Building Background/Activate Prior Knowledge Within Reach: My Everest Story Mark Pfetzer

Where is Everest?

Most Climbers start from the Nepal side of Everest.

What do you know about Everest? Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It rises about 5 1/2 miles (8.9 kilometers) above sea level. It is one of the mountains that make up the Himalaya, on the frontiers of Tibet and Nepal, north of India. The official height of Mount Everest is 29,035 feet (8,850 meters). This was determined with the use of advanced satellite technology in However, the same geological forces that created Mount Everest are still at work. The mountain with probably grow higher over the course of many years.

History of Climbing Everest –Mallory and Irvine – On June 8, 1924, two members of a British expedition, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, attempted the summit. Famous for his retort to the press—"because it's there"—when asked why he wanted to climb Everest, Mallory had already failed twice at reaching the summit. The two men were last spotted "going strong" for the top until the clouds perpetually swirling around Everest engulfed them. They then vanished. Mallory's body was not found for another 75 years, in May No evidence was found on his body—such as a camera containing photos of the summit, or a diary entry recording their time of arrival at the summit—to clear up the mystery of whether these two Everest pioneers made it to the top before the mountain killed them.George Mallory

Hillary and Tenzing Ten more expeditions over a period of thirty years failed to conquer Everest, with 13 losing their lives. Then, on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand beekeeper, and Tenzing Norgay, an acclaimed Sherpa climber, became the first to reach the roof of the world. Their climb was made from the Nepalese side, which had eased its restrictions on foreigners at about the same time that Tibet, invaded in 1950 by China, shut its borders. World famous overnight, Hillary became a hero of the British empire—the news reached London just in time for Elizabeth II's coronation—and Tenzing was touted as a symbol of national pride by three separate nations: Nepal, Tibet, and India.Edmund Hillary,Tenzing NorgaySherpaElizabeth II's

Sir Edmund Hillary poses with Sherpa climber Tenzing Norgay at Everest base

Now for the adventure with Mark. Let’s Make some predictions. Have you ever had a goal that you felt you would never reach? Did your friends and family help you reach you goal? Respond in your journal.