Climbing routes of mount everest

Mt. Everest has two main climbing routes, the southeast ridge from Nepal and the northeast ridge from Tibet, as well as many other less frequently climbed routes.[28] Of the two main routes, the southeast ridge is technically easier and is the more frequently-used route. It was the route used by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953 and the first recognised of fifteen routes to the top by 1996.[28] This was, however, a route decision dictated more by politics than by design as the Chinese border was closed to western world in 1950s after the Communist China took over the control Tibet from the Republic of China.[29]

View from space showing South Col route and North Col/Ridge route
Most attempts are made during May before the summer monsoon season. As the monsoon season approaches, a change in the jet stream at this time pushes it northward, thereby reducing the average wind speeds high on the mountain.[30][31] While attempts are sometimes made after the monsoons in September and October, when the jet stream is again temporarily pushed northward, the additional snow deposited by the monsoons and the less stable weather patterns (tail end of the monsoon) makes climbing more difficult.

Southeast ridge
The ascent via the southeast ridge begins with a trek to Base Camp at 5,380 m (17,700 ft) on the south side of Everest in Nepal. Expeditions usually fly into Lukla (2,860 m) from Kathmandu and pass through Namche Bazaar. Climbers then hike to Base Camp, which usually takes six to eight days, allowing for proper altitude acclimatization in order to prevent altitude sickness. Climbing equipment and supplies are carried by yaks, dzopkyos (yak hybrids) and human porters to Base Camp on the Khumbu Glacier. When Hillary and Tenzing climbed Everest in 1953, they started from Kathmandu Valley, as there were no roads further east at that time.
Climbers will spend a couple of weeks in Base Camp, acclimatizing to the altitude. During that time, Sherpas and some expedition climbers will set up ropes and ladders in the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. Seracs, crevasses and shifting blocks of ice make the icefall one of the most dangerous sections of the route. Many climbers and Sherpas have been killed in this section. To reduce the hazard, climbers will usually begin their ascent well before dawn when the freezing temperatures glue ice blocks in place. Above the icefall is Camp I at 6,065 metres (19,900 ft).
From Camp I, climbers make their way up the Western Cwm to the base of the Lhotse face, where Camp II or Advanced Base Camp (ABC) is established at 6,500 m (21,300 ft). The Western Cwm is a relatively flat, gently rising glacial valley, marked by huge lateral crevasses in the centre which prevent direct access to the upper reaches of the Cwm. Climbers are forced to cross on the far right near the base of Nuptse to a small passageway known as the "Nuptse corner". The Western Cwm is also called the "Valley of Silence" as the topography of the area generally cuts off wind from the climbing route. The high altitude and a clear, windless day can make the Western Cwm unbearably hot for climbers.[32]
From ABC, climbers ascend the Lhotse face on fixed ropes up to Camp III, located on a small ledge at 7,470 m (24,500 ft). From there, it is another 500 metres to Camp IV on the South Col at 7,920 m (26,000 ft). From Camp III to Camp IV, climbers are faced with two additional challenges: The Geneva Spur and The Yellow Band. The Geneva Spur is an anvil shaped rib of black rock named by a 1952 Swiss expedition. Fixed ropes assist climbers in scrambling over this snow covered rock band. The Yellow Band is a section of interlayered marble, phyllite, and semischist which also requires about 100 metres of rope for traversing it.[32]
On the South Col, climbers enter the death zone. Climbers typically only have a maximum of two or three days they can endure at this altitude for making summit bids. Clear weather and low winds are critical factors in deciding whether to make a summit attempt. If weather does not cooperate within these short few days, climbers are forced to descend, many all the way back down to Base Camp.

