Why does mount Everest not look as impressive as some lesser mountains?

Answer 1

Mount Everest (pronounced "Eve-Rest", by the way, as that's how the man after whom the mountain was named pronounced his name...) is a "big" mountain that rises more gradually than some other mountains, thus it reaches it height less abruptly, especially compared to some of the surrounding land. It's average grade, at least in the upper half of it, is only about 23% - compared to very steep mountains like the world's second highest, K2 in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan, which has an average grade of nearly 45%, Everest seems not so steep.