South Summit: Everest's Iconic Sub-Peak

The South Summit is a dome-shaped subsidiary peak of Mount Everest, rising to 8,749 metres above sea level. Though higher than K2, it is not considered a separate mountain due to its low topographic prominence of just 11 metres. Climbers often pause here to change oxygen bottles and assess conditions before the final push to the main summit.

First climbed by Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon on 26 May 1953, the South Summit gained fame three days later when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay passed over it en route to the main peak. The summit offers clear-weather views of the Cornice Traverse and the Hillary Step, making it a dramatic milestone on the Everest route.

This site also holds historical significance: a geologist from the 1965 Indian expedition discovered fossilised seashells in limestone above the South Summit, and it was the tragic location where Rob Hall and three others perished during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Reinhold Messner, who made the first oxygen-free ascent of Everest in 1978, called the South Summit "quite a milestone for me."