On top of the world: discover what it takes to conquer Mount Everest.

DID YOU KNOW?

* Everest climbers who fall ill can now get help at a health center located at base camp. Perched 5,364 meters (17,600 feet) above sea level, it's the world's highest medical clinic!

* Climbers leave tons of garbage on Mount Everest. Special cleanup expeditions have bagged broken tent parts, leftover food, and hundreds of oxygen tanks. To keep the mountain in top shape, the cleanup crew even bagged their own feces. They used a chemical "poo-poo" powder to decompose the droppings before hauling them downhill.

CRITICAL THINKING:

* Last May, Pemba Dorjee Sherpa ascended Mount Everest in a record time of 8 hrs and 10 rain. If the mountain summit is approximately 5.5 miles high, what Was this record holder's average speed of ascent? Compare that to the pace of an average person's walking speed: 3.5 mph. (Answer:. 0.67 mph)

CROSS-CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS:

Social Studies Along with ropes and other gear, climbers depend on Sherpas for their survival. Who are these people? Research and then make a list of reasons why a Sherpa is a climber's "lifeline."

RESOURCES

* Grolier search term: Mount Everest

* This site is chock full of information about Mount Everest: www.nationalgeographic.com/everest/

He's not faster than a speeding bullet, or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But 26-year-old Pemba Dorjee Sherpa showed superhuman speed last May. That's when he sprinted to the summit of Mount Everest--the highest place on Earth. After 8 hours, 10 minutes of nonstop climbing, he set foot on top of the nearly 8.9 kilometer (5.5 mile)-high peak. Most experienced climbers take about four days to scale the ragged route to the top from base camp, a group of tents permanently pitched at an elevation (height above sea level) 3.5 km (2.2 mi) below the summit. That's after they spend six weeks adjusting to the towering elevation. The previous record holder, Lakpa Gyelu Sherpa, disputes Dorjee's claim of shattering his record by more than two hours, adding to a long history of drama surrounding Everest's imposing slopes.

Mount Everest and its neighboring peaks make up the Himalayas--a mountain range separating Nepal and China. In 1953, the dynamic climbing duo of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people known to reach the towering summit. They followed a route forged by scores of mountaineers who had tried to reach the summit and failed since the peak was pinpointed in 1852 as the tallest on Earth.

Since Hillary and Norgay's historic feat, more than 1,600 climbers have conquered the king of cliffs from 18 different angles. "Any route is difficult," says Ryan Waters, a mountain-climbing guide who reached Everest's summit this May. "Each route has its pros and cons. The north side has more difficult sections near the summit, but the south side is more technical on the lower mountain," Waters adds. Everest's geology--the composition and movement of the rock layers--determines whether climbers must navigate vertical walls of ice or teeter on towering cliffs of rock. After years of digging into the mountain's rocky past, scientists have revealed how the mountain was made.

BUMPY BEGINNINGS

Mount Everest began taking shape about 50 million years ago when a creeping land mass now known as India collided with what we now call Asia (see diagram, below). The Indian plate--or sliding slab of rock--began to dive beneath Asia. As the plates overlapped, the Indian and Asian continents converged. "The Himalayas [formed] when the northern edge of India crumpled as the plates crashed together," explains Mike Searle, a geologist at England's Oxford University. "India has continued to move north with respect to stable Asia. As long as [India] still moves, it will [continue to] fold and thrust up the Himalayas." In fact, that process raises Mount Everest's summit by about 0.5 to 1 centimeter per year, says Searle.

GOING UP

The most popular route to Everest's top follows the footsteps of pioneers Hillary and Norgay. Starting in Nepal, expedition teams hike to base camp, located at a lofty 5,364 meters (17,600 feet) above sea level. After adjusting to the elevation, the mountaineers embark on the climb of their lives.

Everest's lower slopes are made of cliffs of hard granite. The rock formed when magma (melted rock) rose from deep underground, then cooled and hardened over 20 million years ago, says Searle. Rather than scale these steep cliffs, climbers choose a slightly less menacing obstacle: Khumbu Icefall. This glacier (massive, slowly moving river of ice) is broken into building-size ice blocks that are separated by bottomless crevasses, or deep cracks in the ice. The glacier slides down the mountain at a rate of about 1.2 m (4 ft) per day, and the constant shifting shakes loose the towering chunks. "It's dangerous," says Amy Bullard, a climbing guide who reached the summit this May. "You feel like a mouse in a mousetrap," she says. Climbers cross the gaping crevasses on "bridges" of aluminum ladders lashed together. Bullard braved her way through this icy maze 12 times, moving between camps to train her body for high-elevation climbing.

