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Mount Everest -

Known in Nepali as Sagarmatha and in Tibetan as Chomolungma, Everest is named after George Everest, surveyor general of India from 1830 to 1843.

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The 1921 British Reconnaissance Expedition -

The mountain was mapped as early as 1715 by the Chinese. By 1885, the peak was being eyed with a view to successfully climbing it. The 1921 British reconnaissance expedition, headed by George Mallory, discovered the northern approach to the mountain.

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First Everest Expedition, 1922 -

The Australian mountaineer reached an altitude of 8,320 meters (27,300 ft) during his attempt on the mountain as a member of the first official effort to scale the summit. 

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George Mallory (1886–1924) -

In June 1924, Mallory and Andrew Irvine made an attempt on the summit. They never returned. Mallory's body was eventually recovered in 1999 on the North Face.

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The North Face -

Describing the notorious North Face, distinguished climber, author, and filmmaker Matt Dickinson once noted: "A simple slip would mean death."

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1952 documentary -

Further unsuccessful expeditions followed, but Everest had caught the public imagination. A 1952 documentary shot in color captured the drama of taking on Earth's highest mountain above sea level. 

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Edmund Hillary (1919–2008) - Kiwi-born mountaineer Edmund Hillary made his first successful climb aged 20, scaling Mount Oliver in New Zealand's South Island. Familiar with Everest from previous expeditions, his climb in 1953 would place him in the history books.

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Conquering Everest -

On May 29, 1953, Hillary and Nepali-Indian Tenzing Norgay became the first individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

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Hillary Step -

Named after Sir Edmund Hillary, this near-vertical rock face with a height of 12 meters (39 ft) is located towards the summit.

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1970 Mount Everest disaster -

Working to find a new route up Everest's southwest face, a Japanese team suffered eight deaths and failed to reach the summit. However, Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura became the first man to ski down Everest, although he suffered a serious fall towards the end of the run. 

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Yuichiro Miura - Yuichiro Miura (seen on the summit, left, with his son, Gota) is currently also the oldest man to have climbed Everest, achieving the feat first in 2003, at age 70, and again as an incredibly fit 80-year-old in 2013.

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First woman to summit Everest -

Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei (1939-2016) was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, this in May 1975.

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How thin is the air at the top of Everest? -

Above 7,924 m (26,000 ft), most climbers need to use supplemental oxygen to continue their ascent on any mountain. At 8, 848 m (29,029 ft) near Everest’s summit, each breath pulls in less than a third of the oxygen of a breath at sea level.

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First ascent without supplemental oxygen -

Legendary Italian climber Reinhold Messner was the first man to make a solo ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen, this in 1978—a feat previously thought impossible. He reached the summit with Austrian Peter Habeler, who also climbed without extra oxygen. Two years later, Messner was the first to ascend alone, again without supplemental oxygen.

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First winter ascent -

In January 1980, a Polish team led by Andrzej Zawada became the first expedition to reach the summit during the winter.

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1996 Mount Everest disaster - Tragedy again visited Mount Everest in 1996, when eight climbers perished in what has become one of the most notorious episodes in the history of mountaineering. The events were recounted in the 2015 film 'Everest,' starring Jake Gyllenhaal (pictured).

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1996 Mount Everest disaster - The disaster sparked debate and controversy throughout the climbing community, and raised questions about the commercialization of the Mount Everest climb. Pictured: a scene from the 2015 film.

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1996 Mount Everest disaster - Besides the 2015 film, several other movies and documentaries were made about the calamity, and several books based on witness accounts were published. Pictured: a scene from the Gyllenhaal film.

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First double-amputee to conquer Everest - New Zealand climber Mark Inglis became the first double-amputee to conquer Mount Everest.

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Frostbitten but safe - He achieved the feat in May 2006 after 40 days of climbing. He's seen here grabbing his prosthetic legs with badly frostbitten fingers upon arriving at Auckland International airport after returning from Kathmandu.

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Rob Gauntlett (1987–2009) - The youngest Briton to summit Everest was Rob Gauntlett, who stood on top of the world in 2006, aged just 19. Three years later, however, he tragically died in an accident in the French Alps along with another British climber, James Atkins. Pictured: Gauntlett on the summit of Mount Everest holding a picture of himself with his girlfriend.

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Olympic flame lights up summit - In a novel but hazardous diversion from tradition, members of a Chinese mountaineering team hauled the 2008 Summer Olympics torch to the top of Everest in relay. The torch that was used for the climb had to be specially designed to burn in a frigid, windy, oxygen-thin environment.

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Walking with the Wounded 2012 - In May 2012, the charity Walking with the Wounded, which supports a pathway for vulnerable ex-British military service personnel to reintegrate into society, organized an expedition to Everest.

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Royal approval - Prince Harry is a patron and an active participant in the charity's expeditions and challenges.

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2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche -

In April 2014, one of the worst disasters in Everest's history occurred when an avalanche hit Base Camp 2, killing 16 Nepalese guides. Pictured is the mother of one of the victims.

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Mountain memorial - Memorial flags are left on the main track to Everest near Lobuche, in memory of those who have died, so that climbers can pay their respects before trying to summit the mountain.

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Poignant reminders - Rock piles with the names of those who have perished on the peak serve as reminder to the many unsuccessful attempts to conquer the highest mountain in the world.

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Geneva Spur -

Pictured are climbers below the Geneva Spur, an enormous rock buttress located near the summits of Everest and Lhotse.

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Lofty neighbors -

Everest, with Nuptse and Lhotse peaks to the left.

See also: The most hazardous leisure pursuits in the world

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