Everest controversy

At the very end of the climbing season we had one final news story which led to some controversy.

Ropes have reached the summit

Thanks to Seven Summit Treks for their updates from the efforts to fix the ropes for the climbers this 2026 Climbing Season.

Here's a picture they posted on Facebook earlier showing the first Sherpa teams (and climbers) on the roof of the world. 
We shall be following over the next few weeks...

Image thanks to Seven Summits Treks on Facebook.

Good luck to all those pushing for the summit over the coming weeks, and the teams supporting them along the way.

"Once there was a mountain called Peak XV...."

Public Service Broadcasting telling the story of the expedition that conquered the mountain for the first time...

And here's the StoryMap that we used - which used to be hosted by National Geographic.

All the ways Everest can kill you

A useful Wired video for our extremes unit.

We always teach this during the Everest climbing season.

Mitch's Global Triathlon - ending by climbing Everest

The final stage of Mitch Hutchraft's global triathlon will take place on Everest.

It's called PROJECT LIMITLESS. It's supported by the clothing company Jöttnar.

It started with a swim across the English Channel from Dover to Calais.

He then cycled from Calais to Digha in India.

From there he ran 900km from Digha to Kathmandu.

From there he trekked up to Everest Base Camp.

He is currently doing climbing acclimatisation including going through the Khumbu Icefall and up to Camp 2 and then back.

We will be following the final stage with our Year 8s.

Clearing up Everest

When we teach about extreme environments, we always include a short look at Mount Everest and what draws people to risk their lives climbing it. 

We discuss the mortality rate of climbers, and the disproportionate impact on the Sherpa who fix the ropes and ladders in the most dangerous area of the mountain: the Khumbu Glacier's icefall.

There is a growing number of permits being allocated in each climbing season, which adds to the overcrowding on the mountain - the delays this leads to can increase the risk to climbers, as they may have to spend longer in the 'death zone'.

Students always ask why they don't just remove the bodies from the mountain.

The BBC News published an article on their website which goes a long way to answering that question with some specifics about the cost, the process and the risks involved.

Everest Drone Panorama

High altitude drone captures amazing rare images of Mount Everest, which are compiled here into a stunning mosaic. Worth a visit if looking at cold environments, alpine ecosystems, mountain landscapes, orographic change, etc.https://t.co/wOqDtd0caD #geographyteacher #Everest

— Discover the World Education (@DTW_Education) June 15, 2019

Queues on Everest

We have been exploring this with Year 8 this half term.

Is it ethical for trekking companies to accept payment from clients to then place them in high risk traffic jams at over 8000m?... pic.twitter.com/MmzVFy6Na5

— Ash Routen (@AshRouten) May 23, 2019

This image has been shared many times over the last few days, showing a queue of climbers attempting to reach the summit of Everest on a sunny summit opportunity. I shall talk about the image later.

There were several climbers who died as a result of this queue, and over a dozen have died in the last week or so. This has been a deadly climbing season.

Yesterday, it was announced that a UK climber has also sadly died.

The weather during this climbing season has been quite bad, partly as a result of a cyclone which hit India. This means that the 'good' days see hundreds of climbers trying to achieve their ambition of standing on the highest point on the planet. I've read many books over the years about the mountain, and seen many films and other media. I've followed the tweets and Facebook updates of fellow OS GetOutside Champion Kenton Cool, and Ben Fogle as they climbed Everest last year.

The Guardian has further reporting on the story.

A story from 2017 in similar vein shows that this is not a new story of course. Since the resurgence of climbs on Everest in the 1970s and 1980s there have been tragedies, often well below the Death Zone. I have used a range of resources to teach this topic.
A lot of my work has been framed by the work of Matt Podbury, who has produced an excellent set of materials on the mountain in his 8850 Unit on GeographyPods.

The image has been shared widely, often without credit. It was taken by Nirmal Purja Magar or 'Nims'
He is profiled here in National Geographic.

He has been part of Project Possible, which has been breaking records for climbing some of the most challenging peaks in the world in record time and hoping to continue during the current climbing season.


