Mount Everest is the highest mountain above sea level, with an officially agreed elevation of 8,848.86 meters.
Everest lies in the Himalayas on the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Its Nepali name is Sagarmatha, while Tibetans call it Chomolungma. The mountain formed as the Indian Plate pushed into the Eurasian Plate, a collision that continues to raise the Himalayas.
The first confirmed ascent took place on 29 May 1953, when New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit. Earlier expeditions may have reached high elevations, but George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared during their 1924 attempt, leaving the outcome unresolved.
K2 is steeper and often considered more technically difficult, but it is lower than Everest. Elevation measurements have been revised over time because snow depth, surveying methods, and tectonic uplift affect the reported figure.