Everest, about 60 million years ago, was the rapid movement of India northward toward the continent of EuroAsia; Click here for a present-day map ... into mountain ranges—the Himalayas.

Rhys Fitzgerald got to the top of one Himalayan mountain as a warm-up for the world's highest peak. Slovak mountaineer Ondrej Huserka fell while descending the Lantang Lirung mountain in Nepal.

Measuring the concentration of radioactive elements in a single, sand-size crystal reveals the growth of the Himalayan mountain range over time. Everest didn’t become the highest mountain overnight.