If Mount Everest kept on going up and up into space, how high would climbers have got by now?

Question

1953 saw the successful ascent of the world's tallest mountain by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing.
But supposing Mount Everest didn't stop there, but went up and up for ever, or at least into effective space.
People would still be challenged to climb it. With modern equipment they could have got higher I'm sure - but how high?
Conversley as it is obviously impossible to climb into space even today, maybe Hillary and Tensing would not have felt sufficiently motivated to make the climb to 29000 feet then, as it would only be, say, 5% to the top. So perhaps the record would have actually been LESS than its current height.

Butt: What are you suggesting? That climbers should don wetsuits and start their climb from the deep?

Answer 1

I think the main problem people have when climbing everest is not the distance or harsh climbing conditions but the altitude sickness which you can really prevent. Some people get it worst than others but ive heard its like a dose of the flu which isent ideal when climbing the worlds largest mountain, and the higher up you go the worst it gets. I agree people will always try and climb stuff like this, but if everest went into space people wouldent be able to climb much higher than the current peak of everest, i wouldent have thought even with modern equipment.

Answer 2

If the mountain extended into space, it would poke a hole in the atmosphere. Ignorant people would suggest that evil Republicans had designed the mountain in an attempt to undermine the o-zone.

Answer 3

You really haven't noticed that the top few miles are made up of all those frozen climbers then?

Just keep going... your place is on the top... for a little while:-)

Answer 4

Not has high has the Andes from sea base to top.