Next challenge: A 1,219 m (4,000 ft)-tall wall of solid ice called the Lhotse Face. Climbers attach spikes called crampons to their boots, fasten themselves to fixed ropes, and then scale the ice. Midway up, they set up camp to rest. It's like camping on an expert-level ski slope. "You have to make a flat platform for your tent by chipping out the ice," explains Bullard.

Several thin bands of limestone (rock made of layers of the mineral calcium carbonate) await committed climbers at the top of the Lhotse Face. Having reached an elevation of about 7,315 m (24,000 ft), where the air is thin, most climbers now breathe from oxygen tanks. They concentrate on every step as they clamber up the limestone to their next campsite--a relatively fiat area called the South Col.

FINAL STEPS

Above the South Col, layers of black shale (flaky rock formed from hardened mud) give way to a steep cliff of limestone called the Yellow Band. When Hillary and Norgay struggled over this cliff in 1953, they saw the summit just ahead and realized they could reach the top of Mount Everest. A gentle slope of snow-covered shale leads to the peak. Here, climbers spot evidence that Everest's rocks used to lie on an ancient seafloor. "The topmost layer on the summit even has broken bits of corals and fossilized sea life, formed in a tropical sea 400 million years ago," says Searle.

After the grueling climb, standing on the summit is sweet. But below-zero temperatures and winds that howl at up to 80 km (50 mi) per hour send most climbers skillfully scrambling back down after only a few minutes on top of the world.

1852 HIGH POINT

British surveyors identify Peak XV as Earth's tallest mountain. In 1865. it's named Mount Everest.

1921-1924

SUMMIT SCRAMBLES

British teams compete--unsuccessfully--to reach the mountain's top. Andrew Irvine (standing, far left) and George Mallow (next to Irvine) disappeared in 1924 while heading toward the summit.

1953

HIT THE PEAK

Edmund Hillary (right) and Tenzing Norgay (left) placed the first documented footprints on Mount Everest's peak.

1963

AMERICAN IDOLS

The first American team tops out on Mount Everest. Team member Barry Bishop later loses all 10 toes to frostbite.

1996

DISASTER

Fifteen climbers die on the mountain--the most in any year. Raging storms on May 10 and May 11 kill eight of the climbers.

2001

BLINDLY BDLD

Following fixed ropes, Erik Weihenmayer becomes the first blind person to summit Mount Everest.

Nuts & Bolts

Like all mountains, the world's tallest peak was built as a result of the constant shifting of Earth's rocky plates. The collision of the Indian and Asian plates created the Himalayan mountain chain.

65 MILLION YEARS AGO

Earth's continents were located in different spots than they are today. India was separated from Asia by a shallow sea. India drifted northward at a rate of a few centimeters per year.

60 MILLION YEARS AGO

The Indian plate began to slide northward beneath the Asian plate. The motion started to close the Tethys Sea. The seawater seeped into the deeper oceans on either side of the collision.

40 MILLION YEARS AGO

The Indian plate continued to push against Asia, smashing the continents together. Sediment that had formed at the bottom of the Tethys Sea crumpled--crushed between the Asian and Indian continents.

20 MILLION YEARS AGO

The Tethys Sea had completely disappeared. Rocks that once lay on the seafloor were folded and squeezed upward to form the Himalayan mountain range, which includes Mount Everest.

TODAY

Continued plate motion has brought the continents to their current positions on Earth. India has traveled farther than any other land mass, creating the planet's tallest point.

DIRECTIONS: Fill in the blanks to complete the sentences.

1. Mount Everest and its surrounding mountains are all part of the -- mountain range. This range separates the countries of -- and --.

2. These three types of rocks can be found on Mount Everest: -- and --.

3. Climbers rely on spiky -- to prevent their boots from slipping on Everest's slick ice.

4. The first climbers to reach Mount Everest's summit were -- and -- in 1953.

5. The formation of Mount Everest was caused by the overlapping of these sliding slabs of Earth's crust: -- and --.

6. Because coral and fossilized sea life can be found among rock samples at the top of Mount Everest, scientists believe --.

On Top Of The World

1. Himalayan, Nepal, China

2. granite, shale, limestone

3. crampons

4. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

5. Indian Plate, Asian Plate

6. The rocks formed at the bottom of an early sea were pushed upward many millions of years ago.

In "On Top of the World" (p. 8) you leaned how the Indian and Asian Plates formed the Himalayas. Now, prepare an edible model to illustrate what happened. Then, use the model and the article to answer the questions that follow. Caution: Since an oven and knife will be used, please ask your teacher for assistance.

