# The Earth's three highest mountains - by three definitions

#### steve_bank

##### Diabetic retinopathy and poor eyesight. Typos ...
Diapers? Those astronaught diapers should be sturdy enough.

Hilary and Norgay did the Everest first ascent in the 50s with crude equipment and clothes by today's standards. I don't think they used O2.

#### lpetrich

##### Contributor
I'd earlier calculated the geopotential height as
$$\displaystyle{ \frac{g}{g_0} h }$$

But that is a first-order approximation, and I must be more careful. The gravitational potential is (-G*M/r) for gravitational constant G, mass M, and distance from the center r. Adding h to r and expanding in a series in h gives us
$$\displaystyle{ \frac{g}{g_0} h - \frac{GM}{r^3} h^2 + \text{higher-order terms, overall O(h**3), nonspherical O(h**2)} }$$

For Ötzi, this additional correction is -1.65 m, and for Everest, -12.29 m, giving 3208 m and 8823.09 m.

#### steve_bank

##### Diabetic retinopathy and poor eyesight. Typos ...

By setting 29.92 inHg/1013.4 mb, the altimeter will immediately read pressure altitude. If no altimeter is handy, a simple math formula will provide the same answer. Pressure altitude = { (Sea Level Pressure – 29.92) x 1,000} + true altitude (or field elevation if on the ground) Pressure Altitude Versus Density Altitude

In aviation, pressure altitude is the height above a standard datum plane (SDP), which is a theoretical level where the weight of the atmosphere is 29.921 inches of mercury (1,013.2 mbar; 14.696 psi) as measured by a barometer.[2] It indicates altitude obtained when an altimeter is set to an agreed baseline pressure under certain circumstances in which the aircraft’s altimeter would be unable to give a useful altitude readout. Examples would be landing at a high altitude or near sea level under conditions of exceptionally high air pressure. Old altimeters were typically limited to displaying the altitude when set between {\displaystyle 950~\mathrm {mb} }
and {\displaystyle 1030~\mathrm {mb} }
. Standard pressure, the baseline used universally, is {\displaystyle 1013.25}
hectopascals ({\displaystyle \mathrm {hPa} }
), which is equivalent to {\displaystyle 1013.25~\mathrm {mb} }
or {\displaystyle 29.92}
inches of mercury ({\displaystyle \mathrm {inHg} }
). This setting is equivalent to the atmospheric pressure at mean sea level (MSL) in the ISA. Pressure altitude is primarily used in aircraft-performance calculations and in high-altitude flight (i.e., above the transition altitude).

The density altitude is the altitude relative to standard atmospheric conditions at which the air density would be equal to the indicated air density at the place of observation. In other words, the density altitude is the air density given as a height above mean sea level. The density altitude can also be considered to be the pressure altitude adjusted for a non-standard temperature.

Both an increase in the temperature and a decrease in the atmospheric pressure, and, to a much lesser degree, an increase in the humidity, will cause an increase in the density altitude. In hot and humid conditions, the density altitude at a particular location may be significantly higher than the true altitude.

In aviation, the density altitude is used to assess an aircraft's aerodynamic performance under certain weather conditions. The lift generated by the aircraft's airfoils, and the relation between its indicated airspeed (IAS) and its true airspeed (TAS), are also subject to air-density changes. Furthermore, the power delivered by the aircraft's engine is affected by the density and composition of the atmosphere.

#### T.G.G. Moogly

Diapers? Those astronaught diapers should be sturdy enough.

Hilary and Norgay did the Everest first ascent in the 50s with crude equipment and clothes by today's standards. I don't think they used O2.

They did. The first recorded ascent without supplemental oxygen was Messner in 1978.

#### steve_bank

##### Diabetic retinopathy and poor eyesight. Typos ...
Sounds like climbing stairs up a tall building breathing trough a straw with a bag over your head.

#### lpetrich

##### Contributor
How Nirmal Purja scaled the world's tallest peaks in record time
“Don’t be afraid to dream big,” Nirmal “Nims” Purja says in the opening voiceover of the new Netflix documentary “14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible,” out now. Purja, a 38-year-old mountaineer, didn’t dream big so much as he dreamed tall.

