19222004 EVEREST: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HEIGHT AND HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT INTRODUCTION Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, lies , m above sea level on the border of Nepal and China. 9 Towering , m above Aconcagua in Argentina, the next tallest peak, and over times the height of the 7 4 3 tallest man-made freestanding structure above sea-level, the CN Tower in Canada, Everest has remained the benchmark of achievment of mankind’s triumph over nature. At the end of the climbing season, humans have successfully summitted a total of , times while Everest claimed lives. rough a careful study of fatality rate on the routes to summit Everest, a timeline detailing events leading 1 to the rst successful ascent to the summit, a height and geographic comparison of Everest to the most 5 prominent peaks in the world, and a timeline tracking human architectural progress, judge for yourself the winner of the competition between human and nature. 18 ROUTES TO ASCEND EVEREST Routes are traced in black, with line-width in proportion to the number of successful summits, and transparency in proportion to the fatality rate (calculated by fatalities / summits); the more summits, the wider the line, the higher the fatality rate, the darker the line. A detailed gure breakdown appears below for each of the 18 routes (numbered in chronological order). SOUTHEAST RIDGE NORTHEAST RIDGE WEST RIDGE/HORNBEIN STANDARD STANDARD COULOIR ROUTE 1 : 2 : 3 : : : : : : : : : : SOUTHWEST FACE WEST RIDGE DIRECT JAPANESE COULOIR 4 : 5 : 6 : : : : 13 : : : : : : 6 SOUTH PILLAR MESSNER SOLO ROUTE SOUTHWEST PILLAR 7 : 8 : 9 : : : : 8 : : : 12 : : : 18 EAST FACE: THE GREAT COULOIR NE RIDGE N FACE: AMERICAN BUTRESS WHITE LIMBO NORTON COULOIR II 14 10 : 11 : 12 : : : : : : : 11 : : : WEST RDIGE FROM TIBET TO EAST FACE S SOL: BELOW N COL N FACE: HORNBEIN COULOIR NEVEREST BUTTRESS NORTON COULOIR 13 : 14 : 15 : 15 : : : : : : : : : 10 THE COMPLETE NNE ZAKHAROV’S CENTRAL NORTH NE RIDGE COULOIR FACE DIRECT 16 : 17 : 18 : : : : : : : : : : MEASURING PROMINENCE For all peaks except Mount Everest, if the peak's prominence is P metres, to get from the summit to any higher terrain, one must descend at least P metres, P 17 whatever route is taken. P P 2 Note that this implies that the prominence of any island or continental highpoint is equal to its elevation above sea level. Mount Everest is a special case: its prominence is considered to be equal to its elevation, as no higher summit exists. PROMINENCE COMPARISON 50 highest peaks on Earth measured by their topographic prominence, plotted by their geographic location and prominence compared to Everest. Everest Top 2–10 Top 11–50 ACLIMATIZATION OF THE HUMAN BODY e human body functions best at sea level (atmospheric pressure is measured at 1 atmosphere), where 16 hemoglobin (red pigment in red blood cells) is nearly 100% saturated with oxygen. As humans venture to higher altitudes, air pressure G · ,m · ,m m drops and the amount of available oxygen plummets. At 8,848 meters (summit of Mount Everest), only M MK M B ,m ,m · · M L · ,m · ,m one third of the oxygen is available, compared to sea · ,m · ,m M F level. · ,m · ,m K S · ,m · ,m DEATH ZONE m In the "death zone" at 8,000 m and higher, the human body can no longer acclimatize to adjust to low oxygen levels. Staying longer than necessary will result in M R · ,m · , m deterioration of body functions, loss of consciousness, M B · ,m · ,m B F · ,m · ,m and death. M E · ,m · ,m P P At extreme altitudes (above 7,500 m), sleeping and · ,m · ,m K T M A · ,m · ,m digesting food becomes dicult, and the risk of · ,m · ,m m K high-altitude pulmonary edema or cerebral edema T M · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m M F increases signicantly. M D N P · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m N B · ,m · ,m J T · ,m · ,m G S · ,m · ,m E K · ,m · ,m T · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m J M (Y S) m · ,m · ,m M K · ,m · ,m P O · ,m · ,m T · ,m · ,m R D · ,m · ,m P C C C C · ,m · ,m P B­ m · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m At 5,000 metres (height of Mount Everest base camp), R B · ,m · ,m M K M C · ,m · ,m the amount of oxygen is only half that at sea level. · ,m · ,m N M K · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m C M K · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m K P J · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m TIMELINE OF EVEREST SUMMITS AND DEATHS PER YEAR FOR 50 YEARS SINCE FIRST SUMMIT IN 1953 F R m S · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m M R · ,m · ,m Sir George Everest, Surveyor General of Surveyor Andrew Waugh Peak re-named Mt. Natha Singh, a member of the ird British Everest Seventh British Expedition. British Expedition and rst summit by TOTAL India records the completes the rst height Everest to honor Sir British Indian Survey, obtains Expedition. Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund location of Everest. measurement, declaring George Everest. Everest is permission to enter the Mount Percival Hillary (New Zealand) via the : , 珠穆朗瑪峰 Everest to be , meters known as Everest region from the Sixth British Expedition. South-East Ridge Route. : m high. (Chomolungma) in Tibet Nepalese side. Singh maps the Second British Everest and Sagarmatha in Nepal. Dudh Kosi valley — gateway Expedition. Seven Sherpa climbers Fifth British Expedition Swiss Expeditions sponsored by the to the southern route up the die in an avalanche becoming the O S mountain — to the end of the (Reconnaissance). Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research Peak B is renamed · ,m · ,m rst reported deaths on Everest. H F S Khumbu Glacier. and rumors of a Russian attempt. Peak . First British Everest e eccentric Maurice Wilson A Reconnaissance Expedition attempts to solo Everest, e Great Trigonmetrical · ,m · ,m to the mountain, reaching the having no mountaineering Survey of India determines North Col of Everest at an experience but possessing an Peak B is the highest m altitude of 23,000 feet inner faith to succeed. mountain in the world. (7,000 meters). e northern route up the mountain had Peak B is surveyed by the now been established. e Fourth British British; the height is Everest Expedition. calculated at , meters A (M C) from measurements taken e Royal Geographic Society · ,m · ,m M S V and the Alpine Club hold a miles away. · ,m · ,m joint meeting to discuss how to proceed with an expedition to Mount Everest after the Dalai m Lama opens Tibet. TIMELINE OF MAN-MADE BUILDING STRUCTURES TALLEST BUILDINGS (FREESTANDING STRUCTURES) IN HUMAN WORLD HISTORY m m m m m meters STRASBOURG ST. NIKOLAIKIRCHE ROUEN COLOGNE WASHINGTON EIFFEL TOWER CHRYSLER OSTANKINO CN TOWER CATHEDRAL 1847 CATHEDRAL CATHEDRAL MONUMENT 1889 BUILDING TOWER 1975 1439-1847 1876 1880 1884 1930 1967 EMPIRE STATE BUILDING 1931 M E V M · ,m · ,m · ,m · ,m © 2017 Meng He www.mynameismeng.com .