Mount Everest: Earth's Highest Peak in the Himalayas

Mount Everest (Sagarmatha / Chomolungma) is the highest mountain on Earth.

• Elevation: 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft) — latest joint China/Nepal survey (2020).
• Location: Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas, on the border between Nepal (Khumbu) and China (Tibet Autonomous Region).
• Coordinates: 27°59′17″ N, 86°55′31″ E.
• First summit: 29 May 1953 — Edmund Hillary (NZ) & Tenzing Norgay (Sherpa).

Geologic Context

Formed by ongoing Indian-Eurasian plate collision (~50 mm/yr uplift). Marine limestone summit — once seafloor.

Climbing Routes

• South Col (Nepal): Standard commercial route; Khumbu Icefall, Western Cwm, Lhotse Face, Hillary Step.
• North Ridge (Tibet): Steeper, colder, less crowded; requires Chinese permit.

Everest remains the ultimate altitude benchmark—and a barometer of climate change (glacial retreat, thawing permafrost).