The doc chronicles his attempt to climb all 14 peaks in the world that are over 8,000 meters in seven months. The previous record for such a feat was seven years. Climbing a single eight-thousander is a huge endeavor that can take months, inflict a significant toll on the body and requires a good degree of luck in terms of weather and conditions.

“Anything above 8,000 meters is in ‘the death zone,’ ” filmmaker and fellow mountaineer Jimmy Chin, known for the Oscar-winning climbing documentary “Free Solo,” says in the movie. “You’re breathing about one-third of the amount of oxygen that you would at sea level.”
14 Highest Mountains in the World - Project Base8000
Climbing to the summit of all 14 eight-thousanders is regarded as a mountaineering challenge and as at 2019 only 40 mountaineers have achieved this. The Himalayan Database captures many of these ascents.

...
October 2019 update: Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja has just broken the world record for summiting these mountains in record time. His ‘Project Possible‘ achieved this Herculean feat in 6 months and 6 days! We were lucky to meet Nims on our trek to Cho Oyu Advance Base Camp.

The Himalayan Database, The Expedition Archives of Elizabeth Hawley

8000ers.com, Statistics, News and Stories about the 14 highest mountains of the world

Everest - The eight-thousanders - shows 3D models of these mountains in webpages

#### lpetrich

##### Contributor

The highest ones are in a strip between the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. From west to east, Hindu Kush - Pamirs - Karakoram - Himalayas / Transhimalayas - Hangduan. All 14 peaks are in this strip, including champion Mt. Everest at 8848 m.

They are the result of the Indian plate running into the Eurasian plate.

North of the Himalayas is the Tibetan Plateau, and north of it is the Kunlun Mountains (highest: Liushi Shan, 7167 m). Further north is the Tarim Basin, a low spot, and then the Tian Shan mountains (highest: Jengish Chokusu, 7439 m)

These mountains are part of the a.k.a the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt or the Tethyan orogenic belt. Its western part is the produced by the African and the Arabian plates running into the Eurasian plate.

This is a long strip of mountain ranges that extends along the southern border of the Eurasian plate, extending southern Europe - northern Middle East - southern Central Asia - Southeast Asia - western and southern Malaysia / Indonesia

-

Outside of that long strip, the mountain ranges with the highest mountains are in the a long strip of mountain ranges that extends western North America - Central America - western South America. Its highest peak is Aconcagua in the Andes, at 6962 m. It was produced by the collision of the Pacific plate and some smaller plates on one side, and the Atlantic plate and some smaller plates on the other side.

#### steve_bank

##### Diabetic retinopathy and poor eyesight. Typos ...
8000 feet is like climbing about 10 Empire Ste Buildings.

#### Politesse

##### Lux Aeterna
Sounds like Mauna Kea would be the hardest to hike from base to summit.
That's not how it works. Terrain and weather conditions are the biggest factors, not total distance or elevation gain. K2 is not as high as Everest, but is a much more challenging peak, and more people die attempting K2 than Everest.
Sure. But think about attempting Mauna Kea from its *base*!
Hiking under 19,000 feet of water can be a real challenge; the ascent to sea level might not be difficult, but the pressure at the bottom is a bitch. In fact the survival rate is zero AFAIK.
Oh-ho?

Oh-ho?

### Earth’s tallest mountain is in Hawaii. Here’s what it took to ascend it​

… courtesy of 21st century tech, plus bicycles. Meh.

Oh-ho?

### Earth’s tallest mountain is in Hawaii. Here’s what it took to ascend it​

… courtesy of 21st century tech, plus bicycles. Meh.
No one climbs without tech.

Oh-ho?

### Earth’s tallest mountain is in Hawaii. Here’s what it took to ascend it​

… courtesy of 21st century tech, plus bicycles. Meh.
No one climbs without tech.
Well, if you include shoes and clothing, yeah.
I just don’t get how this is some great accomplishment. The hardest part is the bike ride, and thousands of people do it.

