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Apr. 9 – China and Nepal have finally come to an understanding regarding a long running bilateral dispute – namely, the exact height of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest.
Since New Zealand’s Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay famously conquered the mountain in 1953, thousands have repeated the journey to the summit; but exactly how tall is the mountain’s peak?
The Sino-Nepalese dispute stems from a difference of definition rather than calculation. By measuring to the peak’s highest point of solid rock, China’s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping claimed they had determined the most accurate and precise measurement to date at a height of 8,844.43 meters on October 9, 2005. Meanwhile, Nepal maintains that the official height should include the layers of snow and ice that cover the mountain’s summit, therefore calculating Mount Everest’s snow cap at 8,848 meters.
In Katmandu this week, the governments of China and Nepal have recognized each others’ claims and have acknowledged that they have measured different things.
The irony of the long-standing dispute is that they both could be wrong. In 1999, an American Everest Expedition lead by Bradford Washburn anchored a GPS unit at the mountains summit. Using the device, the team calculated a rock height of 8,850 meters and a snow cap height of 8,851. While this height has gained international recognition, it is not acknowledged by China or Nepal.
Scientists believe that convergent plate tectonics are also contributing to Mount Everest experiencing growth at roughly two millimeters a year as the Indian subcontinent slides below the greater Asian continent.
Furthermore, since land-based height measurements are taken relative to sea level, it should also be noted that rising sea levels due to global climate change could partially offset this growth.
April 9th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
So it’s true. Every foot on Mt. Everest feels like a mile. Who said that? George Mallory, I think. Or maybe a Chinese or Nepalese border negotiator.
April 10th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Someone tell me why the height of Everest was a divisive issue between the two countries?
April 10th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
@ Observer – Claims to be the smartest bod on the top of the world. Who owns the top of a mountain with borders between two countries?
I have met Wang Fuzhou, one of the first Chinese climbers to conquer the peak in 1960. They were told by Zhou Enlai to succeed or never come back. Wang had to take off his boots to get over an ice cliff and jam his fingers and toes in small cracks to get over it – he lost most of his digits to frostbite as a result. It was also a night climb, which caused a problem as they didn’t take photos of the ascent, and it has been questioned. However most people agree with the accounts that they did make it. Wang is well in his 70’s now and lives in Beijing.
This wiki entry is also interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_climbing_Mount_Everest