Today on the blog, we are celebrating the mountaineers that reached the summit of Mount Everest. Learn more about the many expeditions throughout the twentieth century, and enjoy a book and movie list for more information.
On the morning of May 29th 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first known explorers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Mount Everest is the highest point on earth at 29,032 feet. Hillary and Norgay were a part of a British expedition team to reach the summit. A few days after reaching the summit, reports celebrating the pair started on June 2nd.
Where is Mount Everest?
Mount Everest is seated in the Himalayas which are located in Asia bordering the countries of Nepal and Tibet. The Mountain was named after British explorer, George Everest, who was tasked with surveying South Asia in the 19th century. The summit itself contains roughly two-thirds of the atmosphere, making oxygen low along with extremely cold temperatures. These are two of the factors that make climbing the mountain so dangerous.
The first expedition team to climb the mountain was in 1921. The team was forced to turn back after encountering a snowstorm. A member of the team, George Mallory marked down what he thought would be a reasonable route to make it to the summit. Mallory told reporters that he wanted to climb the mountain, simply because it was there. One year later, Mallory returned to Everest. This time Mallory, alongside climbers George Finch and Geoffrey Bruce, made it to around 27,000 feet. In 1924, Britain tried again with a third expedition. That expedition included Mallory, Andrew Irvine and Edward Norton. The team reached 28,128 feet. Mallory and Irvine decided to make a go for the summit. They were never seen alive again. In 1999, the body of Mallory was discovered. It was determined that Mallory fell down the mountain at some point during his climb to the summit. It has not been recorded if Mallory and Irvine ever reached the summit. Nepal and Tibet had closed the mountain, during the height of World War II. Nepal reopened the mountain in 1949, again with Britain leading two expeditions in 1950 and 1951. An attempt to reach the summit by the Swiss happened in 1952 with Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay. They made it past the Khumbu Icefall and reached 28,210 feet. The pair turned back because of limited supplies. Not wanting to be beaten, Britain again launched an expedition to the summit. The British government placed Colonel John Hunt in charge of the journey. Hunt hired the best British climbers from the commonwealth, and Sherpas to go up the mountain. The team was given their own closed circuit oxygen system among other advanced equipment. On May 28th, Hillary and Norgay began their attempt to the summit at 27,900 feet. They reached the South Summit at 9 am, and together made it to the top an hour later. A step near the summit on the peak is named after Hillary. Hillary pulled Tenzing up and together at 11:30 am they reached their destination.
A telegram was sent from base camp to London on June 1st, where Queen Elizabeth II was told the happy news. Years later, both Hillary and Hunt were knighted by the Queen. The Queen gave Norgay, the British Empire Medal, as he was not a part of the Commonwealth. In 1963, a Chinese expedition reached the summit from the Tibet side of the mountain. A few years later, American James Whittaker made it to the summit. Tabei Junko was the first woman to reach the summit in 1975. Climbers Reinhold Messner from Italy and Peter Habeler from Austria reached the summit without oxygen.
More than 300 people have died while attempting to reach the summit. The deadliest date in the mountain’s history was on April 19, 2015 when an avalanche killed 19 people. The avalanche was caused by a 7.8 earthquake in Nepal that devastated the country.
Mount Everest remains a popular destination for climbers. Each year, roughly 800 people attempt to climb the mountain. The majority of climbers take on the challenge because of the mountain’s reputation throughout history.
Discover More
Books
Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
Everest 24 by Felix Driver
The Third Pole by Mark Synnott
The Hunt for Mount Everest by Craig Storti
Enough by Melissa Arnot Reid
After the Wind by Louis Kasischke
Movies and Documentaries
Everest (2025)
Surviving Everest (2000)
The Wildest Dream (2011)
Sherpa (2016)
The Climb (2001)
The Himalayas (2025)
The Man Who Skied Down Everest (1975)
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