Mt. Everest (Mount Qomolangma) is the highest peak in the world. With approvals from the people's government of the Tibet Autonomous Region on November 3, 1988 and from the State Council in November 1993, the state-level Qomolangma Nature Reserve was established. It covers an area of 33,800 square kilometers, including two towns and 16 townships in Tingrin, Nyalam, Gyilung and Dinggye counties. The whole reserve is divided into three parts the central reserve, the buffer zone and the developing zone. The terrain of the reserve descends from the high north to the low south, with a varied topography. The average elevation is 4,200 meters. The lowest is 1,433 meters; about 7,000 meters lower than the highest point. As a result, a unique, vertically changing climate is formed; as a saying goes, snow-capped peaks all year round, spring at the foot all year round, four seasons found in one mountain, different weather within ten li. High mountains and deep valleys, glaciers and snow-covered peaks all come to display grand views.

Fourteen peaks on our planet exceed 8,000 meters high, and this place boasts five. According to surveys, some 2,348 advanced plants grow here, and among them are the precious long-leaf dragon spruce and the Tibetan long-leaf pine, two species that are found only in this reserve. Following the changing topography and the climate, different plant pedigrees are distributed vertically from the lowest point to the highest point, there are alpine sub-tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen broadleaf trees, alpine warmbelt evergreen coniferous trees and hard-leaf evergreen broadleaf trees, alpine sub-cold belt evergreen coniferous trees and deciduous broadleaf trees and bushes, as well as alpine cold belt grasslands. Many precious animals live in the reserve 53 mammals, 206 birds, 8 amphibious animals, 6 reptiles and 5 fishes. Among them, 9 species are under Class A state protection and 21 under Class B state protection. A large number of tropical plant fossils and three-nail horse herd fossils have been discovered, which make this reserve a great place to study the shaping of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and explore the mysteries of Nature.


Local Names:

In Nepal: Sagarmatha (means: churning stick in the sea of existence);

In Tibet: Chomolungma (means: mother goddess of the universe).Once known to Westerners as Peak XV, Everest was renamed in 1859 for Sir George Everest, the British surveyor general of India.

Thin Air: At the top of Mount Everest, the actual percentage of oxygen in the air is the same as that at sea level (about 20%). However, the atmospheric pressure at the summit of Everest is 33% that of sea level. So if you had a shoe box full of air, there would be 66% less oxygen in the box at the summit of Everest than at sea level. Each breath pulls in 33% of the oxygen as that at sea level.

The Death Zone: Above 26,000' there's about a third of the oxygen available at sea level. Even acclimated, the body begins to shut down, and if a person stays that high long enough, they will die. Most climbers use oxygen here for climbing and sleeping.

Routes Climbed on Everest:

1) Southeast Ridge from the South Col (Original Route), 1953
2) North Ridge from the North Col (Chinese Route), 1960
3) West Ridge by the Hornbein Couloir (American Route), 1963
4) Southwest Face, 1975
5) West Ridge Direct (Jugoslav Route), 1979
6) North Face by the Hornbein Couloir (Japanese Route), 1980
7) North Face from the North Col (Messner Route), 1980
8) South Pillar (Polish Route), 1980
9) Southwest Face Central Pillar (Russian Route), 1982
10) East Face by the Central Pillar, 1983
11) North Face by the Great Couloir, 1984
12) East Face and Southeast Ridge, 1988
13) Northeast Ridge Integrale, 1988 (incomplete to summit)

China Tibet Information Center