29 May 1953: Hillary and Tenzing Reach the Summit of Everest
On May 29, 1953, New Zealand beekeeper Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first human beings confirmed to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth at 29,032 feet above sea level. Their achievement, coming after decades of failed attempts that had claimed numerous lives, captured the world’s imagination and became one of the defining moments of the twentieth century.
The successful 1953 British expedition was led by Colonel John Hunt and represented the culmination of years of planning and preparation. Previous expeditions had mapped routes, tested equipment, and established techniques for high-altitude climbing, but the summit had always remained beyond reach. The mountain had claimed thirteen lives since climbing attempts began in the 1920s, including the famous George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, who disappeared near the summit in 1924. Their fate remains one of mountaineering’s greatest mysteries.
The expedition employed a siege strategy, establishing a series of camps up the mountain and acclimatizing climbers to the thin air over weeks of preparation. On May 26, Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans made the first summit attempt, reaching the South Summit at approximately 28,700 feet before being forced to turn back due to oxygen equipment problems. Their effort, while not reaching the true summit, proved that the peak was attainable.
Hillary and Tenzing set out on their attempt on May 28, spending a frigid night at a camp above 27,000 feet. The following morning, they began their final push in temperatures well below zero. At one point they encountered a forty-foot rock face, now known as the Hillary Step, which seemed to block their path. Hillary found a way to wedge himself into a crack between the rock and ice and worked his way upward. Tenzing followed, and they continued toward the summit.
At 11:30 AM local time, the two men stood where no human had stood before. They spent approximately fifteen minutes on the summit, where Hillary took photographs and Tenzing buried offerings in the snow as tribute to the mountain. The view extended across the Himalayas, over Tibet and Nepal, a perspective no human eye had ever witnessed. They searched briefly for any sign of Mallory and Irvine but found nothing.
News of the achievement reached London on June 2, the morning of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, adding to the celebratory mood. Hillary was knighted, and Tenzing received the George Medal. Both men became international heroes, though they maintained a lifelong friendship and mutual respect. When asked who had actually stepped on the summit first, they consistently replied that they had reached it together. The conquest of Everest opened the era of Himalayan mountaineering and inspired generations of climbers to push the boundaries of human achievement.
