Magnificent Mount Everest!
image from iStock
Every year mountaineers travel to the Himalayan mountains between China and Nepal to attempt to climb the highest peak on earth: Mount Everest.
Mount Everest's peak is 29,029 feet above sea level. It is so high that some people who climb it have to use bottled oxygen to survive. For comparison, the highest peak in Missouri - Taum Sauk Mountain - is 1,772 feet above sea level.
image from Summit Climb
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first men to reach the peak of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. It was a tremendous accomplishment, and one that set the world on fire with excitement.
image from NZHistory
In 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine attempted to summit Mount Everest. They were last seen near the top, but they disappeared from view by passing clouds. When the clouds finally cleared, there was no sign of either man again. Mallory's body was found in 1999, but Irvine's body has never been discovered. No one knows if they reached the top before they disappeared.
image from Wikipedia
Everest from Start to Summit:
