The highest mountain peak in the world is Mt. Everest. Modern technology confirms its current height at 29,035 feet. Everest gained its fame in the early 1950s, when it was first scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay. At these heights, oxygen concentration is much lower than at sea level, making climbing very difficult on the body. It was recently discovered that the mountain continues to grow by approximately 2.4 inches annually. Of the approximately 6,000 climbers who have attempted to scale Everest, only 2,249 of them have made it, and over 200 have died.
In the Karakoram mountain range, between China and Pakistan, lies K2 -- the second highest peak in the world. At 28,251 feet, the locals call it "Chogo Ri," meaning "The Great Mountain." It is known as the most dangerous mountain in the world because of the great number of unsuccessful attempts to climb it. Below 6,000 meters, K2 remains rocky, but further up the entire top is covered completely in snow. It was first named for English topographer Henry Godwin-Austen, who surveyed the region in the mid-1850s. Today, it is known as K2, signifying that it was the second peak in the Karakoram range to be measured.
The third highest peak in the world is Kangchenjunga. It lies within the Himalayas between India and Nepal. Locally, Kangchenjunga means "The five treasures of the snow" for its five peaks. Of these five, its true summit stands at 28,169 feet. The first successful climb was made in 1955, and many have since followed, successful, as well as unsuccessful. Before 1852, Kangchenjunga was thought to be Earth's highest mountain. That year it was discovered to be third behind Everest and K2.
Lhotse, also in the Himalayas between Tibet and Nepal and just to the south of Everest, stands at 27,940 feet, which makes it the fourth highest mountain in the world. Lhotse has three summits and was first climbed as an alternative route up Everest in 1956. The mountain's western flank, called the Lhotse Face, includes a steep wall of glacial blue ice, and its southern face is considered too treacherous for a single person to climb although there have been claims to the contrary. Officially, this southern face was not conquered successfully until 1990, by a Russian expedition.
The fifth highest of the world's mountains, Makalu, rises to a height of 27,765 feet. It sits in the Khumbu region, between Nepal and Tibet, and is also part of the Himalayan range. From afar, it appears to resemble a perfect four-sided pyramid, except that it actually carries a second summit on one side. The name "Makalu" was likely derived from a similar Sanskrit word that means "Big Black," and the locals refer to it as "Kumba Karna," meaning "The Giant." Makalu has been successfully scaled 206 times, with a total of 22 fatalities. Like many other peaks in the region, there were no known attempts to climb it prior to the first Everest expedition.
