client: everest memorial trust | size: 2 x 2 x 2 meters | site: everest base camp, phereche, nepal 15,500 feet | material: stainless steel | date: april 2003 | engineers: whitby bird
The Everest Memorial was commissioned by the Everest Memorial Trust to commemorate the 174 climbers who have died on Everest. The work was made in the UK, shipped to Nepal in component parts and carried by porters the five day trip to the site 15,500 feet up in the Himalayas, one days walk from Everest base camp.
Made of mirror polished stainless steel, the split cone of the memorial brings the mountains onto the surface through shimmering reflection where it meets with the list of the dead. The memorial is designed to both celebrate the extraordinary human drive that motivates people to go beyond the boundaries of their everyday lives, and the tragic consequences of the risk inherent in this ambition.
The work was completed with support from:
- Nikwax Directional Fabrics
- The John Coats Charitable Trust
- The Woodland Trust
- David and Mary Ellen McEuen
- South East Arts
- The Talbot House Trust
facts & figures
- 32 sherpas
- 15 boxes
- 1357 stainless steel bolts
- 167 component parts
- 15,500 feet above sea level
- 2 meters tall
- 3 years planning
- 6 months fabrication
- 174 names
