As the 20th century wore on, many expeditions were launched in the Himalayas and many of its peaks fell to ambitious explorers. But the tallest of them all, Mount Everest, stood undefeated at an incredible height of 8,848 metres. The peak was not only high, but also dangerous, as brought home by the lives that were lost in its pursuit. It was the expedition of 1953 led by Colonel John Hunt, a British army officer that finally succeeded in reaching the summit. The two members of the team who would ascend the peak make the whole world proud were Tenzing Norgay, a determined Sherpa mountaineer who hailed from Tami in Nepal and Edmund Hillary, a tough and amiable apiarist-turned climber from New Zealand.
The route chosen lay-up the Khumbu Glacier and then up to long, rising valley of theWestern Cwm to the face of Lhotse, a formidable peak itself, and up that to the South Col, at roughly 7.925m. Then a steep climb would lead up the South-East Ridge to the South Summit of the mountain, from which they hoped to gain the final summit. Tenzing and Hillary were strong and determined climbers with a cheerful disposition and certain ruthlessness. With their tough mental frame and incredible physical stamina, they progressed along the arduous climb, overcoming the treacherous terrain and fierce gusts of icy wind. Finally, on the 29th of May, at 11:30 AM, they found themselves standing on the highest spot on earth.
The ascent of the Everest created world-wide sensation. Even today, after 50 years of the event, mankind looks back with pride at that momentous achievement. The courage, determination and restless energy of Tenzing and Hillary represents the obsessive curiosity of mankind to look beyond the known and search into the unknown. It is this quest that has driven humanity to progress, from one generation to the next.
