After years of dreaming about it and seven weeks of climbing, New Zealander Edmund Hillary (1919–2008) and Nepalese Tenzing Norgay (1914–1986) reached the top o fMount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, at 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. They were the first people to ever reach the summit of Mount Everest. Mount Everest had long been considered unclimbable by some and the ultimate climbing challenge by others. Soaring in height to 29,035 feet (8,850 m), the famous mountain is located in the Himalayas, along the border of Nepal and Tibet, China.
Before Hillary and Tenzing successfully reached the summit, two other expeditions got close. Most famous of these was the 1924 climb of George Leigh Mallory (1886–1924) and Andrew “Sandy” Irvine (1902–1924). They climbed Mount Everest at a time when the aid of compressed air was still new and controversial.
Among the eleven chosen climbers, Edmund Hillary was selected as a climber from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, though born a Sherpa, was recruited from his home in India.
Both Hillary and Hunt were knighted in July (Hunt was later made a life peer), and Tenzing was awarded the George Medal. All members of the expedition were feted at parties and banquets for months, but the spotlight fell mostly on Hillary and Tenzing as the men responsible for one of the defining events of the 20th century.
Credit : Thought.co
Picture Credit : Google
