Everest

by
Ben George
Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. It is 29,035 feet
tall. Mount Everest is located on the border between Tibet and
Nepal in the Himalayan Mountains in Asia. Everests summit is
directly between Tibet/China and Nepal. There are two sides you
can get up Everest. The North Side and the South Side. There are
six camps per camp on Everest. Base Camp (18,044 feet), Camp
Two (19,488 feet), Camp Three (21,161 feet), Camp Four (22,965),
Camp Five (25,196) and Camp Six (27,230). There is also
something called the Death Zone. It is the last stretch before the
summit. It is called the Death Zone because the most people die
there because of the lack of oxygen.
Everest is a very dangerous place, full of avalanches and sub
zero temperatures. Also frostbite, hypothermia, H.A.C.E. and
H.A.P.E. make Mount Everest one of the most dangerous place in
the world. Frostbite is one of the most common dangers on Mount
Everest. There are four stages of frostbite. It happens from not
keeping different body parts warm enough. The frostbite will make
the body part turn to a blackish blue color. If the frostbite goes too
far without being treated, the body part will probably have to be
amputated. Hypothermia is not that common. Your whole body
gets it. It is caused from your body temperature going down too
fast. Its like you're frozen or in a coma, because you cant move.
You can barely talk and if you do, it isn't incoherent. This causes
your blood to slow down until it stops and you die. H.A.C.E. stands
for High Altitude Cerebral Edema. H.A.P.E. stands for High Altitude
Pulmonary Edema. H.A.P.E. is when your lungs fill with fluid and
H.A.C.E. is when your brain swells with fluid because of the of
traveling to a high altitude without acclimatizing.
When Sherpas are not on the mountain, they visit their
families after they havent seen them in months. Sherpas were
born and raised in mountains, so this is how they are accustomed

to the high altitude. Sherpas are admired for their physical

strength and ability to work in thin air. Sherpas earn 2,000 dollars
every climb. Sherpas earn their money by setting up tents, ropes,
and cooking food for the climbers. Sherpas pray to the gods for
protection on the mountain. Before Sherpas climb Mount Everest,
they have a Puja Ceremony with the Buddhist monks to see if its
safe to climb Everest. Sherpas earn 2,000 dollars for climbing
Everest and saving lives. If Sherpas make it down and finish their
job, they give the money they earned to their families. Sherpas are
very helpful. When the word Sherpa is broken down, Sher means
East and pa means people. Sherpas pray to the gods for
protection on the mountain. Sherpas only get 2,000 dollars.
Climbers pay 60,000 dollars and Sherpas carry all their things. It is
about 55 pounds and they have to climb 29,035 feet. When
Sherpas climb Everest, they can carry about fifty-five pounds of
gear and food up the mountain. Most Sherpas are Tibetan
Buddhists. They worship the mountain, and think of it as the home
of the gods. At first the world did not know very much about the
Sherpas. They lived alone in their villages, traded goods, and grew
corn and potatoes. When the British started mountain climbing
expeditions in the 20th century they used Sherpas as guides.
In Buddhism, people honor Buddha. Buddha was a prince who
only left his palace four times. In those four times he saw an old
man, a sick man, a dead man and a holy man. The fourth time
Buddha left, he went into the forest and lived there for six years.
Finally he sat down under a fig tree and meditated for forty-nine
days and finally found the way to enlightenment. Prince Buddha
was an athletic man who was not fat at all. The statue of Prince
Buddha has a big belly to show he has everything he needs.Prince
Buddha died from food poisoning in his late 80s. There are
different kinds of Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhists have different
traditions like mandalas, puja ceremonies and prayer flags. Some
things buddhists do at puja ceremonies are bowing, making
offerings and chanting. Prayer flags are used to bless the
surrounding areas and in healing ceremonies in Nepal. Buddhists
do not pray for things to happen, they meditate. Meditation is the

Buddhists was of prayer. Buddhists also make mandalas out of

colored sand, then destroy it to symbolize that no good things last.
Not all Buddhists are monks. Buddhists bow when they enter the
Buddhist Temple to show respect. In Buddhism your left hand
represents yourself, your right hand represents others, and when
you put them together it represents that we are all connected.
Buddhism teaches how to be peaceful, mindful and to know that
everything is connected.
Climbing Everest isnt cheap. It costs a minimum of $30,000
and a maximum of $160,000. A permit to go to the summit costs
$70,000 for 7-10 people, so about $10,000 per person. The gear
costs $5,000-$30,000 depending on the type of gear.
A Titanium Ice Axe is used for self arrest. Self arrest is useful
when you are sliding of the side of a mountain you dig your axe
into the ice or snow and you can slow yourself down. You can also
use it to cut through ice and snow.A Titanium Ice Axe costs about
$79.95 and weighs about 4.5 ounces. The Titanium Ice Axe is one
piece of equipment you should never climb Mount Everest without
it.
With knowing the tremendous costs involved in climbing
Everest and all of the things that could go terribly wrong, would
you climb Everest? It could be your chance at fame and fortune, or
just your death sentence. Its your choice. Do you have the guts to
climb the tallest mountain in the world?