Famine

This is the term used when due to extreme reasons people begin to starve to death. Famine is now less common.

Most Viewed in Geography

Coasts
Highest range of mountains in the world
The Planet Earth – Information and history

Short Information

Sir John Hunt was the first person to summit the Everest in 1953.

Everest

Everest is a mountain peak in the Himalayas. At 29,028 feet, it is the highest in the world. Early attempts to scale Everest took place in 1922, 1924, 1936, 1938 and 1952. All were unsuccessful. The 1924 attempt resulted in the death of two climbers.

Finally, in 1953, a British expedition, led by Sir John Hunt, made history by conquering the summit. The success of this attempt was due largely to the knowledge and experience gained by previous climbers using a relatively new southwest approach. In a carefully planned campaign, many camps were set up on the Arctic-like slopes, the last camp being only 1,100 feet below the summit and consisting of a single tent. From this last camp a New Zealander, Edmund Hillary (later knighted), and a tough Himalayan Sherpa mountaineer, Tenzing Norkay, set out on May 29, 1953. After many hours they finally succeeded in reaching the summit.

Members of a Swiss expedition led by Dr Albert Eggler again successfully scaled the summit on two consecutive days, almost exactly three years after the first successful expedition.