MOUNTAIN N PEAKS

Mount Everest – also called Sagarmatha (Nepali: सगरमाथा), Chomolungma or Qomolangma (Tibetan: ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ) or Zhumulangma (Chinese: 珠穆朗玛峰 Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng) – is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height above sea level of its , 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal.
In 1856, the of India established the first published height of Everest at 29,002 ft (8,840 m), although at the time Everest was known as Peak XV. In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the upon recommendation of , the Surveyor General of India at the time. Waugh was unable to propose an established local name because Nepal and Tibet were closed to foreigners at the time, although Chomolungma had been in common use by Tibetans for centuries.
The highest mountain in the world attracts climbers of all levels, from well experienced mountaineers to novice climbers willing to pay substantial sums to professional mountain guides to complete a successful climb. The mountain, while not posing substantial technical climbing difficulty on the standard route (other such as or Nanga Parbat are much more difficult), still has many inherent dangers such as altitude sickness, weather and wind. By the end of the 2008 climbing season, there had been 4,102 ascents to the summit by about 2,700 individuals. Climbers are a significant source of tourist revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to US$ 25,000 per person. Everest has claimed 210 lives, including eight who perished during a 1996 storm high on the mountain. Conditions are so difficult in the that most corpses have been left where they fell. Some of them are visible from standard climbing routes.
In 1808, the British began the Great Trigonometric Survey of India to determine the location and names of the world's highest mountains. Starting in southern India, the survey teams gradually moved northward using giant 1100 pound (500 kg) theodolites (each requiring 12 men to carry) to measure heights as accurately as possible. They reached the Himalayan foothills by the 1830s, but Nepal was unwilling to allow the British to enter the country because of suspicions of political aggression and possible annexation. Several requests by the surveyors to enter Nepal were turned down.The British were forced to continue their observations from Terai, a region south of Nepal which is parallel to the Himalayas. Conditions in Terai were difficult owing to torrential rains and malaria — three survey officers died from malaria while two others had to retire owing to failing health Nonetheless, in 1847, the British pressed on and began detailed observations of the Himalayan peaks from observation stations up to 150 mi (240 km) away. Weather restricted work to the last three months of the year. In November 1847, Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India made a number of observations from Sawajpore station located in the eastern end of the Himalayas. At the time, Kangchenjunga was considered the highest peak in the world, and with interest he noted a peak beyond it, some 140 mi (230 km) away. John Armstrong, one of Waugh's officials, also saw the peak from a location further west and called it peak 'b'. Waugh would later write that the observations indicated that peak 'b' was higher than Kangchenjunga, but given the great distance of the observations, closer observations were required for verification. The following year, Waugh sent a survey official back to Terai to make closer observations of peak 'b', but clouds thwarted all attempts.
In 1849, Waugh dispatched James Nicolson to the area. Nicolson was able to make two observations from Jirol, 118 mi (190 km) away. Nicolson then took the largest theodolite and headed east, obtaining over 30 observations from five different locations, with the closest being 108 mi (174 km) away from the peak.
Nicolson retreated to PatNa on the Ganges to perform the necessary calculations based on his observations. His raw data gave an average height of 30,200 ft (9,200 m) for peak 'b', but this did not take into account light refraction which distorts heights. The number clearly indicated, however, that peak 'b' was higher than Kangchenjunga. Unfortunately, Nicolson came down with malaria and was forced to return home, calculations unfinished. Michael Hennessy, one of Waugh's assistants, had begun designating peaks based on Roman Numerals, with Kangchenjunga named Peak IX, while peak 'b' now became known as Peak XV.In 1852, stationed at the survey's headquarters in Dehradun, Radhanath Sikdar, an Indian mathematician and surveyor from Bengal, was the first to identify Everest as the world's highest peak, using trigonometric calculations based on Nicolson's measurements. An official announcement that Peak XV was the highest was delayed for several years as the calculations were repeatedly verified. Waugh began work on Nicolson's data in 1854, and along with his staff spent almost two years working on the calculations, having to deal with the problems of light refraction, barometric pressure, and temperature over the vast distances of the observations. Finally, in March 1856 he announced his findings in a letter to his deputy in Calcutta. Kangchenjunga was declared to be 28,156 ft (8,582 m), while Peak XV was given the height of 29,002 ft (8,840 m). Waugh concluded that Peak XV was "most probably the highest in the world". In actuality, Peak XV was found to be exactly 29,000 feet (8,839 m) high, but was publicly declared to be 29,002 ft (8,840 m). The arbitrary addition of 2 feet (60 cm) was to avoid the impression that an exact height of 29,000 feet was nothing more than a rounded estimate.