Climbing to the top of Mount Everest or Mount Everest Base Camp is on the “things to do before you die” list for many people, as is walking along the Great Wall of China for others.

However, if you are considering booking a trip to climb Everest, which is the world’s tallest and most famous mountain, or to Mount Everest Base Camp, take a look at the following 10 fascinating facts about Everest.

number one

The first people to climb to the top of Mount Everest were Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer.

Both reached the top of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953 and climbed for just over seven weeks.

number two

The last year that no one climbed to the top of Everest was 1974. Every year since then, there have been mountaineers from all over the world who have successfully reached the top of the mountain.

Number Three

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world with an estimated height of 8,848 meters.

The second highest is K2 (8,611 meters high), the third is Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), the fourth is Lhotse (8,516 m) and the fifth highest mountain in the world is Makalu (8,485 m).

Number four

The oldest person to summit Everest was Yuichiro Miura at the ripe old age of 80. The Japanese mountaineer successfully scaled Mount Everest in 2013 and also successfully skied 4,200 vertical feet of the mountain.

Number five

The youngest, however, was the 13-year-old American Jordan Romero, who managed to climb Everest, also known as the ‘mother of the universe’, in May 2010.

The previous record was held by Ming Kipa from Nepal, who reached the top when he was just 15 years old.

Number six

Scientists and geologists believe that Everest grows 4mm taller each year as two opposing tectonic plates cause it to rise slowly.

Number seven

Google mapped Everest in 2011. The summit itself could not be mapped, but a team walked more than 70 miles to reach Everest Base Camp while taking photos for Google Maps.

Number eight

British climber and explorer Bear Grylls became the first man to fly higher than the top of the world in a powered paraglider when he climbed Everest in 2007. He was also the youngest British climber to summit Everest in 1998.

Number nine

There are two main routes to the summit of Everest: the Southeast Ridge from Nepal and the North Ridge, which starts in Tibet.

Number 10

The most dangerous part of the mountain is called the Khumbu Icefall.