A view of Everest southeast ridge base camp. The Khumbu Icefall can be seen in the left. In the center are the remains of a helicopter that crashed in 2003.
From Camp IV, climbers will begin their summit push around midnight with hopes of reaching the summit (still another 1,000 metres above) within 10 to 12 hours. Climbers will first reach "The Balcony" at 8,400 m (27,600 ft), a small platform where they can rest and gaze at peaks to the south and east in the early dawn light. Continuing up the ridge, climbers are then faced with a series of imposing rock steps which usually forces them to the east into waist deep snow, a serious avalanche hazard. At 8,750 m (28,700 ft), a small table-sized dome of ice and snow marks the South Summit.[32]
From the South Summit, climbers follow the knife-edge southeast ridge along what is known as the "Cornice traverse" where snow clings to intermittent rock. This is the most exposed section of the climb as a misstep to the left would send one 2,400 m (8,000 ft) down the southwest face while to the immediate right is the 3,050 m (10,000 ft) Kangshung face. At the end of this traverse is an imposing 12 m (40 ft) rock wall called the "Hillary Step" at 8,760 m (28,740 ft).[32]
Hillary and Tenzing were the first climbers to ascend this step and they did it with primitive ice climbing equipment and without fixed ropes. Nowadays, climbers will ascend this step using fixed ropes previously set up by Sherpas. Once above the step, it is a comparatively easy climb to the top on moderately angled snow slopes - though the exposure on the ridge is extreme especially while traversing very large cornices of snow. With increasing numbers of people climbing the mountain in recent years, the Step has frequently become a bottleneck, with climbers forced to wait significant amounts of time for their turn on the ropes, leading to problems in getting climbers efficiently up and down the mountain. After the Hillary Step, climbers also must traverse a very loose and rocky section that has a very large entanglement of fixed ropes that can be troublesome in bad weather. Climbers will typically spend less than a half-hour on "top of the world" as they realize the need to descend to Camp IV before darkness sets in, afternoon weather becomes a serious problem, or supplemental oxygen tanks run out.

Northeast ridge

Everest North Face, Tibet
The northeast ridge route begins from the north side of Everest in Tibet. Expeditions trek to the Rongbuk Glacier, setting up Base Camp at 5,180 m (16,990 ft) on a gravel plain just below the glacier. To reach Camp II, climbers ascend the medial moraine of the east Rongbuk Glacier up to the base of Changtse at around 6,100 m (20,000 ft). Camp III (ABC - Advanced Base Camp) is situated below the North Col at 6,500 m (21,300 ft). To reach Camp IV on the north col, climbers ascend the glacier to the foot of the col where fixed ropes are used to reach the North Col at 7,010 m (23,000 ft). From the North Col, climbers ascend the rocky north ridge to set up Camp V at around 7,775 m (25,500 ft). The route crosses the North Face in a diagonal climb to the base of the Yellow Band reaching the site of Camp VI at 8,230 m (27,000 ft). From Camp VI, climbers will make their final summit push. Climbers face a treacherous traverse from the base of the First Step: 27,890 feet - 28,000 feet, to the crux of the climb, the Second Step: 28,140 feet - 28,300 feet. (The Second Step includes a climbing aid called the "Chinese ladder", a metal ladder placed semi-permanently in 1975 by a party of Chinese climbers. It has been almost continuously in place since, and is used by virtually all climbers on the route.) Once above the Second Step the inconsequential Third Step is clambered over: 28,510 feet - 28,870 feet. Once above these steps, the summit pyramid is climbed by means of a snow slope of 50 degrees, to the final summit ridge along which the top is reached.[33]

First successful ascent by Tenzing and Hillary

in 1953, a ninth British expedition, led by John Hunt, returned to Nepal. Hunt selected two climbing pairs to attempt to reach the summit. The first pair (Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans) came within 100 m (300 feet) of the summit on 26 May 1953, but turned back after becoming exhausted. As planned, their work in route finding and breaking trail and their caches of extra oxygen were of great aid to the following pair. Two days later, the expedition made its second and final assault on the summit with its second climbing pair, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay from Nepal. They reached the summit at 11:30 a.m. local time on 29 May 1953 via the South Col Route. At the time, both acknowledged it as a team effort by the whole expedition, but Tenzing revealed a few years later that Hillary had put his foot on the summit first.[38] They paused at the summit to take photographs and buried a few sweets and a small cross in the snow before descending.
News of the expedition's success reached London on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. Returning to Kathmandu a few days later, Hunt (a Briton) and Hillary (a subject of Elizabeth, through her role as head of state of New Zealand) discovered that they had been promptly knighted in the Order of the British Empire, a KBE, for the ascent. Tenzing (a subject of the King of Nepal) was granted the George Medal by the UK. Hunt was ultimately made a life peer in Britain, while Hillary became a founding member of the Order of New Zealand.

