T.J. Mueller
ART FROM ABOVE®
Experience In Nepal
Flying in a Eurocopter AS350 B3+ to the summit of Mount Everest was like stepping into a dream stitched from frost and wind. It was Christmas 2009, and I hovered between heaven and earth, a fragile witness to the planet’s spine, colossal and untamed. As we neared the feared "death zone," the wind sliced like shards of ice, the air thinned to whispers, and each breath felt borrowed from the void. Leaning from the helicopter’s window was not merely physical—it was a defiance, a pact with the elements to seize the awe that dwarfed all human endeavor.
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The cold was merciless, turning fingers to brittle tools of observation, yet years of discipline sharpened my focus into a blade. Through the biting wind, I captured Everest in all its terrifying majesty: a dark, omnipotent silhouette, a godlike sentinel towering above our tiny whirring craft. The air clawed at my lungs; a storm brewed in my skull, and the rapid ascent twisted my stomach into coils of unease. Below, we were but a fragile speck, a heartbeat of metal against the infinite, the spinning blades echoing human audacity in the shadow of eternity.
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Beneath us, Tengboche Monastery shone like a jewel cradled in the arms of the Himalayas. Monks and Sherpas moved with serene purpose across the rugged slopes, unaware of our hovering presence. My Australian pilot, Steven, carved arcs of grace through the sky, while my Nepali guide, Hari, shared the silent reverence of a world too vast to name. From above, the village seemed conjured from a child’s imagination: red and blue rooftops, toy-like and perfect, against the sprawling austerity of the mountains. Every image captured felt like glimpsing a parallel world, untouched by time, untouched by scale.
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Mount Everest is more than a mountain; it is a force, a cathedral of rock and ice that dwarfs ambition, humbles the spirit, and awakens awe. I hope this painting whispers even a fraction of the power I felt—an invitation for others to stand at the edge of the world and taste the sublime.
About Mount Everest
Mount Everest, known in Nepali as Sagarmatha and in Tibetan as Chomolungma, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The international border between Nepal (Province No. 1) and China (Tibet Autonomous Region) runs across its summit point.
The current official elevation of 8,848 m (29,029 ft), recognized by China and Nepal, was established by a 1955 Indian survey and subsequently confirmed by a Chinese survey in 1975. In 2005, China remeasured the rock height of the mountain, with a result of 8844.43 m. There followed an argument between China and Nepal as to whether the official height should be the rock height (8,844 m., China) or the snow height (8,848 m., Nepal). In 2010, an agreement was reached by both sides that the height of Everest is 8,848 m, and Nepal recognizes China's claim that the rock height of Everest is 8,844 m.
In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society, upon a recommendation by Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India. As there appeared to be several different local names, Waugh chose to name the mountain after his predecessor in the post, Sir George Everest, despite George Everest's objections.
Mount Everest attracts many climbers, some of them highly experienced mountaineers. There are two main climbing routes, one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal (known as the "standard route") and the other from the north in Tibet. While not posing substantial technical climbing challenges on the standard route, Everest presents dangers such as altitude sickness, weather, and wind, as well as significant hazards from avalanches and the Khumbu Icefall. As of 2017, nearly 300 people have died on Everest, many of whose bodies remain on the mountain.
The first recorded efforts to reach Everest's summit were made by British mountaineers. As Nepal did not allow foreigners into the country at the time, the British made several attempts on the north ridge route from the Tibetan side. After the first reconnaissance expedition by the British in 1921reached 7,000 m (22,970 ft) on the North Col, the 1922 expedition pushed the north ridge route up to 8,320 m (27,300 ft), marking the first time a human had climbed above 8,000 m (26,247 ft). Seven porters were killed in an avalanche on the descent from the North Col. The 1924 expeditionresulted in one of the greatest mysteries on Everest to this day: George Mallory and Andrew Irvine made a final summit attempt on 8 June but never returned, sparking debate as to whether or not they were the first to reach the top. They had been spotted high on the mountain that day but disappeared in the clouds, never to be seen again, until Mallory's body was found in 1999 at 8,155 m (26,755 ft) on the north face. Tenzing Norgayand Edmund Hillary made the first official ascent of Everest in 1953, using the southeast ridge route. Norgay had reached 8,595 m (28,199 ft) the previous year as a member of the 1952 Swiss expedition. The Chinese mountaineering team of Wang Fuzhou, Gonpo, and Qu Yinhua made the first reported ascent of the peak from the north ridge on 25 May 1960.
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