1. Mount Everest
Elevation: 8,848 meters
And finally…. The world’s tallest mountain stands at an overwhelming 8,848 meters above sea-level, completing our list of the 11 tallest mountains in the world! In Tibetan, Mount Everest is called Chomolungma, which can be translated as Mother Goddess of the Universe, and you can see why. Climbers have been trying to reach Everest’s summit since 1926, but the first successful attempt was led by a British team and featured Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953. Since then, more than 7,000 people have conquered the ‘top of the world’, with the youngest aged a mere 13 years. As with all the peaks in our list, there have been some fatalities – 282, to date. Taken as a percentage, however, Everest stands at the safest of the 8,000-meter mountains to climb, and all of the routes are relatively well-trodden, with expeditions setting off almost every day. It can’t be done quickly though, and in order for the body to avoid altitude sickness, climbers must allow at least 40 days to reach the top. Interestingly, due to the movements of the tectonic plates upon which Everest stands, the mountain grows by a quarter of an inch every single year!
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