Highest Elevation on Earth

The highest elevation on earth above sea level is Mount Everest. It was first estimated to be around 29,000 feet high during the first ever expedition to the top of the mountain back in 1953 by Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay from Nepal, where the mountain is located.

The actual elevation level of Mount Everest today is estimated close to the first survey, at 29,035 feet high. This measurement was determined by Boston Museum of Science professor, Brad Washburn. However, this figure is bound to go higher over time as it is estimated that the Himalayan Mountain range, which Mount Everest is a part of, is growing at least 2.64 inches a year.

Climbing Mount Everest

It is a well-known fact that climbing Mount Everest is a tough job with the mountain’s oxygen level going down as you ascend. This means that as your body struggles to provide the right amount of oxygen it needs to function properly, you may suddenly start to feel light-headed, your heart rate increasing that you start to palpitate like mad and your brain starts to feel fuzzy.

This is why climbers have to lug around an oxygen tank on top of other essential gears that they need to carry in order to survive the harsh cold of the mountain. However, there have also been climbers who have been successful at their attempt to reach the summit without the aide of an oxygen tank.

It was a slow ascent for these climbers without additional oxygen supplies, taking one step every 5 minutes.

With the perils of climbing this mountain, there have been a large number of fatalities over the years, numbering to at least two hundred people. Of the six thousand climbers who have attempted to reach the summit, only two thousand forty-nine successfully made it.

Cost to Climb

It is quite expensive to climb Mount Everest. First, you will need to get clearance from the Nepal authorities which could cost around $10,000 up to $25,000. After this initial expense, there is still the issue of getting all the equipment necessary to climb the mountain range plus you will also need the assistance of a Sherpa, other permits and even choppers, which could round-off your total cost to climb at roughly $65,000!

Incidentally, a Sherpa is a group of migrants that moved to Nepal from Tibet over one hundred years back and they were often called by climbers to serve as guides to reach the summit.