Mount Everest History: The Complete Story of Sagarmatha & Chomolungma

The Geological Formation: From Ocean Floor to the Forehead of the Sky

To understand the scale of Mount Everest, one must look at the ground beneath it. Mount Everest is geologically young. The mountain is the direct result of the Indian tectonic plate colliding with the Eurasian plate.

Approximately 50 to 60 million years ago, the Indian subcontinent was an island moving rapidly northward across the Tethys Ocean. When it finally smashed into the massive Eurasian plate, the incredible force crumpled the landmasses, forcing the ocean floor upward into the sky.

This violent, ongoing geological collision explains two astonishing facts about Everest:

1. Everest is still growing: The mountain rises by roughly 3 to 5 millimeters every year because the Indian plate continues to push northward.

2. Marine fossils on the summit: Climbers who reach the Yellow Band—a layer of limestone near the summit—often find fossilized trilobites and crinoids. The highest point on Earth was once the bottom of the sea.

The Naming History: Chomolungma, Peak XV, and Everest

Before British surveyors arrived with theodolites and measurement chains, the mountain already had a deep cultural identity.

For centuries, Tibetan texts referenced Chomolungma, the sacred goddess of the region. The Sherpa people, who migrated from eastern Tibet to the Khumbu Valley around 500 years ago, held deep reverence for the peak, viewing it as a protector entity that required respect, not conquest.

The Western world, however, knew nothing of the mountain until the mid-19th century. During the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, British cartographers attempted to map the entire subcontinent. Because Nepal and Tibet were closed to foreigners, surveyors had to measure the Himalayan peaks from over 100 miles away in India.

In 1852, an Indian mathematician named Radhanath Sikdar analyzed the data for an obscure mountain labeled “Peak XV.” Through complex trigonometric calculations, Sikdar discovered that Peak XV stood at 29,002 feet—making it the tallest mountain in the world.

In 1865, Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India, proposed naming the peak after his predecessor, Sir George Everest. Despite George Everest’s own objections that the name could not be written or pronounced by the local people, the name “Mount Everest” was officially adopted by the Royal Geographical Society. Much later, in the 1960s, the Nepal government officially adopted the name Sagarmatha.

The Early Reconnaissance and the Golden Age of Exploration

The history of climbing Mount Everest began in the early 20th century. Because Nepal’s borders were strictly closed to foreigners until 1950, all early expeditions were forced to approach the mountain from the north side, through Tibet.

The 1921 and 1922 British Expeditions

The 1921 British reconnaissance expedition, which included a young schoolmaster named George Mallory, was the first to physically explore the northern approaches and discover a feasible route up the North Col.

In 1922, a subsequent expedition returned with supplementary oxygen. They broke the 8,000-meter barrier for the first time in human history. However, this expedition also marked Everest’s first recorded tragedy when an avalanche killed seven Sherpa porters, highlighting the extreme dangers of the mountain.

The Mallory and Irvine Mystery (1924)

The most enduring mystery in Mount Everest history occurred during the 1924 British expedition. On June 8, 1924, George Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew “Sandy” Irvine made a push for the summit. They were spotted through a telescope on the Northeast Ridge, mere hundreds of feet from the top, before clouds rolled in.

They never returned. Whether they reached the summit before dying remains one of mountaineering’s greatest unanswered questions. Mallory’s frozen body was eventually discovered 75 years later, in 1999, but Irvine—and the Kodak camera they carried, which might contain proof of a summit—has never been found.

The Historic 1953 Ascent: Hillary and Tenzing

After World War II, geopolitical shifts changed Everest’s history forever. China closed Tibet’s borders, effectively shutting off the northern route. Fortunately, Nepal ended its isolationist policies in 1950 and opened its borders to the world, allowing access to the southern approach through the Khumbu region.

A Swiss expedition in 1952, featuring Sherpa climber Tenzing Norgay, pushed incredibly close to the summit via the South Col route but was turned back by weather and exhaustion.

The following year, the 1953 British Expedition, led by Colonel John Hunt, arrived in Nepal with military-level logistics. On May 29, 1953, New Zealand beekeeper Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepali-Indian Sherpa Tenzing Norgay set out from their high camp. Overcoming the treacherous 40-foot rock face now known as the “Hillary Step,” they reached the 8,848-meter summit at 11:30 AM.

The news reached London on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, instantly catapulting Hillary and Tenzing to international superstardom and cementing their legacy in Himalayan history.

You don’t have to be a professional mountaineer to walk in the footsteps of Hillary and Tenzing. The trails they blazed are now accessible to determined hikers. Explore our Everest Base Camp Trek itineraries and start planning your own Himalayan history.

The Sherpa People: The Heart and Soul of the Himalayas

Any history of Mount Everest is incomplete without acknowledging the Sherpa people. Originally migrating from eastern Tibet, the Sherpas settled in the high-altitude Khumbu valleys beneath Everest.

Sherpas are not merely guides; they are genetically and culturally adapted to high altitudes. Scientific studies show that Sherpas possess unique mitochondrial adaptations that allow their bodies to use oxygen highly efficiently, giving them a massive physiological advantage in the “Death Zone” (above 8,000 meters).

Culturally, Sherpas view the mountains as sacred. Before any Everest expedition begins, climbers must participate in a Puja ceremony—a Buddhist ritual led by a local Lama to ask Chomolungma for permission to climb and to ensure safe passage.

Today, legendary Sherpa climbers like Kami Rita Sherpa (who holds the record for the most Everest summits) and Mingma Sherpa continue to redefine what is physically possible in the Himalayas.

The History of Climbing Mount Everest: Evolution of Routes

There are nearly 20 named routes to the summit, but the vast majority of climbers use one of two standard paths.

The South Col Route (Nepal)

Pioneered by the 1953 British team, this is the most popular route. Starting from Everest Base Camp in Nepal (5,364 meters), climbers must navigate the incredibly dangerous Khumbu Icefall—a terrifying maze of shifting ice seracs and deep crevasses.