Early expeditions

In 1885, Clinton Thomas Dent, president of the Alpine Club, suggested that climbing Mount Everest was possible in his book Above the Snow Line.[34]
The northern approach to the mountain was discovered by George Mallory on the first expedition in 1921. It was an exploratory expedition not equipped for a serious attempt to climb the mountain. With Mallory leading (and thus becoming the first European to set foot on Everest's flanks) they climbed the North Col 7,007 metres (22,989 ft). From there, Mallory espied a route to the top. But the party was woefully unprepared for the enormity of climbing any further and descended.
The British returned in 1922. George Finch ("The other George") climbed using oxygen for the first time. He ascended at a remarkable speed — 950 feet (290 m) per hour, a feat that was entirely lost on the British climbing establishment — except for its unsporting nature. Mallory and Col. Felix Norton made a second unsuccessful attempt. Mallory was faulted for leading a group down from the North Col which got caught in an avalanche. Mallory was pulled down too, but seven native porters were killed.
The next Expedition was in 1924. The initial attempt by Mallory and Bruce, was aborted when weather conditions precluded the establishment of Camp VI. The next attempt was that of Norton and Somervell who climbed without oxygen and in perfect weather, traversing the North Face into the Great Couloir. Norton managed to reach 8,558 metres (28,077 ft), though he ascended only 100 feet (30 m) or so in the last hour. Mallory rustled-up oxygen equipment for a last-ditch effort. He choose the young Andrew Irvine as his partner.
On 8 June 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, made an attempt on the summit via the North Col/North Ridge/Northeast Ridge route from which they never returned. On 1999-05-01, the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition found Mallory's body on the North Face in a snow basin below and to the west of the traditional site of Camp VI. Controversy has raged in the mountaineering community as to whether or not one or both of them reached the summit 29 years before the confirmed ascent (and of course, safe descent) of Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. The general consensus among climbers has been that they did not.
In 1933, Lady Houston, a British millionaire ex-showgirl, funded the Houston Everest Flight of 1933, which saw a formation of aircraft led by the Marquess of Clydesdale fly over the summit in an effort to deploy the British Union Flag at the top.[35][36]
Early expeditions — such as Bruce's in the 1920s and Hugh Ruttledge's two unsuccessful attempts in 1933 and 1936 — tried to make an ascent of the mountain from Tibet, via the north face. Access was closed from the north to western expeditions in 1950, after the Chinese asserted control over Tibet. In 1950, Bill Tilman and a small party which included Charles Houston, Oscar Houston and Betsy Cowles undertook an exploratory expedition to Everest through Nepal along the route which has now become the standard approach to Everest from the south.[37]
In the spring of 1952 a Swiss expedition, lead by Edouard Wyss-Dunant was granted permission to attempt a climb from Nepal. The expedition established a route through the Khumbu ice fall and ascended to the South Col at an elevation of 7,986 metres (26,201 ft). Raymond Lambert and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were able to reach a height of about 8,595 metres (28,199 ft) on the south-east ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record. Tenzing's experience was useful when he was hired to be part of the British expedition in 1953.

About Palpa

The district of Palpa lies in the 'Middle Hills' region of Nepal, between the Himalayas and the Terai. Hill, forest and farmland predominate, interspersed by numerous villages that continue long after roads stop. Rich vegetation and successions of tree fruits make for a lush and pleasant landscape, occasionally dramatic around the winding Kali Ghandaki river. Shree Karnadhar School sits above the fertile Mahdi Kola valley, also sometimes referred to as the 'White Lake' because of the autumn and winter mists that can envelope it.
The dominant ethnic group in the area are 'Magars'. Their culture is distinctive; their modesty and friendliness typical of the rest of Nepal. Like many other groups they have a separate language, but most speak Nepali, and certainly celebrate fully the numerous festivals that inundate the Nepali calendar.

Tansen

The market town of Tansen is the provincial capital of Palpa. Here most facilities can be found: all kinds of shops, internet cafés, restaurants, taxi services, and a hospital. Most villages also have small shops selling fuel and basic foodstuffs. A daily bus passes the school and Sarai village on its journey (about 1 hour) to Tansen, returning late afternoon. En route to Tansen connections can be made with the numerous services north to Pokhara and south to Butwal, where connections by bus and plane can be made to Kathmandu (see map of Nepal).

About Swayambhunath

Swayambhunath (स्वयम्भूनाथ) - A large stupa, highly revered in Nepal, and one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the country. It offers great views over the city, and no lack of monkeys. It's a 20-30 minute walk from Thamel, or take a taxi or rickshaw. Pay Rs 100 to enter at the front steps or slip in free on the ramp on the south side. As with the Boudha Stupa, there's no shortage of Buddhist and Tibetan-inspired trinkets for sale. There are also drinks for sale at the top, and at least one small restaurant selling momos. For those that have their own transport or have difficulty climbing stairs there is a parking lot at the back entrance that significantly reduces the amount of stairs that need to be climbed to gain access to the main compound.

