Video: '29th May 1953: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquer Mount Everest'
(Friday, May 29, 1953, 11:30 a.m. Indian Standard Time; during the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition) — Mount Everest was conquered today as Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norgay of Nepal became the first humans to reach the summit of Earth’s highest mountain above sea level at 29,031 feet.
Before descending, they remained at the summit long enough to take photographs and bury some sweets and a small cross in the snow.
The two mountaineering pioneers were part of the ninth British Mount Everest expedition that had sought to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At the time, only the Nepalese approach to Everest was open to climbers, but the Kathmandu government only granted one expedition a year.
With a British team unlikely to be granted another attempt until at least 1956, the Joint Himalayan Committee which oversaw British expeditions believed it was vital that the 1953 expedition was a success. They made the decision to appoint British Army Colonel John Hunt as the leader of the expedition, although some other members of the team opposed his appointment.
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Hillary himself was initially unhappy as he was fiercely loyal to Eric Shipton, the climber who had previously led expeditions for the Committee.
The 400-strong team of British climbers, Sherpa guides, and porters set up base camp in March 1953 and established advanced camps further up the mountain throughout April and early May. A first attempt was made on the summit by Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans on May 26, but they were defeated by problems with their oxygen equipment.
Hillary and Norgay were directed to begin their attempt the next day. Poor weather meant that they began their final ascent on the morning of May 29, reaching the summit at 11:30 a.m. where Hillary took a photo of Norgay, alongside a series of other shots looking down the mountain as proof that they had reached the summit.
News of their achievement reached Britain on the morning of June 2, the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
