Today in 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a local Sherpa of Nepal, are the first explorers to summit Mount Everest. Both men were part of a British funded expedition, and news of their feat made its way around the world on June second. Everest sits at a staggering 29,035 feet tall, making it the literal highest point on Earth. The first real attempt to climb the mountain was made in 1921 by George Mallory. Mallory, who didn’t actually climb the mountain this attempt, was able to find a usable route to try the climb.
The British would try again in 1922 where climbers reached a height of 27,000 feet. Success came even closer when the British tried even again in 28,128 feet, just 900 feet short of the summit. Despite several attempts, no one would summit Everest prior to World War II and Nepal would close its doors to foreigners. However, Nepal opened its door back up in 1949 and a Swiss expedition was in the works. trying a different route from Mallory, Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay reached 28,210 feet just short of the summit. Shocked by the near success of the Swiss, another large British expedition took off. Since the first summit, Climbers from around the world travel to face the challenge of Everest each year.