Get Around of ktm

The first thing many visitors may notice about Kathmandu is the general lack of street names (except for major roads such as Tri Devi and Ring Road) and address numbers. In most cases directions are given relative to the nearest chowk or tole (an intersection or square, often with a market) or a noteworthy building such as a temple or restaurant. In the tourist district of Thamel, the Kathmandu Guest House and Hot Breads bakery are two main landmarks.
It is possible to get across the city by foot, but it is not always a pleasant walk and you may want to consider a rickshaw for anything more then wandering around a specific area. Rickshaws are bicycle driven; the motorized ones have been banned from the valley in a bid to check rising pollution. Rickshaws can hardly be found outside the tourist area of Thamel, however, since they are mostly only used by the tourists. Negotiate on a price before you get in, if you can't agree, just look for another driver. Prices go up after dark and in less busy areas. Taxis are easy to find; they park near all major streets and have fare-meters.
There are also buses and taxis for longer trips (see Kathmandu Valley for information on getting to Patan and Bakhtapur), and can be used for trips in town. For longer trips and to hire them by the day negotiate with the driver

B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), established in 1993, upgraded to a University in 1998, is an autonomous Health Sciences University with a mandate to work towards developing socially responsible and competent health work force. Striving continuously to meet the health needs of the eastern region of Nepal at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels is its primary responsibility. BPKIHS has been visualized as a self-governing, self-reliant International Health Sciences University attracting students and teachers from all over the world to its constantly innovative educational programmes.
BPKIHS is the single largest project implemented through Indo-Nepal co-operation. The University is aptly named after the late Bisheshwar Prasad Koirala, a great nationalist and former Prime Minister of Nepal, who was Nepal’s foremost visionary in social upliftment and firm believer of national reconciliation and national integration. BPKIHS took over the management of 150-bedded former Eastern Regional Hospital in 1993, With the new hospital complex, the University raised the strength of beds to 700 with added facilities like CCU, ICU, VVIP Critical Care area and Observational beds. Now CT-scan, emergency laboratory, C-arm and mobile x-ray facilities, sterilization section, state-of-the-art Operation Theater with recovery rooms facilities are available in the Hospital. The medical education at BPKIHS started on October 19, 1994 with the intake of the first batch of MBBS students. Gradully it started B.Sc. Nursing in 1996, BDS, MD/MS, M.Sc. and the CN Programme in 1999, OT and AS in 2000, BMIT in 2001 and B.Sc. MLT in 2005. At present altogether 908 students are studying various programmes. The number of students programme wise is: MD/MS 155, M.Sc. 18, MBBS 264, BDS 160, B.Sc. Nursing 54, B. Sc. MIT 18, Certificate Nursing 120, OT & AS 17, B.Sc MLT 10, MBBS Interns 57 and BDS Interns 35. The Institute is preparing for admission in to MPH programme starting from September 2005. In order to provide students a community oriented medical education and to create a socially accountable health work force in the nation, this Institute has launched the concept of a ‘Teaching District’. Presently Sunsari, Morang Dhankuta, Saptari, Jhapa and Ilam districts are included, but gradually all the districts of the entire eastern region of Nepal (16 districts) will be included in teaching districts. The MBBS Programme is recognized by the Medical Councils of India and Sri Lanka, in addition to the recognition by the Nepal Medical Council. The world Health Organization has listed this Instiute in the World Directory of Medical Schools, Similarly, the Nepal Nursing council has recognized the B.Sc. Nursing Program. The Institute is processing for obtaining recognition of MD/MS and BDS programmes from the Medical Council of India and Dental Council of India respectively. BPKIHS gives high priority in research to areas requiring greater attention and the existing and emerging health problems threatening the well being of large population groups using community-oriented, multidisciplinary, integrated and problem solving approach. BPKIHS has its own research committee comprising of researchers from Nepal and abroad. This committee is responsible for approving, monitoring and promoting research activities in the Institute. In this short span of it’s existence more than 100 important research projects including the base line surveys such as ‘Sunsari Health Interview Survey’ and ‘Sunsari Health Examination Survey’ have been completed. Greater emphasis is placed on research, which will lead to application of available knowledge for the benefit of large number of people. Today, BPKIHS has the highest number of national and expatriate doctors and nurses outside Kathmandu, and BPKIHS is the only Institute in the whole of the Kingdom to be so privileged. The achievements of the last eleven years can be considered as milestones on a road which should lead Dharan to emerging as the ‘Health Capital’ of the country. This road has to be paved with more action, more devotion and absolute commitment to realize this dream. BPKIHS, a fast developing center of excellence, should be prepared to face challenges in its march forward