One day, the wind brought 5 colorful clouds arrived from the Heaven. The clouds were 5 Goddesses. They fight with the Devils and locked the Devils under the snow mountains. People prayed the Goddesses to stay and protect the Earth. The Goddesses agreed, they made the forests, the grasslands, the farm fields and the beautiful flowers. Then they turned into 5 high Peaks. The Third Goddess was the tallest and bravest one, she became Mt. Quomolongma.
So the Tibetans would not known that their "Third Goddess" was named by the west as Mt. Everest - after surveyor Sir George Everest.in 1865.
How high is Mt. Everest?
Height: 8,850 m (29,035 ft)
Rank: 1
Latitude: 27 59 17 N
Longitude: 86 55 31 E
It was only in 1856 that a British Mapping Team established Peak XV at 8,848m (29,028ft) as the highest point on Earth.
In 1975, the Chinese Expedition and Mapping Teams measured the height of Mt. Everest. Chinese Government announced the measurement result as 8,848.13 m (29,028 ft.).
(How
did they do it? That was a very hard story, now disclosed to the world for the first time here!)
In 1999, an US Expedition Team used GPS (Global Positioning System) technology re-measured the elevation of Mt. Everest —29,035 feet (8,850 meters).
(To read the story here!)
The latest data had been received “with enthusiastic approval” by the U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency and China’s National Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.
However the "Third Goddess" is still active, her height and position may continually changing. As Bradford Washburn, the Director of US Expedition Team said in his announcement speech:
"But remember that even these figures are subject to change—by a lot and at any moment—as they are directly dependent upon the behavior of the great thrust-fault system that is shoving India under Nepal and China to create the Himalaya."
Summit Records:
To summit the highest spot on the Earth has been the glorious target for world mountain climbers.
The first organized attempt to reach the summit was made from the northern (Tibetan) side in 1922. George Mallory, who disappeared into the clouds near the top on his fatal second attempt from Tibet in 1924. Seventy-five years later, his body was found on Mt. Everest. Nobody knows that if he had reached the summit before his fallen death.
(To read the story here!)
On 29th of May 1953, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first summit (since they could not find any trace from Geoge Mallory on the top of Mt. Everest) from South Col.
Since then, more than 550 climbers from some 20
countries have accomplished the summit. Wang Fu-Chou in a Chinese expedition team reached
the summit for the first time via the North Col. route.
Mrs Junko Tabei of Japan was the first woman to stand on the top of the world in 1975,
An Everest expedition was televised live for the first time in 1988, when a China-Japan-Nepal Friendship Expedition team cross-reached the summit from both the North and South Col. simultaneously.
Everest expeditions have so far claimed more than 95 lives, including 40 Sherpas.
To embrace the "Third Goddess":
Glaciers on Mt. Everest
As a mountain lover myself but am not brave
enough to take the summit challenge, I tried to embrace Mt. Everest, just enjoy its
fantastic views. If you would like to take the same trip - Traveler's
experience is here for you!
(C) Copyright 1996 - 2000 by 21CEP
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