The Hiking World

Mountain guide · Peak · 2026

Mount Everest

A complete guide to the peak, from an adjudicated evidence sheet. Sourced or not recorded — never estimated.

Mount Everest massif from orbit

This is a guide to the peak, not a trail record. Passes, lakes, forts, and base-camp walks stay on trail pages.

Quick Facts

Origin & Geology

  • Formation / geology

    Marine sedimentary and metamorphic rocks of the Himalayan orogen (Indian–Eurasian collision). Summit is Ordovician limestone of the Qomolangma Formation (crinoid, trilobite, and ostracod remains); Yellow Band is Middle Cambrian marble and phyllite of the North Col Formation; Rongbuk Formation gneiss and leucogranite below ~7,000 m. IUGS geological heritage site (2022) for the highest fossiliferous marine limestone.

    en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-09-21

  • Name origin

    English name after Surveyor General Sir George Everest (adopted 1865). Nepali Sagarmāthā = head in the sky. Tibetan Qomolangma / Chomolungma = holy mother.

    en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-09-21

  • Cultural history

    Protected as Sagarmatha National Park (Nepal, UNESCO) and Qomolangma National Nature Reserve (China).

    en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-09-21

Climbing History

Success & Statistics

Fatality rate ≈ 1.4% (as of 2025). Alan Arnette's route analysis records 12,567 summits against 169 deaths over 2000–2025 (deaths ÷ summits). Source: Alan Arnette, alanarnette.com (accessed 2026-09-21) — "From 2000 to 2025, climbers achieved 12,567 summits with 169 deaths, dropping the rate to 1.4%." Comprehensive expedition/summit/fatality records are maintained in the Himalayan Database (https://www.himalayandatabase.com/); we do not estimate beyond the cited source.

Pros / Cons

Generic editorial notes. No peak-specific crowding, cost, or hazard claim is invented here.

For

  • A named summit is a distinct objective from any related walking approach.
  • Elevation, range, location, and first-ascent facts appear here only when the evidence sheet cites them.

Against

  • Altitude, weather, and terrain can turn a day. Hazards belong on the trail record where we hold them — not as invented peak-specific warnings here.
  • Permits, fees, and route grades stay Unverified on this page until an official source is cited. This is not a route plan.

Logistics

  • Best season

    Nepal DoT royalty seasons: spring, autumn, winter/summer (schedule effective 1 Sep 2025). Typical expedition windows are not separately certified here.

    tourismdepartment.gov.np · verified 2026-09-21

  • Routes and grades

    Unverified

  • Permit

    Nepal DoT mountaineering royalty for foreign climbers, Everest normal route: USD 15,000 spring, USD 7,500 autumn, USD 3,750 winter/summer per person. Other routes: USD 10,000 / 5,000 / 2,500. Confirm live. China/Tibet north-side tariff not copied this pass.

    tourismdepartment.gov.np · verified 2026-09-21

  • Fitness

    Unverified

These are expedition-grade mountaineering objectives, not trekking peaks; no trail record is implied.

Also in this desk: Mountain guides · Himalayan altitude · How we verify.