Mysteries of Mt. Everest
World’s highest peak Mt. Everest is the centre of attraction for mountaineers round the world . Conquering this peak is their dream like the Oscar for actors and the Olympic gold medal for athletes and other sports persons . Mt. Everest peak at an altitude of 8848 metres in the Himalayan range is surrounded by some mysteries too .
Expeditions to the Mt. Everest have been taking place since the 1920s but success was evading till 1953 .There may be reasons for failures like lack of modern equipment and non availability of easier routes . This became easier when Nepal opened its door for mountaineers round the world . Also latest modern equipment and mountain gears are available and it has become easier to climb the summit now than in 30s or even 50s.
Who Conquered it First
As on record the world knows that Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first persons in the world to climb the peak .They accomplished this feat on 29 th May 1953 at 11.30 am and they spent 15 minutes on the top of the world .
Earlier Attempts - Earlier several futile attempts to climb the peak were made via Tibet Northeast Ridge. After WW II Tibet had closed its doors for foreigners and more serious attempts were made after Nepal opened its southern route in 1949 .
First Attempt - In 1921 British Mount Everest Expedition team surveyed to find the easiest route to the peak . This team was the first ever team to try to climb the peak via Tibet’s northern side . Three attempts were made between 1921 to 1924 and George Mallory was a member in each team . But they failed and first ever casualties in this expedition also happened with loss of seven porters .But they made a new world record of climbing 8326 metres .
Unfortunate Near Wins - After Nepal opened its southeastern route British and Swiss teams again took on the challenge of conquering the toughest peak of Mt. Everest . In 1952 a Swiss expedition team assisted by Sherpa Tenzing could reach 28210 feet but they had to abort the expedition due want of supplies .
In May 1953 more attempts were made to reach atop the peak . Tenzing Norgay being the most experienced Sherpa was a member of most of the expeditions so far . After successfully camping at various levels on May 26 , two climbers Tom Boudillon and Charles Evans set out for the summit . They could reach a height of 8750 metres just 100 metres short of top of the world Everest but they found their Oxygen machine was malfunctioning and they had to abort their effort though unwillingly . They subsequently repented for this decision .
On May 27 , a second pair of climbers consisting of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing set out for the peak and finally conquered the summit at 11.30 am on 29th May 1953 . They are credited with being the first climbers atop Mt. Everest .
Suspicious Russian Attempt - It is said that in 1952 a strong Russian team had also set out to climb the summit . They carried statues of Lenin and Stalin to plant on the peak . They reached upto 8000 metres but thereafter they disappeared . There are conflicting reports about this expedition. Russians deny about any such attempt while Yevgeniy Gippenriter claimed in Alpine Journal it was there . Also Sydney Morning Herald of 21 April 1952 speculated about team’s prospect of the summit . Despite many attempts to find names of team members no details could be traced .
But Mysteries surround about who were the first -
1 . Way earlier on June 8 , 1924 a pair of British teacher George Mallory and a student Andrew Irvine dared to conquer the Everest from their camp at 26800 ft. As the weather was then perfect for climbing up they started climbing up . But what happened to them no one knew , they vanished in the mist of snow . But it is reported they were seen by a telescope to be very near to the summit - some 200 - 300 metres shy of the peak . Several attempts were made to search their bodies . It was only after 75 years of their disappearance that another expedition team in 1999 could find the frozen body of Mallory . He was recognised by his name on his clothes. It is said that Mallory had promised his wife Ruth to place her photo ( which he carried in his pocket ) on the summit . But her photo could not be found in his clothes . So mysteries surround whether he died during ascend or descend . If he died during descend he might be the first to step on the Everest .Unfortunately his camera could not be traced so far which could have resolved the mystery , of course had the camera and the roll been in good health . But there could have been a chance of rewriting the history of the Mt.Everest . So the credit goes to Hillary and Tenzing .
But Who was first to Step on The Mt Everest Hillary or Tenzing - Even if we forget about Mellory or the Russians no one knows of sure who put his first foot on the Everest - Hilary or Tenzing .
It is understood that as claimed by Hillary he was the first to step on the summit and Tenzing was some 10 feet behind him on the rope and he pulled him up . But Tenzing did not get a chance to refute his claim . However it is said that Tenzing’s two sons revealed that it was their dad who stepped first on the peak . They claimed their father told them in private that it was him and not Hillary the first man to step on the Everest . However they said that both Hillary and Tenzing had agreed to maintain in public that both reached the summit exactly at the same time . No one can be sure what exactly happened except what is on the record - Hillary.
Another Mysteries of Mt Everest
The Yeti - Some climbers and local Nepali and Tibetan have confirmed sighting of the Yeti - a hirsute ( full of hair ) nocturnal creature in the higher Himalayan ranges . In recent times also sighting of footprints of such creatures has been told and also DNA evidence somewhat substantiates such claims. Another expeditioner Eric Simpson has confirmed seeing a massive footprint of the type described as Yeti’s in 1951 . Also scalp of Yeti is said to be contained in the Monastery of Khumjung on southern side of the Everest . As late as 2009 , Joshua Gates and his team have taken samples of hair from a number of huge footprints - 13 in long and 10 inches wide . These were tested by forensic analysts who confirmed these samples to be so far unknown DNA sequence .
Ghosts of Everest - Sherpa Pemba Dorje is famous for two things - shortest time in climbing the Everest in 8 hrs and 10 min on 21 May 2004 and more interesting on 24 May he found some frozen bodies of deceased climbers and he had some supernatural phenomenon . He said - when he paused at a mound of rocks he saw some spirits like black shadows approaching him .They were asking for some food to eat .He says they were bodies of mountaineers perished during previous expeditions .Bodies of many climbers are still buried under the ice and that of one of climbers is still hanging with his rope . He might have died from accidental fall .So many corpses are still buried deep in snow at high altitudes . What Sherpas feel their ghosts will be seen until the deceased are given proper burial as per their rituals - which is unlikely to happen .
