Nepal celebrates Mt. Everest Day on May 29, every year, in memory of the first summit of Mt. Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa which took place on May 29, 1953. The day is celebrated with memorial events, processions and special events in Kathmandu and the Everest region.

The Mt. Everest Day celebration has been a significant occasion for the promotion of Nepal's mountain tourism. Participants include ministers, climbers, tourism entrepreneurs and government officials. However, celebrations of this day during this pandemic era are likely to be low-key.

ALSO READ

COVID-19 conquers world's highest mountain, Norwegian climber first to test positive on Mount...

About Mount Everest

Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level and it is located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China-Nepal border runs across its summit point. It's elevation (snow height) of 8,848.86 m was most recently established in 2020 by the Nepali and Chinese authorities.

Mount Everest attracts many climbers, including highly experienced mountaineers.

There are two main climbing routes, one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal, this route is also known as the standard route and the other from the north in Tibet.

While not posing substantial technical climbing challenges on the standard route, Everest presents dangers such as altitude sickness, weather, wind, as well as significant hazards from avalanches and the Khumbu Icefall.

ALSO READ

Guide claims 100 COVID-19 cases on Mount Everest

Quotes by people who took on Mt. Everest:

• The special forces gave me the self-confidence to do some extraordinary things in life. Climbing Everest then cemented my belief in myself - Bear Grylls

• If it is a shame to be the second man on Mount Everest, then I will have to live with this shame- Tenzing Norgay Sherpa

• I don't think you can climb Mount Everest with a broken leg, but I did break my leg prior to going to Mount Everest, so I was really climbing with a healing broken leg. I had the good fortune of climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents- Gary Johnson

ALSO READ

Bachendri Pal Birthday Special: Interesting facts about India's first woman mountaineer who...