Chomolungma or “Mother Goddess of the Universe” is the Nepalese name for Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world at 29,028 feet. Some people see her on a visit to the Khumbu Valley, others from the window of a panoramic Himalayan flight whilst some trek to base camp. Only a few have managed to climb to the summit. Mount Everest continues to inspire people today and is steeped in legend and epic tales.
First conquered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing in 1953 the mountain has seen many successful and disastrous attempts and climbing the summit. There is the legend of Mallory and Irving who disappeared on the slopes of Everest in 1924 and whether the climbers were the first to climb Everest and there are disastrous storms which kill people each year.
One thing is sure, the beauty of the Everest Region is simply inspirational and worth seeing just once. The experience of seeing this majestic mountain and thinking of the people who climb it is well worth the journey. I will never forget my first sight of Chomolungma, standing just outside Namche Bazaar as the Sherpas pointed Everest out, gleaming in the sunshine and flanked by Lhotse and Nuptse, and later staying in a tea house run by a very modest sherpa who had climbed Everest twice with some of the world’s best climbers and listening to his experiences of the mountain.
