Erik Weihenmayer (b. 1968) is an American athlete, adventurer, activist and author who lost his vision when he was 14 years old. But his inability to see could in no way deter him in his pursuit of adventure. He became the first visually-impaired person to climb the Seven Summits – the seven tallest peaks, namely Mt Kosciuszko in Australia, Mt …
Edmund Hillary and the Three Poles Challenge
We all know of Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand as one of the first two to climb the world’s highest summit, Mt Everest. He also had another feather on his cap. He was the first person to have reached the three extremes – Mount Everest, the North Pole and the South Pole. Thus, the Three …
The mathematician who calculated the height of Mount Everest
Radhanath Sikdar (1813–1870) was an Indian mathematician who among many other things calculated the height of Peak XV in the Himalaya and showed it to be the tallest mountain above sea level. Peak XV was later named Mount Everest.