Location Tombaugh Regio, Pluto | Eponym Tenzing Norgay | |
 | ||
The Norgay Montes (/ˈnɔːrɡeɪ ˈmɒntiːz/; less officially, Norgay Mountains) are icy mountains, near the Hillary Montes, that reach 3.4 km (2.1 mi; 11,000 ft) above the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, bordering the southwest region of Sputnik Planitia in the south of Tombaugh Regio (or the part of Tombaugh Regio south of the equator). The mountains, first viewed by the New Horizons spacecraft on 14 July 2015, and announced by NASA on 15 July 2015, are named after the Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, who, along with Sir Edmund Hillary, were the first climbers to reach the summit of the highest peak on Earth, Mount Everest (29 May 1953).
Understanding size
The Norgay Montes rise to 3.4 km (2.1 mi; 11,000 ft) high, about twice as high as the Hillary Montes. In comparison, Mount Everest rises 4.6 km (2.9 mi; 15,000 ft) base-to-peak (though to an altitude of 8.8 km (5.5 mi; 29,000 ft) above sea level). Japan's Mount Fuji is closer, at about 3.8 km (2.4 mi; 12,000 ft) in altitude.