I also used a Tweet by Ben Fogle, and some of the responses to that tweet

Yesterday on Everest. Nepal and Tibet/China need to limit the number of climbers on the mountain with a London Marathon style lottery for climbing permits. pic.twitter.com/RERjSgnvXh

— Ben Fogle (@Benfogle) May 23, 2019

Today in the Observer, there is an excellent piece on some further thoughts on this 

And a few Dark Tourism Twitter accounts have made a link to this area of study which I am going to explore next year with my Year 8 groups. I've got some excellent resources to use as a basis, and am going to

And to finish, another reminder of the excellence of Public Service Broadcasting.



Update....

Listen to this interview on the Death Zone and queues as well...

Mallory and Irvine

We will be exploring this story with Year 7 next year once again...

I missed this anniversary posting from the 8th of June on the Royal Scottish Geographical Society website.

On this day in history (1924) - George Mallory, who was on his 3rd attempt on Everest and who raised money by speaking for RSGS in order to take the expedition, was last seen by fellow climber Noel Odell, on the summit ridge below the ‘Hillary’ step, as it is now known. 
Odell is quoted below:

"At 12.50, just after I had emerged from a state of jubilation at finding the first definite fossils on Everest, there was a sudden clearing of the atmosphere, and the entire summit ridge and final peak of Everest were unveiled. My eyes became fixed on one tiny black spot silhouetted on a small snow-crest beneath a rock-step in the ridge; the black spot moved. Another black spot became apparent and moved up the snow to join the other on the crest. The first then approached the great rock-step and shortly emerged at the top; the second did likewise. Then the whole fascinating vision vanished, enveloped in cloud once more."

Did he reach the summit?
If you're in Year 6, why don't you read up on the story...

Image: memorial stone for Sandy Irvine at Shrewsbury School

Mallory and Irvine

A few days before Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953, two members of the British Mount Everest Expedition, led by Lord Hunt, reached the summit of Mount Everest: the highest peak in the world. It had previously been called Peak 15, but was then named after the surveyor George Everest.

Commemorative stamp

Here's a Public Service Broadcasting song to get you in the mood...



However, there are some who think that Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay may not have been the first people to reach the summit.

This is a transcript of a film made by PBS on the mystery of whether George Mallory and Sandy Irvine may actually have got to the summit first.

We will feature this tale near the end of the Adventure Landscapes unit, and draw (as we have before this term) on the work of Matt Podbury, a teacher in Toulouse, France.

If you have a chance to read around the mystery of Mallory and Irvine before then that would be good...

Everest

As part of the adventure landscapes unit that we will be using with Year 7, we will be exploring a range of mountain landscapes.
Mt. Everest is the world's highest mountain, although there are other mountains which are more dangerous to climb, and which are also potentially 'higher'.

Bonus points for anyone who can identify the two mountains that I have in mind, that you could argue were 'taller' or 'higher' than Everest for different reasons....

We will draw heavily on the work of Matt Podbury who has put together a remarkable unit of work on Everest over the summer, with the help of the excellent John Parrott .

Everest.... "because it is there..."

I'm planning to take the Adventure Landscapes opener for Year 7s to extremes: to the roof of the world.
Students will be conquering the death zone, and exploring the awful fascination of this place...
The video for this track by 'Public Service Broadcasting' will be an opener....
Russel Tarr is a fan, which is as good a recommendation as any...

Dangerous mountains...

I'm planning to bring in / develop some element of mountains at KS3. There are a few options for this. I like the idea of juxtaposing extreme height, compared to a school which is only 28 miles from the lowest point in the British Isles. Holme Fen. Holme Fen is 2.75m below sea level...

Ely's highest point is about 39m above sea level, some way below the height of the mountains. We'll perhaps consider the height of the Octagon Tower / Lantern Tower of the cathedral, which is spectacular, and was built in the 1300s....

The Economist published a really useful resource which provides an image of the highest mountains and the risks involved.
It's taken from this article (which may disappear over time and not be available when you click...)