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Located on the China-Nepal border, this is the highest peak in the world at 8850m above sea level; it's in the mountain range called the Himalayas. A translation of Himalaya means the home of the snows and that's true, despite being located near a tropical zone. It could be 35C or higher in the Himalaya foothillls, but -30C above 6,000m with reports of being -60C in winter and there's a lot of glaciers also. These are two of the many factors that makes Everest so hard to climb and a challenge to even the most experienced mountain climbers. Climbers coming in from Nepal have to travel through a hot tropical jungle carrying Arctic gear, up the sometimes steep mountain slopes and to bast camp. Climbers from China, have to travel through the huge, 4,000m+ desert-like plateau and it is very cold already there. All climbers of Everest have to acclimatize to the high-altitude air before continuing on their ascent and there is no easy way up. The slopes on Everest are very icy, rocky, windy and avalanche-prone, so heads up to those on the slopes. (Some people have skied Everest and some DID NOT RETURN.) 
Those who travel on the valley glaciers have to face a plethora of problems also; glaciers spawn crevasses and they are known for swallowing people. Some crevasses are 50m+ deep, so don't look down when you cross it! They could be hidden beneath the snow in winter, so be careful where you step!!! 
Icefalls from glaciers are a hazard also; one notorious icefall is the Khumbu Icefall on the Khumbu Glacier (this is also the main route up Everest). The glacier falls 600m over a distance of 1.5km, shattering the once smooth surface of the glacier. This icefall is a mess of huge ice boulders the size of houses and it's very hard finding a route through this chaos. Some peole have been crushed by falling ice boulders, one was 12 stories tall. 
Some avoid the hazardous glacier travel, and travel on the wind-swept ridges, but its still difficult. The winds blow at 175km/h and its steep, icy and rocky, but be very careful on the sometimes razor-thin ridges, it's a LOOOONG fall down on ethier side, a dangerous and tedious climb. 
Ridges are exposed to the fury of the weather, unlike the valley glaciers below, another factor. Snowstorms and blizzards with hurricane-force winds are common here and they could strike within a minute; clear, blue sky to complete whiteout in a minute. The climate and weather here is very harsh and inhospitable in addition to the cold temperatures (no rain falls here). Being this cold at -30C or less, the air is dry and the little snow that falls here gets blown away causing a snow plume to form; this is a very high desert, the difference is that there's a little snow here. There is one more hazard to talk about, the Death Zone, but this is all i feel like typing right now, pic will come later also. 
Edited by urban addict 20324, 22 January 2005 - 08:17 PM.
Some have altitude sickness just going up to base camp. 
B)
