Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain. The tallest point is 29,035 feet. The location is in the
Himalayas. The mountain was named after a man named George Everest. Before he named it Mount Everest,
it was called Peak XV. Mount Everest wasn’t considered the tallest mountain until 1852 when the
governmental survey of India established the fact.
Many people have died trying to climb this mountain until 1953 when Edmund Hillary and his group
finished their expedition. He had started the climb six months earlier and almost didn’t survive, but he did
survive.
The climb started at the Himalayas in Nepal. He took a route that he made called the southern route
which is most used today. Now hundreds of people climb this mighty giant each year.
Edmund Hillary was an important person because he encouraged people to follow their dreams, he is
also important because he created the first route to the top of Mount Everest. He also, of course, was the first
person to summit Mount Everest.
Edmund Hillary was a professional climber from New Zealand. He had climbed other mountains before
but had never climbed Mount Everest. He and his climbers were almost dead when the expedition finished,
but they made it. It has been 61 years since he had made it to the summit.
Now Mount Everest is still the tallest mountain, but there is a taller mountain that starts 15,000 feet
under the ocean and ends 15,000 above sea level. Because
that mountain is part underwater, Mount Everest is still
considered the tallest mountain.
“Mount Everest” Britannica School. Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 2014. Web. 5 Dec. 2014
Questions
1. How many people have climbed Mount Everest since Edmund Hillary? Be sure to cite text evidence from
both webpages to support your answer.
2. How long has it been since Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest? Be sure to cite text evidence from both
webpages to support your answer.
3. How is Peak compared to Edmund Hillary? Cite text evidence from the webpages and the novel Peak to
support your answer.