Step above: Mount Everest has gained another metre in the first Joint Nepalese and Chinese survey. Photo / File
Step above: Mount Everest has gained another metre in the first Joint Nepalese and Chinese survey. Photo / File
The world's tallest mountain is higher than previously thought. Nepalese and Chinese survey teams joined forces to measure the highest point at their borders, finding the new official height to be 8,848.86 metres – an increase on both countries' previous estimates.
This is a growth of almost a metre on the measurement made by the Survey of India in 1954, following Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's historic climb. It is also a large increase on China's more conservative estimate, which recorded the actual height of the mountain to be almost four and a half metres shorter, accounting for snow and pack ice.
The new measurement is a huge moment for Nepal, having sent their first survey team to the top of the Mountain. The team from Kathmandu who made their ascent in May were the first party to reach the summit in 2020, due to pandemic restrictions on mountaineering.
The new and final height was calculated following the completion of China's own survey, from Tibetan side of the mountain.
The joint expedition was announced following a visit to Nepal by Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, and the two countries agreed to jointly announce the height based on shared findings.
For years Nepal has said there had been pressure from Beijing to accept their shorter measurement, officials told the BBC. However they saw the joint survey effort was a chance to "set the record straight once and for all".
The challenge of measuring the height comes not only from mountain conditions but also because of the areas high tectonic activity. The Himalayan mountains sit at the fold of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates which are moving together.
Congrat to all Chinese Geo professionals and specially Chen Gang and Wang wei for summit on mt. Everest and Historic victory over Everest. I think all of us Surveyors around the world should be proud of this work.18/05/11, 22/05/19 and 27/05/20 are historical day for Mt Everest pic.twitter.com/XSR43mhEyv
Mountaineering parties suggested the height Everest may have been altered during the devastating 2015 Earthquake, which killed almost 9000 people measuring 7.8 magnitude. The same deadly forces which act on the mountain range are likely to continue to affect the topography.
However, far from futile, the Nepalese survey team was happy to risk life and limb for the process of getting their country's first official recording of the highest point.
On the early hours of May 22, head surveyor Khim Lal Gautam recalled the eerie quiet of being first up the mountain. "There was nobody there when we reached the top," he told the South China Morning Post. He did not have much time to dwell on the moment, however, having to get to work in -43C temperatures.
Everest may have gained a metre but Gautam lost a toe to the mountain in the process. The climber leading the measurement suffered from frostbite, costing him a toe. Another party member, Rabin Karki, cheated death after running out of oxygen near the summit - showing the mountain may be taller but no less dangerous than originally thought.
Head surveyor Khim Lal Gautam training with New Zealand equipment for the Everest survey. Photo / Supplied Trimble, via university of Otago
Kiwi link to Everest survey preserves 'enduring connections'
Nepal's team was aided by technologies developed in New Zealand to establish their new, accurate measurement. GPS receivers and software from University of Otago's School of Surveying and Land Information New Zealand, helped overcome the challenges caused by shifts from the 2015 earthquakes.
"Mount Everest holds immense national pride for the Nepalese," said Otago University's Dr Chris Pearson, who worked with Nepal's Department of Survey. "It has been immensely gratifying to support local surveyors reach this goal..."
New Zealand's ambassador to Nepal David Pine praised the "enduring connections" between the countries that helped form the partnership between the Nepalese Government and the University of Otago.
"Our support for this project honours [Edmund Hillary's] and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa's legacy, as well as underlining the warmth of contemporary New Zealand-Nepal relations," he said.
