Researchers reach top of the world for survey
By Cao Desheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-05-23 05:05

Twenty-four Chinese mountaineers and researchers succeeded in scaling Mount Qomolangma yesterday on a mission to re-measure the tallest mountain in the world.

They arrived at the summit at 11:08 am Beijing time yesterday after a hard climb lasting more than eight hours.

A TV grab shows Chinese mountaineers holding a national flag atop of Mount Qomolangma (Everest) when they reached there at 11:08am, May 22, 2005. Fifteen people climbed to the top of the world's highest mountain and stayed there for 77 minutes to help remeasure the mountain. [newsphoto]

They erected a survey beacon on the peak and used GPS and radar devices to measure the mountain's height.

The Chinese expedition remained on the summit for 77 minutes to conduct their measurements and started the descent at 12:25 pm.

In the expedition's first team up the mountain were Pubu, Ngawang, Gyabu Ju, and Dorji Gaesang, of the Tibet Mountaineering Team.

Decisive victory

"The re-measurement of Mount Qomolangma has achieved decisive success," Zhang Yanping, the leader of the expedition, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.

Mount Qomolangma, which straddles the border of China and Nepal, rose 8,848.13 metres above sea level 30 years ago, according to China's first measurement in 1975.

The expedition, jointly organized by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping and Chinese Academy of Sciences, started the journey to ascend the mountain in March. And soon after it won the support of the Tibet Mountaineering Team.

But the try for the top, which was first scheduled for May 5, was repeatedly held back until yesterday by bad weather.

The expedition's second team of researchers and mountaineers is expected to start its assault on Mount Qomolangma today to continue measuring, according to Zhang.

"The researchers will figure out the height of the mountain through averaging the data obtained from six measurement points," said Hu Jianguo, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of surveying and Mapping.

The first data was available at 11:50 am yesterday, according to the academy.

Experts have hailed the measurement of Mount Qomolangma as a landmark achievement for humankind.

Expeditions from the United States and Italy have also measured the height of Mount Qomolangma in past years, but the results varied because of the different approaches to measuring, according to Hu.

"The constant changes of the depth of the accumulated snow on the mountain also led to the different measurement results," Hu said.

It was these differences that aroused so much interest in the true height of the rooftop of the world, Hu said.

"At the same time, the changes of the height of the mountain and the measurement data are of great significance for study," he added.

The final results of the expedition will be unveiled in August after a necessary period of data collection and analysis.

(China Daily 05/23/2005 page1)

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