Oh-ho?

### Earth’s tallest mountain is in Hawaii. Here’s what it took to ascend it​

… courtesy of 21st century tech, plus bicycles. Meh.
I do think it is cute how the picture in the article was taken of probably one of the few mounds on Mauna Kea's peak without a large telescope in the frame. It does, however, give a better visual impression that getting there was a dauntless task.

The article should have made the 'climb' sound even more extradentary by mentioned that they rejected the use of high tech climbing gear in their final ascent to the summit.

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#### steve_bank

##### Diabetic retinopathy and poor eyesight. Typos ...
A new Iron Man competition.

Swimming, running, bicycling, and climbing an undersea mountain.

Oh-ho?

### Earth’s tallest mountain is in Hawaii. Here’s what it took to ascend it​

… courtesy of 21st century tech, plus bicycles. Meh.
No one climbs without tech.
Well, if you include shoes and clothing, yeah.
I just don’t get how this is some great accomplishment. The hardest part is the bike ride, and thousands of people do it.
And yet they were the first to do so.

#### steve_bank

##### Diabetic retinopathy and poor eyesight. Typos ...
A walking stick is technology. Pick a suitable stick off the ground.

How long has forms of footwear been around?

#### Elixir

A walking stick is technology. Pick a suitable stick off the ground.
How long has forms of footwear been around?
Longer than deep submersibles, I'd guess.
(sorry - I should have qualified modern tech. Oh wait... I did)

#### Politesse

##### Lux Aeterna
How long has forms of footwear been around?
Unknown, but the oldest known footwear are the Fort Rock Sandals, which are more than 9,000 years old. And as they were found in Oregon, it's commonly assumed that their discovery means footwear must predate the initial settlement of the Americas from Asia. A more indirect form of evidence, osteological wear, suggests Eurasians were wearing footwear from around 30,000 years ago.

#### steve_bank

##### Diabetic retinopathy and poor eyesight. Typos ...
A walking stick is technology. Pick a suitable stick off the ground.
How long has forms of footwear been around?
Longer than deep submersibles, I'd guess.
(sorry - I should have qualified modern tech. Oh wait... I did)
Do you know who Robbins and Chouonard were?

Chocks and nuts instead of pins and hammers. That was new climbing technology in the day. Carabiners were a major innovation. Sheathed lightweight Perlon rope. Many thin strands in a sheath. More flexibl and less running resistance than raditional style rope.

The original North Face Oval Intention tent highly resistant to wind was based on Fullers geodesic dome.

EBs climbing shoes. Max friction.

#### lpetrich

##### Contributor
How long has forms of footwear been around?
Unknown, but the oldest known footwear are the Fort Rock Sandals, which are more than 9,000 years old. And as they were found in Oregon, it's commonly assumed that their discovery means footwear must predate the initial settlement of the Americas from Asia. A more indirect form of evidence, osteological wear, suggests Eurasians were wearing footwear from around 30,000 years ago.
What evidence is that? What evidence is there for clothes in general?

In an earlier post, I'd listed Ötzi as having an altitude record. I did that because it is documented by his body. Either he climbed up to his final altitude or else those who carried his body did so.

#### Elixir

A walking stick is technology. Pick a suitable stick off the ground.
How long has forms of footwear been around?
Longer than deep submersibles, I'd guess.
(sorry - I should have qualified modern tech. Oh wait... I did)
Do you know who Robbins and Chouonard were?

Chocks and nuts instead of pins and hammers. That was new climbing technology in the day. Carabiners were a major innovation. Sheathed lightweight Perlon rope. Many thin strands in a sheath. More flexibl and less running resistance than raditional style rope.

The original North Face Oval Intention tent highly resistant to wind was based on Fullers geodesic dome.

EBs climbing shoes. Max friction.

Two startups ago … we were regulars at Outdoor Retailer and served as medical station for the Summer Market shows, in Reno and later in SLC ( I was in the Salt Palace when the tornado of 1999 hit, tore up the place), bunch of injuries, one code on scene another in transit.

