Chomolungma

Chomolungma, known in English as Mount Everest and in Nepali as Sagarmatha, is the highest mountain on Earth above sea level. Its summit reaches 8,848.86 meters (29,031.7 feet), according to a 2020 joint survey by Nepal and China, a value often rounded to 8,849 meters. The Tibetan name Chomolungma translates as "Goddess Mother of the World." Sagarmatha means "Forehead in the Sky" in Nepali.

The mountain lies in the Himalayas on the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is part of a range formed by the ongoing collision of the Indian Plate with Eurasia, and its peak is surrounded by glaciers such as the Khumbu.

First known to locals for centuries, Everest came to international attention during the 19th-century British surveys of India. In 1865 the peak was officially named Everest by the Royal Geographical Society, after Surveyor General Sir George Everest, though local names were retained for the mountain in Nepal and Tibet.

The first confirmed ascent occurred on 29 May 1953, by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay as part of a British expedition. Since then, Everest has become a major objective for mountaineers, with routes on the southeast (Nepal) and northeast (Tibet) sides and a high incidence of fatalities due to altitude, weather, and avalanche risk. The mountain has also inspired numerous scientific and cultural works and remains a symbol of high-altitude exploration.