Not an ordinary one that is... Did you know that the highest altitude you can get from the earth ground zero is not the one closest to the end of atmosphere? I did not. Let me clarify... If you're trying to stand closer to the moon, there is no further higher ground that you could get than one of the mountains in the Andes. Not the Everest, surprisingly. -For the readers under twelve, Mt. Everest is the highest mountain of all --but not the closest to the space... By the way, talking about the Everest, and the reason why I am writing about it now, the first man on the zenith of the Earth, Edmund Hillary, died today in New Zealand at the age of 88. When he was 33, in an attempt to reach the top of the mountain, he succeeded.
The expedition of John Hunt in which he was climbing with, team gave up at some point, leaving two men. Edmund and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal. One of the greatest achievements of mankind in the quest to explore or to challenge. Why do some give up and some continue? And yet do those who left the camp that day lived with the failed possibility that they could have been among those who reached the top first? Or is it just the same relief they felt that day which reoccurred over and over again whenever the subject came in front of them. Not to underestimate the courage of all, and clueless about their own reflections of the story, I leave it as is.
It's Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador, on the other hand, the closest spot on Earth to the Moon and thanks to the geoid shape with a bulge around the equator. If what you are trying to do is get an escape to the space, there you go. No need to hassle with the Everest!
The one on the left is Mt. Chimborazo, and the one the right is the Everest. Needless to say, I am not the photographer for this post.
"If it is a shame to be the second man on Mount Everest, then I will have to live with this shame."
Tenzing Norgay
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