I was never a climber but one of the reps I managed carried 5.10 and Black Diamond another associate was an owner of Sterling rope, so yeah - met all those guys&gals, Jim Whittaker, Jon Krakauer… lotsa climbers. Partied well, got free climbing shoes (ouch, damn!)… learned all the morbid climber jokes … good times.
You probably know what a RURP is right? Yeah, nope. Not for me!

#### steve_bank

##### Diabetic retinopathy and poor eyesight. Typos ...
If I remember right from the show I watched.

He carried a kit for making arrows. His clothes and shoes were two layers of leather stuffed with vegetation for insulation.

Tibetan yoga masters can demonstrate the ability to go out in the cold with light clothing. They can riase body temperature.

There was a cable show called Dual Survial. Two guys get dropped into extreme environments with nothing. One guy was a survalist who ived in Arizona. He never wore shoes. even in harsh surface environments. His feet toughened.

He did not wear shoes in snow country and always wore shorts regardless of temperature.. He is for real.

There was another guy who taught wilderness survival who you could drop almost anywhere and he could figure out how to not just survive but eat well and create good shelter. He could craft an array of tools and hunting weapons from scratch. An intimate and detailed knowledge of the environment and how to use it, like all our ancestors did.

Us humans in a short time have become soft, no exageration.

#### Elixir

Cody was always hurting his feet and slowing things down for those “dual survivors”. Still, walking around barefoot in the snow in sub-freezing weather without frostbite- or even significant discomfort, bespeaks the versatile adaptability of the human body

#### Politesse

##### Lux Aeterna
How long has forms of footwear been around?
Unknown, but the oldest known footwear are the Fort Rock Sandals, which are more than 9,000 years old. And as they were found in Oregon, it's commonly assumed that their discovery means footwear must predate the initial settlement of the Americas from Asia. A more indirect form of evidence, osteological wear, suggests Eurasians were wearing footwear from around 30,000 years ago.
What evidence is that? What evidence is there for clothes in general?

In an earlier post, I'd listed Ötzi as having an altitude record. I did that because it is documented by his body. Either he climbed up to his final altitude or else those who carried his body did so.
Specifically, the Fort Rock style is now represented by thirteen full specimens from six sites, which have consistently been dated from roughly the same millennium. You can read more about the Fort Rock Assemblage at this link. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/fort_rock_sandals/

The evidence for clothing in general far, far predates the evidence for shoes specifically, and hinges on the development of a lithic tool set with obvious purpose other than textile manufacture (as well as the more circumstantial but convincing evidence such as the evolution of clothing lice and our settlement of subarctic regions where unclothed humans could not survive). You can read more on this issue here: https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/when-did-humans-first-start-wearing-clothes

#### lpetrich

##### Contributor
Fort Rock Sandals
I used Google's image search, and I found
Sandals Drawings | Museum of Natural and Cultural History

They look like slippers with heel straps.

When did humans first start wearing clothes? - BBC Science Focus Magazine

Stone tools that may have been used for preparing animal hides:
• Gran Dolina in the Spanish Atapuerca Mountains, Homo antecessor, 780,000 ya
• Schöningen in Germany, Homo heidelbergensis, 400,000 ya
We see clearer evidence from the Neanderthals, who lived as far back as 400,000 years ago: the pattern of musculature on Neanderthal arms suggests that they habitually carried out tasks like hide preparation. Despite having bodies that were more cold-adapted than ours, a 2012 study estimated that Neanderthals may have needed to cover up to 80 per cent of their bodies to survive the harsh winters.
In our species, some evidence comes from an indirect source. Head lice and clothing lice are closely related, and they diverged around 170,000 years ago.
During winter, we probably needed to cover as much as 90 per cent of the body, which may be why we developed more modern-looking clothing than the fur cloaks that Neanderthals are suggested to have worn. By around 40,000 years ago, we were using needles and awls, made out of bone and stone, to create sewn, fitted clothes to keep us warm.