Mount Everest is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, located in the Himalayas. The international border between Nepal and China (Tibet Autonomous Region) runs across its summit point. The current official elevation of 8,848 m (29,029 ft), recognized by China and Nepal, was established by a 1955 Indian survey and subsequently confirmed by a Chinese survey in 1975.

In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society, upon a recommendation by Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India. As there appeared to be several different local names, Waugh chose to name the mountain after his predecessor in the post, Sir George Everest, despite Everest’s objections.

Mount Everest attracts many climbers, some of them highly experienced mountaineers. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary made the first official ascent of Everest in 1953, using the southeast ridge route. Mount Everest was first successfully climbed in winter on February 17, 1980, by a team consisting of Leszek Cichy and Krzysztof Wielicki. The successful winter ascent of Mount Everest started a new decade of Winter Himalaism, which became a Polish specialisation. After 1980 Poles did ten first winter ascents on 8000 metre peaks, which earned Polish climbers a reputation of “Ice Warriors”.