12 EPIC CLIMBING ADVENTURES STORY LIBRARY by Samantha S Bell
1 Mount Everest Is the World’s Highest Mountain 11,000 Cost per person in US dollars for a permit to climb Mount Everest The most dangerous part of the climb is the Khumbu Icefall which is a glacier that moves up to 3 feet 1 m per day 4 Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world The climb takes about two and a half months to complete Climbing Mount Everest is very dangerous
GUIDED BY SHERPAS Sherpas are part of an ancient ethnic community in Nepal They are able to live and work at higher altitudes than most other people Today about 10,000 Sherpas work in the climbing and hiking industries They plan routes prepare meals and carry heavy loads for the climbers They save lives by bringing injured or sick climbers back down the mountain Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world rising 29,029 feet 8,848 m above sea level It is part of the Himalayan Mountains on the border of Tibet and Nepal To climb Everest takes months of preparation Climbs usually begin in late March Climbing Everest is very dangerous Temperatures can reach minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit 34 C or lower Winds blow up to 20 miles per hour 32 km h The higher a climber goes the less oxygen is in the air This can cause altitude sickness Climbers can fall or be hit by falling rocks and ice An earthquake might start an avalanche Climbers choose from two main routes to go up the mountain Most follow the southeast ridge in Nepal The other route is along the north ridge in Tibet There are camps along both routes Climbers use the camps to acclimate themselves After they climb to a higher camp they go back down the mountain to sleep at a lower one This way their bodies get used to the thinner air Most expeditions take about two and a half months to complete Climbers who reach the summit are at the highest point on Earth They are just below the cruising height of a jet plane Sherpas lungs have evolved over thousands of years to survive in low-oxygen environments 5
