Who first reached the summit of Everest in 1953?

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

George Mallory and Andrew Irvine

Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler

Himalayan Peaks Quiz – How Much Do You Really Know?

This Himalayan peaks quiz climbs Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Annapurna and other giants of the Himalaya and Karakoram. Ten questions test how much you really know.

Start Himalayan Peaks Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Everest
Who first reached the summit of Everest in 1953?
Records
What is the second-highest mountain in the world?
Records
Which is the third-highest mountain, on the Nepal-India border?
Names
What is Everest's Nepali name?
Records
How many mountains on Earth are higher than 8,000 meters?
Danger
Which 8,000-meter peak in Nepal has historically had one of the highest fatality rates?
Pakistan
Which peak at the western end of the Himalaya is called the killer mountain?
Geology
The Himalaya formed when India collided with which plate?
Records
Who was the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders?
Height
In 2020, Nepal and China announced Everest's height as about how many meters?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Who first reached the summit of Everest in 1953?
Answer: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay
Hillary, from New Zealand, and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa, reached the top on May 29, 1953.
Q2: What is the second-highest mountain in the world?
Answer: K2
K2, in the Karakoram on the Pakistan-China border, rises about 8,611 meters and is known as the savage mountain.
Q3: Which is the third-highest mountain, on the Nepal-India border?
Answer: Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is about 8,586 meters high. Many climbers stop just short of the summit out of respect for local beliefs.
Q4: What is Everest's Nepali name?
Answer: Sagarmatha
Sagarmatha means forehead of the sky. In Tibetan, the mountain is called Chomolungma.
Q5: How many mountains on Earth are higher than 8,000 meters?
Answer: 14
All fourteen are in the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges of Asia.
Q6: Which 8,000-meter peak in Nepal has historically had one of the highest fatality rates?
Answer: Annapurna I
Annapurna I was the first 8,000-meter peak climbed, by a French team in 1950, and is known for avalanches.
Q7: Which peak at the western end of the Himalaya is called the killer mountain?
Answer: Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat rises about 8,126 meters. Its Rupal Face is one of the tallest mountain walls on Earth.
Q8: The Himalaya formed when India collided with which plate?
Answer: Eurasian Plate
The collision began about 50 million years ago and still pushes the mountains higher every year.
Q9: Who was the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders?
Answer: Reinhold Messner
Italian climber Reinhold Messner finished in 1986, all without supplemental oxygen.
Q10: In 2020, Nepal and China announced Everest's height as about how many meters?
Answer: 8,848.86
The joint survey measured the snow-capped summit at 8,848.86 meters above sea level.

Himalayan Peaks Quiz – Roof of the World

The Himalaya stretches about 2,400 kilometers across Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. Together with the nearby Karakoram, it holds all of Earth's mountains above 8,000 meters, the so-called eight-thousanders.

Climbing these peaks is extremely risky. Thin air above 8,000 meters, known as the death zone, can cause serious altitude sickness, and avalanches, storms and crevasses add danger. Sherpa guides and porters have played a central role in almost every expedition.

The mountains also matter far beyond climbing. Himalayan glaciers feed the Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra rivers, supplying water to hundreds of millions of people downstream, and the region holds sacred sites for Hindus and Buddhists.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for mountain lovers and adventure fans who follow the world's highest climbs.

Who first climbed Everest
Which peaks rank second and third
How the Himalaya formed
What the death zone is
Who climbed all 14 eight-thousanders first

Did You Know?

Kami Rita Sherpa has climbed Everest more times than anyone.
Everest grows a few millimeters each year.
K2 was first climbed by an Italian team in 1954.
Everest's summit rock contains marine fossils.
Junko Tabei was the first woman to climb Everest, in 1975.