On Everest, what is the death zone?

Altitudes above 8,000 meters where oxygen is dangerously low

Mount Everest Quiz: Sherpas, Summits and the Roof of Nepal

This Mount Everest quiz climbs the highest mountain on Earth on the border of Nepal and Tibet, with questions on its height, the Tibetan name Chomolungma, surveyor George Everest, the death zone, the Khumbu Icefall, Junko Tabei, George Mallory, sea fossils at the summit, Lukla airport and the best climbing season. Ten questions.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

Height
What is the official height of Mount Everest, agreed by Nepal and China in 2020?
Names
What is the Tibetan name for Mount Everest?
Names
Mount Everest is named after George Everest, who was what?
Danger
On Everest, what is the death zone?
Icefall
Which dangerous, shifting maze of ice lies just above Everest Base Camp in Nepal?
Women
Who was the first woman to reach the summit of Everest, in 1975?
Mysteries
Which British climber disappeared near the summit in 1924, and was found in 1999?
Geology
What surprising fossils have been found in the rock near Everest's summit?
Airports
Most Everest trekkers fly into which small, steep mountain airstrip?
Seasons
In which month do most climbers reach the summit of Everest from Nepal?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What is the official height of Mount Everest, agreed by Nepal and China in 2020?
Answer: 8,849 meters
The joint survey added snow cover to the rock height. Scientists believe the mountain is still rising by a few millimeters each year.
Q2: What is the Tibetan name for Mount Everest?
Answer: Chomolungma
It is often translated as Goddess Mother of the World. Kanchenjunga and Annapurna are other giant Himalayan peaks.
Q3: Mount Everest is named after George Everest, who was what?
Answer: A Surveyor General of India
He never saw the mountain himself and reportedly objected to the name. Surveyors had previously called it Peak XV.
Q4: On Everest, what is the death zone?
Answer: Altitudes above 8,000 meters where oxygen is dangerously low
The air there holds about a third of the oxygen at sea level. Most climbers use bottled oxygen and try to spend as little time there as possible.
Q5: Which dangerous, shifting maze of ice lies just above Everest Base Camp in Nepal?
Answer: The Khumbu Icefall
Specialist Sherpa teams called Icefall Doctors fix ladders and ropes across its crevasses each season. Climbers cross it early in the morning when the ice is frozen.
Q6: Who was the first woman to reach the summit of Everest, in 1975?
Answer: Junko Tabei
The Japanese climber survived an avalanche during the expedition. She later became the first woman to climb the Seven Summits.
Q7: Which British climber disappeared near the summit in 1924, and was found in 1999?
Answer: George Mallory
Mallory is famous for answering because it's there when asked why he wanted to climb Everest. Whether he reached the top remains a mystery.
Q8: What surprising fossils have been found in the rock near Everest's summit?
Answer: Sea creatures
The summit limestone formed on an ancient seabed. The collision of India and Asia pushed it up into the sky over millions of years.
Q9: Most Everest trekkers fly into which small, steep mountain airstrip?
Answer: Lukla
Tenzing-Hillary Airport has a short runway that ends at a cliff. From there, trekkers usually walk about a week to reach base camp.
Q10: In which month do most climbers reach the summit of Everest from Nepal?
Answer: May
A short window of calmer weather comes before the monsoon. Winter jet stream winds and summer monsoon snow make other months very dangerous.

Mount Everest Quiz – Climbing the Roof of the World

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, rising 8,849 meters above sea level on the border between Nepal and the Tibet region of China. Known as Sagarmatha in Nepali and Chomolungma in Tibetan, it is part of the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range. Its summit has drawn adventurers, scientists and dreamers for more than a century.

In the 1850s, the Great Trigonometric Survey of India measured Peak XV and found it was the highest in the world. It was named after George Everest, a former Surveyor General. Early British expeditions in the 1920s tried to reach the top. In 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared high on the mountain, and Mallory's body was found in 1999.

On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa from Nepal, became the first people confirmed to stand on the summit. Junko Tabei of Japan became the first woman in 1975, and Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler climbed without bottled oxygen in 1978.

Climbing Everest is dangerous. Climbers face avalanches, crevasses in the Khumbu Icefall, freezing winds and the death zone above 8,000 meters, where the body slowly weakens. Sherpa guides play a vital role, fixing ropes, carrying loads and leading expeditions. Many hold records for the most summits.

Today, hundreds of people reach the summit in a good year, mostly in May. Crowding, rubbish and climate change have become serious concerns.

Many more people trek to Everest Base Camp than climb the peak. The route from Lukla passes Sherpa villages such as Namche Bazaar, Buddhist monasteries like Tengboche and suspension bridges over glacial rivers, through Sagarmatha National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This quiz covers the history, geography, dangers and records of Mount Everest.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is perfect for adventurers, hikers and geography fans.

How tall Everest is and how it was named
The Tibetan and Nepali names of Everest
The death zone and the Khumbu Icefall
Famous climbers like Junko Tabei and George Mallory
Why sea fossils are found near the summit
Lukla airport and the climbing season

Quick Facts About Mount Everest

The two main climbing routes are from the south in Nepal and the north in Tibet.
Base camp on the Nepal side sits at about 5,364 meters.
Climbing permits in Nepal cost thousands of dollars.
Temperatures at the summit can fall below minus 30 degrees.
Yaks carry supplies to base camp on the Tibetan side.
Everest's summit is about the cruising height of some airplanes.