It's 72 years since Hillary, Norgay scaled the Everest
On this day in 1953, New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first humans to summit Mount Everest. Their feat remains one of the greatest milestones in mountaineering. The same day in 2014 marked a pivotal moment for transgender rights, with Laverne Cox’s TIME magazine cover.
News Arena Network - Kathmandu - UPDATED: May 29, 2025, 09:10 PM - 2 min read
Edmund Hillary (left) and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (right) reached the 29,035-foot summit of Everest on May 29, 1953, becoming the first people to stand atop the world's highest mountain.
In an unparalleled feat of human resilience and cross-cultural unity, New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on this day became the first climbers confirmed to have set foot on the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.
Their historic ascent, part of the British Mount Everest Expedition led by Colonel John Hunt, resonated far beyond the rugged Himalayan frontier. Announced to the world days later, it coincided with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II—two triumphs celebrated across the British Commonwealth.
Towering at 29,035 feet (8,848.86 metres), Everest had long stood unconquered, daunting generations of mountaineers with its treacherous slopes, biting winds and sudden avalanches. Yet Hillary and Norgay, roped together in silent fraternity, pressed upward against every peril nature could muster.
When one stumbled, the other steadied. As their boots froze stiff “like plaster casts”, they groaned and gasped their way forward—“one resolute unit against nature’s wrath”.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. on 29 May 1953, Hillary stepped onto a gentle, wind-swept dome—the roof of the world. “The sky, as if in anticipation of their historic achievement, was clear,” reads an expedition account. The summit, a firm snowfield, gave way to staggering views plunging into the abyss below.
Alone in silence for nearly fifteen minutes, Hillary photographed Norgay holding an ice axe adorned with the flags of Nepal, Great Britain, the United Nations and India. In reverence, Norgay placed chocolates as a traditional offering, while Hillary left a crucifix presented by Colonel Hunt.
Their final push had begun the previous day from a high camp above the South Col. The climbers tackled sheer ridgelines and the now-fabled 40-foot rock face—later christened the “Hillary Step”. Hillary led the assault, with Norgay close behind. The synergy was seamless, the will indomitable.
Tenzing Norgay (left) and Edmund Hillary (right) smile during their first interview with Reuters after their legendary ascent of Mount Everest in Thyangboche, Nepal on June 6, 1953.
Upon return to camp, Hillary greeted fellow climber George Lowe with a wry yet immortal line: “We knocked the b*****d off.”
The expedition’s success was announced in London on 2 June—coinciding precisely with the Queen’s coronation. A Sherpa runner covered nearly 200 miles to Kathmandu to relay the news to The Times correspondent James Morris (later Jan Morris), who coded and dispatched the triumphant message.
The synchronicity of the two events was received across Britain as a near-mystical convergence of imperial endurance and spiritual renewal.
Honours followed swiftly. Queen Elizabeth II knighted Hillary, while Norgay was awarded the George Medal. In later years, both men emphasised that the summit had been reached together, affirming their unity.
The climb did not merely conquer a peak—it transformed perceptions of endurance, cultural cooperation and the limits of human possibility. In the decades since, the ascent has inspired thousands, but the image of two men, alone at the world’s apex, remains unparalleled.
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