Nepalis set out to find true scale of mysterious Everest

In an effort end generations of controversy, the authorities in Nepal will try to ascertain the precise height of the world's biggest mountain.

The project could take up to two years and even then it is more than likely not everyone will agree.

While Everest has been recognised as the planet's highest point for well over 100 years, there are differences of opinion as to the exact dimensions.

For more than half a century, Nepal has recognised the generally accepted height of 8847.7m for what they call Sagarmatha, despite the insistence by neighbouring China that what they refer to in Tibetan as Qomolangma, or Holy Mother, is actually 8844.4m.

"We have begun the measurement to clear this confusion," said Gopal Giri, a spokesman with Nepal's Land Management Ministry. "Now we have the technology and the resources, we can measure ourselves. This will be the first time the Nepal Government has taken the mountain's height."

The task was first performed during the days of British rule in the subcontinent by a Bengali mathematician, Radhanath Sikdar, employed in the office of the surveyor-general, Sir Andrew Waugh. At the time it was believed that Kangchenjunga in Sikkim was the world's highest peak. But Sikdar concluded in 1854 that a nearby peak, at the time referred to simply as Summit XV, was higher.

For two years, the team reassessed the findings and then, confident of what they had discovered, announced their news.

Several years later, in 1865, Waugh declared the peak should be known as Mt Everest, in honour of his predecessor, Sir George Everest. Based on the average figure obtained from six surveying stations, each 160km from the mountain, it was said to be 8839.8m.

This height was widely accepted for the best part of a century, including in 1953 when Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay made their way to the summit.

The following year, a survey by the Indian authorities suggested a new height for the mountain, of 8847.7m, based on the average reading from 12 survey stations, located between 50km and 80km from Everest.

But new technology led new teams to question the estimate. In 1992 a Chinese and Italian team used GPS technology to come up with a figure of 8848.6m.

In 1999, a team led by the late American mountaineer Bradford Washburn came up with a new height, 8849.9m. They also said they had been able to measure the movement of Everest; it was moving northeast by about half a centimetre a year.

In 2005, a team of mountaineers climbed Everest from the Chinese side and announced a reading of 8844.4m. However they said this only measured the actual rock formation of Everest and not the snow cap.

Nepali officials complained that during discussions about the border with their neighbour, China insisted on using its measure. But last year the countries agreed that both measurements might be correct.

"Both are correct heights. No measurement is absolute. This is a problem of scientific research," said Raja Ram Chhatkuli, director-general of Nepal's Survey Department.

Chhatkuli will oversee Nepal's attempt at a precise assessment. It is understood that scientists will place three GPS devices on different locations on the mountain to obtain data.

But for those who actually scale the mountain, the new measurement will make little difference.

George Band, 82, a member of John Hunt's successful expedition to climb the mountain in 1953, said: "This has been done from time to time ... This is just in the interests of science, and a lot of vanity."

- Independent