Mountain climbing naturally carries many inherent risks, but it also holds great prestige and personal satisfaction for those who are successful. In this lesson, students will consider the costs and benefits associated with mountain climbing. They will also compare mountain climbing today, particularly the concept of climbing Mount Everest, with mountain climbing in the 1920s and the 1950s. This lesson plan can be used in conjunction with the National Geographic site Everest celebrating the 50th Anniversary Everest Expedition, which was made possible in part by the generous support of American International Group, Inc.

Geography, earth science

Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"

Two to three hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Wall map of the world

Students will

• discuss what they think would be the greatest challenges of mountain climbing;
• hypothesize some of the reasons why people would want to climb Mount Everest and why experienced climbers are seeking unique challenges on the mountain;
• conduct research to compare and contrast the clothing, equipment, numbers of people, and prestige associated with a trip to Everest in the 1920s, the 1950s, and today;
• complete a chart recording their findings; and
• write two newspaper articles, one as if they were planning to climb Mount Everest in the past (in either the 1920s or 1950s) and one as if they were planning to climb today.

Ask students what they think would be the greatest challenge in mountain climbing. They might say climbing Mount Everest. Do they know when Mount Everest was first summitted? Explain that the official record states that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to summit the mountain in 1953, although some people believe that George Mallory made it to the top in 1924. He died on the mountain and his body was recently discovered.

Ask students to hypothesize some of the reasons why people would want to climb Mount Everest. They might name personal satisfaction, prestige, or a number of other factors. Do they think climbing Everest holds as much prestige today as it did in the first half of the 20th century? Why or why not?

Explain to students that climbing Everest is now an option for anyone who can afford the trip (over US $60,000), although they need to be in very good shape and understand that the mountain carries a lot of risk. Highly experienced climbers are attempting increasingly unprecedented feats on the mountain. Ed Viesturs and some other world-renowned climbers have summitted the mountain without supplemental oxygen. Viesturs is currently on a mission to summit 14 mountains without supplemental oxygen. Davo Karnicar recently skied from the summit of Mount Everest to base camp. Tom Whittaker, who has had one leg amputated, and Erik Weihenmayer, who is blind, have also summitted Everest. Ask students to think about why experienced Everest climbers and climbers with disabilities would seek these additional challenges.

Have students point out Mount Everest on a map. How accessible is this mountain from Europe and the United States? How might climbers have gotten there in the days before commercial air travel?

Ask students to research what it would have been like to climb Mount Everest in the 1920s when George Mallory made a summit attempt, what it was like in 1953 when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit, and what it is like today. Ask students to create charts with four columns and five rows. In the first row, label columns two through four "1920s," "1950s," and "Today." In the first column, label rows two through five with the following questions:

• Why did they want to climb Mount Everest?
• What kinds of clothing and equipment did they take with them?
• How many other climbers did they see as they attempted to climb Mount Everest?
• What kind of publicity did their trips generate?

Ask students to complete the chart by gathering information from the following Web sites:

George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, 1924:

BBC History: Everest
PBS: NOVA Online—Lost on Everest
PBS: NOVA Online—Everest, Mountain Gear Then and Now

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, 1953:

National Geographic News: Everest Anniversary Expedition
TIME 100: Heroes and Icons—Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay
Scholastic: My Story—Edmund Hillary & Mt. Everest

Today:

National Geographic News: Everest Anniversary Expedition
National Geographic: Everest—Measure of a Mountain—Millennium Expedition
PBS: NOVA Online—Everest—Mountain Gear Then and Now

Discuss the differences between climbing Mount Everest in the 1920s, the 1950s, and today. Is summitting Everest as prestigious an accomplishment as it used to be? Why or why not? Why do people such as Ed Viesturs and Davo Karnicar feel the need to climb Everest "differently"?

Have students imagine themselves back in the 1920s preparing to climb Mount Everest with Mallory, or in the 1950s preparing to climb with Hillary. Have them write one-page articles for a newspaper discussing their planned expedition and describing:

• why they want to climb Mount Everest;
• what they expect the reception will be back home if the climb is successful;
• the gear they will take; and
• the aspects of the trip that will be the most challenging.

Next, have students pretend they are about to head out for an ascent of Mount Everest today. Ask them to write an article for their local newspaper explaining the points above, but also describing what they think the climb will be like (Will they be likely to see other people on the mountain? Will they find any manmade objects along the route?).

• Hold a class discussion on the reasons why personal physical challenges, such as climbing Mount Everest, "evolve" once many people have tried them. In what ways, and for what reasons, has the task of climbing Mount Everest changed since Mallory's attempts in the 1920s?
  
  
• Have students research the physical risks associated with climbing to high altitudes. They can look at Denali for Kids: Body Breakdowns and High Exposure for information on this topic. Discuss the stages of altitude sickness, and ask students whether they think the benefits gained from climbing would outweigh the health risks.
  
  
• Have students conduct an Internet search to find out about guided expeditions to the summit of Mount Everest. How much would it cost, what skills would they be required to demonstrate, and what times of year could they go?

National Geographic News: Everest Anniversary Expedition
National Geographic: Everest—Measure of a Mountain
PBS: NOVA Online—Everest
Scholastic: My Story—Edmund Hillary & Mt. Everest