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Facts About Mount Everest

The following are some facts about Mount Everest. When a moutain attracts climbers, its facts mingle with those mountaineers forever.

-- The first ascent by an American was on May 1, 1963 by James Whittaker via the South Col Route.

-- The first ascent by a woman was on May 16, 1975 by Junko Tabei via the South Col Route. Here is what she said:

"Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top; it is the willpower that is the most important. This willpower you cannot buy with money or be given by others...it rises from your heart."
"I can't understand why men make all this fuss about Everest--it's only a mountain."

-- The first ascent by an American woman was on September 29, 1988 by Stacey Allison via the South-East Ridge. Here is what she said after her successful ascent:

"The end of the ridge and the end of the world... then nothing but that clear, empty air. There was nowhere else to climb. I was standing on the top of the world."

-- The first oxygenless ascent was by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler via the South-East Ridge on May 8, 1978. Here was what Peter Habeler said:

"We just lay on our bellies in the snow, gasping and immobile."

-- The first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest from both north and south sides is Cathy O'Dowd. The two ascent dates are:

From South: May 25, 1996
From North: May 25, 1999

-- The fastest ascent from the south side was by then-34-year-old Babu Chhiri Sherpa with 16 hours and 56 minutes on May 21, 2000.

-- The fastest ascent from the north side was by Hans Kammerlander on May 24, 1996, via the standard North Col Ridge Route. He spent 16 hours 45 minutes.

-- The youngest person who reached the Everest top was then-15-year-old Temba Tsheri. He reached it on May 22, 2001.

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