Mount Everest is the highest point on Earth. Sherpas, a native Nepalese ethnic group known for their climbing abilities, often work as guides and partners for climbing expeditions on Mount Everest. Most expeditions begin in Kathmandu, Nepal and involve a journey through different elevation levels, or camps, on the mountain as climbers make their way to the summit. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made history as the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1953.

1. Mount Everest
Vocabulary

2. Sherpa
• Context Clue
– Since the first British adventurers came to Nepal, a
group of native people known as Sherpas have
worked with climbers as guides and partners.
• Definition:
– a race of people know for their climbing abilities
and ability to adjust to high altitudes quickly.
Usually hired to help climbers up the mountain.

3. Expedition
• Context Clue
– Most expeditions to the Himalayas begin with a
plane flight to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
• Definition:
– a journey made for a specific reason.

4. Summit
• Context clue
– Its summit is the highest point on earth, 5 ½ miles
above sea level.
• Definition:
– the top

5. Altitude
• Context clue
– At higher altitudes, there is less air above you.
• Definition:
– height of something measured from sea level. This
is a measurement of air pressure.

6. Elevation
• Context clue
– During the journey, the elevation rises from 5,000
feet to over 17,000.
• Definition:
– Height of something measured from sea level. This
is a geometric measurement.

7. Delirious
• Context clue
• Definition:
– A disorder of the mind that results in restlessness,
excitability, incoherent thought and/or speech,
and/or hallucinations.

8. Assault team
• Context clue
– After helping Hillary and Norgay establish Camp
IX, the rest of the team descends, leaving the final
assault team alone in the dismal camp.
• Definition:
– Two or more climbers who attempt to reach a
mountain summit.

9. Avalanche
• Context clue
• Definition:
– A mass of snow, ice, or rock pouring down a
mountainside.

10. Base Camp
• Context clue
– Only 10,900 feet and 13 miles to go before your
next stop at Base Camp.
• Definition:
– A central setup of tents where food, equipment,
and medical supplies are stored; a relay site for
climbers.

11. Buddhist
• Context clue
– Over 500 years ago a group of Tibetan Buddhists
known as the Sherpas moved from Tibet to the
Everest region of Nepal in order to be closer to the
mountain they hold sacred.
• Definition:
– Based on the teaching of Buddha; a member of
the religion that adheres to the teachings of
Buddha.

12. Col
• Context clue
– Disappointed and exhausted, Bourdillon and Evans
retreat all the way back to South Col.
• Definition:
– A depression or pass in a mountain range.

13. Cornice
• Context clue
• Definition:
– An overhanging mass of hardened snow at the
edge of a ridge, usually formed by wind.

14. Cwm (pronounced coom)
• Context clue
• Definition:
– A valley on the side of a hill or mountain.

15. Crampon
• Context clue
– At 6:30 a.m., after spending two hours thawing
out Hillary’s frozen boots, the men finally strap on
their crampons and set off for the top.
• Definition:
– Metal frame with spikes worn on hiking boots for
ice climbs.

16. Crevasse
• Context clue
– Hillary and teammate Tenzing Norgay, roped to
each other, cut ice steps and maneuver around
hidden crevasses.
• Definition:
– A deep, open crack in a glacier.

17. Icefall
• Context clue
– Hillary leads some of the team on a rigorous climb
up the Khumbu Icefall to establish Base Camp.
• Definition:
– A cascade of ice that results when a glacier
descends over a changing slope of ground
beneath.

18. Ice pick
• Context clue
– Hour after hour, using ice picks, they cut endless
ice steps.
• Definition:
– A tool for chopping ice or securing oneself while
climbing over ice.

19. Oxygen system
• Context clue
– They encounter a blizzard and their oxygen
systems begin to fail.
• Definition:
– Oxygen tanks carried by climbers. A closed system
allows climbers to breathe pure oxygen from the
tank; an open system allows climbers to breathe a
mixture of pure oxygen and outside air.

20. Porter
• Context clue
– It has taken 16 days for Edmund Hillary, 13 other
climbers, and 350 porters to reach the Tengpoche
Monastery and set up a rear camp.
• Definition:
– A person who carriers supplies.

21. Sidar
• Context clue
• Definition:
– A Sherpa leader on a mountaineering or trekking
expedition.

22. Traverse
• Context clue
• Definition:
– To cross a mountain slope; a steep slope that has
to be climbed from side to side.