Climbers typically ascend only part of Mount Everest’s elevation, as the mountain’s full elevation is measured from the geoid, which approximates sea level. The closest sea to Mount Everest’s summit is the Bay of Bengal, almost 700 km (430 mi) away. So to approximate a climb of the entire height of Mount Everest, one would need to start from this coastline, a feat accomplished by Tim Macartney-Snape’s team in 1990. Climbers usually begin their ascent from base camps above 5,000 m (16,404 ft).
It’s obvious once you think about it, but at what point would you consider it in daily life?
if measured from the base, Everest isn’t even the highest mountain on earth. So if you don’t start at sea level, did you really climb the highest mountain?
But what is the base?
Thing is, that’s a more complicated question than it sounds.
I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you… Only to be with you…