Mountaineers Lesson Summary Notes and Explanation in English Class 7th

Important names to remember

  1. Tenzing Norgay: He was one of the first two people known to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
  2. Sir Edmund Hillary: Tenzing Norgay’s companion to ever reach the summit of Mount Everest.
  3. Captain Avtar Singh Cheema: India’s first mountaineer to reach Mount Everest.
  4. M S Kohli: An officer in the Indian Navy who joined the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, he led the 1965 Indian expedition which put nine men on the summit of Everest, a world record that lasted for 17 years.

Introduction

The lesson “Mountaineers” focuses on the mountain climbers and their journey to the highest point on the planet, Mount Everest. The writer discusses the dangers faced by mountain climbers on their journey to this highest peak. Yet, the number of climbers is increasing day by day.

Summary

The first mountaineers to Mount Everest

The writer begins with Mount Everest being the highest point on the planet at 29,028 ft. above sea level. It is once in a lifetime opportunity and requires huge funds and very tough training and good luck before setting out for the journey. Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first to reach this point in 1953. They were local climbers from New Zealand.

The first Indian to summit Mount Everest was Captain Avtar Singh Cheema on May 20, 1965. He was a captain in the 7th Bn Parachute Regiment and was later promoted to the post of Colonel. He was also the 16th person in the world to scale the peak. He was also a part of the third Indian Expedition led by Commander M S Kohli and others. Both of them received Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan and were also felicitated by the Indian Government with Arjuna Award. Kohli was also given Nishan e-Khalsa by the Punjab Government and a postage stamp was dedicated to the success of the 1965 Everest Expedition.

The dangers of mountain climbing

Climbing Everest Peak is not for untrained Mountaineers, it takes months of physical training and weeks of acclimatization and adjusting to the physical condition. Climbers need to get used to the oxygen-starved heights of the mountain. The route between 26000 and 29020 feet is called the death zone, as in this part the body cannot get enough oxygen and begins to die minute by minute. The distance must be covered in less than a day. 

Despite such dangers, the number of mountaineers to Mount Everest is increasing to such an extent that the climbers have to wait for hours for their turn to stand atop the peak. 

Conclusion

Many mountain climbers risk their own lives and rescuers ‘ when they try to climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. When something goes wrong during their climb, they demand rescue services help them. Already, there is a large vast of people who have died in the process perhaps 200 dead bodies still remain on the mountain. Although, 4,000 other people have successfully scaled the mountain which is a good amount.