You Need:

1 package of pudding mix * milk * bowl * plastic wrap * scissors * 1 package of refrigerated piecrust * toothpick * knife * aluminum baking pan * water * plate * 1 tablespoon of whipped cream * refrigerator * oven

To Do:

1. Take out the milk and bowl to prepare pudding as instructed on package.

2. Cover pudding with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

3. Cut out the outline of the Asian Plate and the Indian Plate (above).

4. Unfold piecrust dough and place the paper cutouts on top of dough.

5. Use a toothpick to trace each cutout on the dough's surface.

6. Remove paper cutouts. Have your teacher use a knife to carefully cut out the two shapes.

7. Use the toothpick to mark the Indian Plate with an 'T' and the Asian Plate with an "A." Then prick each tectonic plate at 8 different spots.

8. Place the plates in the aluminum baking pan.

9. Position the Indian Plate approximately 2 cm below the southern edge of the Asian Plate.

10. Study the diagram on pp. 10-11 in the student edition.

11. Simulate the plate movements in the diagram by bringing the Indian Plate into contact with the Asian Plate. Gently drive the edge of the Indian Plate under the Asian Plate, thereby creating folds in the dough where the two plates overlap. Observe the structure.

12. Lightly moisten the area of contact between the plates with 1 to 2 drops of water. Then, gently pinch this meeting area together. This helps to hold the plates together during baking.

13. Have your teacher bake as directed on the package. Remove from oven and let cool.

14. Remove 1/2 cup of refrigerated pudding and spread evenly on a plate.

15. Place the cooled Indian and Asian Plates on top of the pudding.

16. Spread whipped cream in the region of highest elevation on your model.

Questions:

1. In step 9, what did the 2-cm gap represent?

2. When the plates were brought together, where was the dough thickest? What did this area represent in your model?

3. What did the whipped cream represent?

4. Where would Mount Everest be located on your model? Where would India be?

5. What did the pudding represent? (Hint: Research what lies below tectonic plates.)

PIE PLATE TECTONICS, TE 5

1. The 2-cm gap represented the Tethys Sea.

2. The dough was thickest in the area where the plates met. This area represented a folded mountain range, now called the Himalayas.

3. The whipped cream represented the ice and glaciers of the Himalayas.

4. Mount Everest would be located on the highest area of the folded region, India would be on the Indian Plate, directly below the area where the two plates came together.

5. The pudding represented the mantle beneath the plates.

PANTHERS BY THE NUMBERS

In Panthers in Peril (p. 14) you discovered that even fierce animals like the Florida panther need protection. Study the pie chart below showing factors responsible for Florida panther mortality (death). Then use the article and the pie chart to answer the questions that follow. Use complete sentences.

1. According to the pie chart, how did most panthers die?

2. If a total of 59 panthers died, about how many died as roadkill? How many died as a result of aggression?

3. Wildlife underpasses are walkways that allow animals to cross underneath highways. If these structures were installed, which cause of panther mortality would be most affected?

4. Would you expect the percentage of deaths from disease to increase or decrease following the introduction of the Texas cougar? Why?

5. Which cause of panther mortality would most likely increase if habitat loss continues? Explain why. (Hint: Panthers, especially males, require a large territory to survive.)

Take It Further:

Research the life cycle and habitat needs of the Florida panther. Then, on a separate piece of paper, write a short story about a day in the life of the animal from a panther's point of view.

Causes of Mortality of
Florida Panthers 1979-1997

roadkill      42.4%
aggression      22%
other          3.4%
infection      6.8%
unknown       11.9%
shootings      8.5%
disease          5%

* Death caused by other panthers.

Source: Florida Panther Net, State of Florida.

PANTHERS BY THE NUMBERS, TE 6

1. Most panthers died as roadkill.

2. About 25 panthers died as roadkill, and 13 died as a result of aggression.

3. The number of roadkill deaths would be most affected by the creation of wildlife underpasses.

4. The percentage of deaths from disease should drop following the introduction of the Texas cougar. That's because there will be fewer harmful recessive genes in the population.

5. Answers will vary. Here are some possible causes: Since panthers, especially males, need large territories, habitat loss will force them to live together, leading to an increased number of deaths due to aggression. Also, if human development is the cause of habitat loss, there may be more panther deaths by roadkill That's because there may be more cars on the road.