The First Men to Climb Mount Everest

The First Men to Climb Mount Everest After years of dreaming about it and seven weeks of climbing, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Tenzing Norgay reached the top of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, at 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. They were the first people to ever reach the summit of Mount Everest. Earlier Attempts to Climb Mt. Everest Mount Everest had long been considered unclimbable by some and the ultimate climbing challenge by others. Soaring in height to 29,035 feet (8,850 m), the famous mountain is located in the Himalayas, along the border of Nepal and Tibet, China. Before Hillary and Tenzing successfully reached the summit, two other expeditions got close. Most famous of these was the 1924 climb of George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Sandy Irvine. They climbed Mount Everest at a time when the aid of compressed air was still new and controversial. The pair of climbers was last seen still going strong at the Second Step (about 28,140 - 28,300 ft). Many people still wonder if Mallory and Irvine might have been the first to make it to the top of Mount Everest. However, since the two men did not make it back down the mountain alive, perhaps well never know for sure. The Dangers of Climbing the Highest Mountain in the World Mallory and Irvine certainly were not the last to die upon the mountain. Climbing Mount Everest is extremely dangerous. Besides the freezing weather (which puts climbers at risk for extreme frostbite) and the obvious potential for long falls from cliffs and into deep crevasses, climbers of Mount Everest suffer from the effects of the extreme high altitude, often called mountain sickness. The high altitude prevents the human body from getting enough oxygen to the brain, causing hypoxia. Any climber who climbs above 8,000 feet could get mountain sickness and the higher they climb, the more severe the symptoms may become. Most climbers of Mount Everest at least suffer from headaches, cloudiness of thought, lack of sleep, loss of appetite, and fatigue. And some, if not acclimated correctly, could show the more acute signs of altitude sickness, which includes dementia, trouble walking, lack of physical coordination, delusions, and coma. To prevent the acute symptoms of altitude sickness, climbers of Mount Everest spend a lot of their time slowly acclimating their bodies to the increasingly high altitudes. This is why it can take climbers many weeks to climb Mt. Everest. Food and Supplies In addition to humans, not many creatures or plants can live in high altitudes either. For this reason, food sources for climbers of Mt. Everest are relatively nonexistent. So, in preparation for their climb, climbers and their teams must plan, purchase, and then carry all of their food and supplies with them up the mountain. Most teams hire Sherpas to help carry their supplies up the mountain. (The Sherpa are a previously nomadic people who live near Mt. Everest and who have the unusual ability of being able to quickly physically adapt to higher altitudes.) Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Go Up the Mountain Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were part of the British Everest Expedition, 1953, led by Colonel John Hunt. Hunt had selected a team of people who were experienced climbers from all around the British Empire. Among the eleven chosen climbers, Edmund Hillary was selected as a climber from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, though born a Sherpa, was recruited from his home in India. Also along for the trip was a filmmaker to document their progress and a writer for The Times, both were there in the hopes of documenting a successful climb to the summit. Very importantly, a physiologist rounded out the team. After months of planning and organizing, the expedition began to climb. On their way up, the team established nine camps, some of which are still used by climbers today. Out of all the climbers on the expedition, only four would get a chance to make an attempt to reach the summit. Hunt, the team leader, selected two teams of climbers. The first team consisted of Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans and the second team consisted of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. The first team left on May 26, 1953 to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Although the two men made it up to about 300 feet shy of the summit, the highest any human had yet reached, they were forced to turn back after bad weather set in as well as a fall and problems with their oxygen tanks. Reaching the Top of Mount Everest At 4 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay awoke in camp nine and readied themselves for their climb. Hillary discovered that his boots had frozen and thus spent two hours defrosting them. The two men left camp at 6:30 a.m. During their climb, they came upon one particularly difficult rock face, but Hillary found a way to climb it. (The rock face is now called Hillarys Step.) At 11:30 a.m., Hillary and Tenzing reached the summit of Mount Everest. Hillary reached out to shake Tenzings hand, but Tenzing gave him a hug in return. The two men enjoyed only 15 minutes at the top of the world because of their low air supply. They spent their time taking photographs, taking in the view, placing a food offering (Tenzing), and looking for any sign that the missing climbers from 1924 had been there before them (they didnt find any). When their 15 minutes were up, Hillary and Tenzing began making their way back down the mountain. It is reported that when Hillary saw his friend and co-New Zealand climber George Lowe (also part of the expedition), Hillary said, Well, George, weve knocked the bastard off! News of the successful climb quickly made it around the world. Both Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became heroes.

Your Online Reputation †inspired by the Harvard Business Review

Your Online Reputation – inspired by the Harvard Business Review Last week I covered the issue of Facebook privacy in my article Facebook Privacy? What’s that?   While Facebook raises many privacy issues, your online footprint as a job seeker extends far beyond your Facebook profile. Even if you have avoided Facebook altogether, chances are you have not completely avoided the internet; and this means that you have an online reputation that can be explored- and exploited- by potential employers. The Harvard Business Review published an article on April 3, 2012 by Michael Fertik entitled, â€Å"Your Future Employer is Watching You Online. You Should be Too.†Ã‚   Before I read this article, I had not fully considered all the different ways employers might be researching candidates. I had seen statistics, which   Fertik also shares, that more than 75% of employers actively research candidates online (note this was a December 2009 statistic from Microsoft and is probably higher now), and that more than 70% of employers have decided not to hire a candidate based on what they have found online. I assumed that recruiters were looking at major social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn; but according to this HBS article, recruiters dig much more deeply, looking through â€Å"shopping profiles, online gaming sites, classifieds and auction sites (think eBay and craigslist) – and even in virtual worlds like SecondLife!† You are always a shopper – and you are always the shopped Are you as amazed as I am at the extent of targeted advertising on the web? I get Facebook ads put in front of me for services relating to yoga, healthy diet and personal growth, probably because of the yoga videos, green drinks and books I search for and/or purchase on Amazon. Google has made it spookily easy for advertisers to discover my personal preferences. Clearly, if advertisers can do it, employers can too. There is basically nothing to stop employers from profiling their ideal candidate based on qualities like political inclinations, preferred leisure activities, diet, languages, etc. Of course job history and skills are still the primary considerations, but to narrow down the field, screening for other traits seems a natural extension of what advertisers do every day. Employers can search for you almost like they would for a pair of shoes. What Fertik drives home is that in today’s world, you are really always a job seeker whether you want to be or not. You *are* being researched. Whether you are found is another story. But if you are, you’ll want to look good when the right company finds you. Steps to take In addition to shopping only for items that do not cast doubt on your character, and of course ensuring that your Facebook and LinkedIn profile are professionally presented, there are additional steps you can take to manage your online reputation. Here are three important ones mentioned by Fertik: Check your own Google results. The first five results should make you look good. If they don’t, it’s time for an overhaul of your online reputation. Maybe it’s even time to create a website with the URL firstnamelastname.com or as close as you can get. Does an unsavory character share your first and last name? In that case, address it up front with employers whenever possible so they know to look beyond those initial results. Establish yourself as a skilled professional online. Participate in reputable forums, LinkedIn groups, and anywhere else where you can establish thought leadership online. Don’t assume anything is private. There is always a chance that emails, e-photos, etc. will somehow be discovered or appropriated by a spammer. Privacy settings do not protect you the way you might like. Have you Googled yourself lately? What did you find? Are you active in online forums? Do you think you would be chosen by an employer for the job you want? Please share your thoughts below.