Woman's Record Climb Up Mount Everest TWICE in 5 days! Using the News for a Writing Prompt

I found this recent news story of interest and wanted to share. Perhaps, it might be a writing prompt for your students. 

Imagine reaching the summit of Mount Everest. Now, imagine reaching it TWICE in one week. Anshu Jamsenpa, of India, set a new women’s record for a double ascent of Mount Everest in one season. Even more amazing, this is the FIFTH accent of Mount Everest by Jamsenpa! At 29,028 feet, some say it is now 29,035, Mount Everest stands about 5 1/2 miles above sea level! Note: If you measure from the ocean floor, Mauna Kea is actually higher than Mount Everest. 

1. Check out this map of the base camp to summit of Mount Everest. Write a diary entry about your day of climbing the mountain. What are you thinking? seeing? hearing? Etc.
2. If you reached the summit, what would you take out of your bag to hold up in a photograph?

Possible Interactive Notebook Activity

In 1923, English mountaineer George Mallory was asked, “Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?” His response, “Because it’s there.” He would make three attempts at climbing the massive peak, which at that time was known as the Third Pole. On 1924, he and Andrew Irvine trekked up the mountain and never came down. On May 29th, 1953, Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Norgay Tenzing, became the first people to successfully summit Mount Everest.  

What do you know about Mount Everest?

• In Tibet, Mount Everest is called Chomolungma, meaning “mother goddess of the universe.”
• In Nepal, Mount Everest is called Sagarmatha, meaning “forehead of the sky.”
• Mount Everest is called the “roof of the world.” It is located between Nepal and China.
• About the size of 20 Empire State Buildings, Mt. Everest stands 29,028 feet. That’s about 5 1/2 miles above sea level!
• Originally called Peak 15, the mountain peak was named for Sir George Everest.
• Did you know that marine fossils have been found on the mountain? This shows that at one time, the mountain was below sea level!  The first fossils were found by Noel Odell in 1924.
• Only the black jumping spider calls  Mount Everest home. It can be found at 22,000 feet.
• At times, the winds at the peak of Mount Everest blow at gusts of 200 miles per hour.
• Mount Everest is growing at about .25 inches per year.
• Formed in 2008, the Eco Everest Expedition is trying clean up the mountain. An estimated 50 tons of trash have been left behind by climbers. As of 2014, there is a rule that you must bring down 18 pounds of trash.
• Mauna Kea is actually higher than Mount Everest, if measured from the ocean floor.
• If you reach the summit, you have reached the cruising altitude of a jet airplane!
• Mount Everest is about 60 million years old!
• Kenton Cool, in 2011, sent the first tweet from the summit of Mount Everest.

Activities

1. George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were the first to attempt to climb Mount Everest in 1924. Mallory's body was discovered, in 1999, on the North Face of Mount Everest. Attempts, including one in 2010, to find Mallory’s Vest Pocket Kodak camera, have yet been successful. The question . . . how close to the summit did he and Irvine get back in 1924? If found, will the pictures on the camera give any clues? Did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit. Write a newspaper headline and paragraph on the discovery of the camera.
2. Test your IQ on Mt. Everest.
3. Many people believe a creature roams the Himalayan Mountains. Called the Yeti or Abominable Snowman, it is said to walk on two legs. Some climbers have found unusually large footprints in the snow. Could the Yeti actually exist? What might explain the size of the footprints (melting snow making the tracks look larger than they were)? Write a story pretending to find the Yeti. What does it look like? What sounds does it make? What does it smell like? http://www.scaryforkids.com/yeti/  and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8818386/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-Yeti.html
4. Check out my informative webquest on Mount Everest and Nepal. There are 10 web questions and several extension activities.

Additional Links for Teachers

• 10 Things You Might Not Know About Mount Everest
• Sixty Fascinating Everest Facts

Gail

http://www.gailhennessey.com