Nowadays, almost everybody knows the summit of Mount Everest as the tallest point of the world. But few people know its long and great back story.
In 1808, the British started the “Great Trigonometric Survey” to determine the world’s highest mountains. For many years, the search went on, until 1847. Back then, a mountain named Kangchenjunga was considered to be the highest peak in the world. However, an Andrew Waugh noticed a peak behind it, which appeared to be taller. He chose James Nicholson to investigate. Nicholson tried to make some closer observations; however, he came down with a case of malaria and was forced to go home.
A few more years later in 1852, Radhanath Sikdar, a Bengal mathematician, concluded using trigonomic measurements that this mountain, the very Mount Everest, was in fact taller than Kangchenjunga. The data was continually verified again and again until, finally, in 1854, Waugh, using Nicholson's data, ended the Great Trigonometric Survey and confirmed once and for all that Mount Everest (known as Peak XV at the time) was the tallest mountain in the world, at 29,002 feet!
Then, more than a century later, in 1953, something amazing happened. John Hunt of Britain was chosen to lead an expedition to the top of Everest. He headed two pairs. One got within 300 feet of the summit, but had to turn back because of exhaustion. However, the other pair was something else.
On May 29, 1853, Sir Edmund Hilary and his partner, Tenzing Norgay, became the first to ever reach the summit of the Roof of the World.
But the story doesn't quite end there. Two years later, yet another Indian survey was conducted, this time closer to the great mountain.Then, when everything was all done, the researchers saw that the mountain was not just 29,002 feet, but 29,029 feet instead- an increase of 27 feet. The measurement has stuck since.
That's just the surface of the great story of hundreds who have felt the excitement and hard work of uncovering this great mountain. Maybe there shall be another chapter in the story. Maybe not. You can be the judge of it.
