More people have climbed Mount Everest than have sailed around the worldOver 4000 people have climbed Everest, but just a fraction of that number have circumnavigated the world by sea. I couldn't believe it! I grew up thinking that hardly anyone climbs Mount Everest as it's so physically and mentally challenging, and never really thought about how hard it is to sail around the world in comparison.
Thinking about it though...
- Climbing Mount Everest takes around 2 months in total, while the sailing around the world takes about 11 months.
- The temperature range on Everest only has a small variance, from pretty darn cold at -20°C to even colder at -35°C, while during a circumnavigation temperatures range from freezing cold at 0°C to the sticky energy-sapping heights of the tropics at 35°C and above. This kind of variance puts a huge strain on you physically (and mentally) as you adjust from hot to cold and back again, while coping with the consistently sub-zero temperatures of Everest is far more manageable.
- On Everest, the furthest you will ever be from the nearest human will be around 2.1 miles. Sailing across the Pacific Ocean, the nearest human being will either be 248.5 miles away on the International Space Station (if it happens to be passing over) or around 2000 miles away in Japan or Alaska.
Put it like that, and I'm not at all surprised more people have tackled Mount Everest than have circumnavigated the globe by sea.
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