Climbing+Everest

Climbing Everest

On May 29, 1953, the explorer Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal began to climb to the top of Mount Everest. Begining the expedition was difficult, as Tibet was controlled by the Chineese, and they were only allowing one expedition a year to begin to climb the mountain. Tenzing had earlier been on an expedition to reach the top with a company of Swiss explorers who had to turn back about eight hundred feet from the summit of the mountain. After that expediton, the Brittish got an expedition approved and they invited Sir Edmund to join along in the climb. When the Brittish began to climb the mountain, there was a change of command, and Hillary almost left the expedition, but he was convinced to stay. After the change of command, the company leader decided to split the group into three different assaualt teams that were to all try and reach the summit, Sir Edmund was put into his team with Tenzing, and quickly began to become friends. On the way to the top of the mountain, Hillary found a crack in the rock and ice face of a cliff that the expedition had to climb up, and it became the crucial movement that assured their success of the ascent. At the top, Hillary took a picture of Tenzing posing with his pick axe, and it later became famous. After returning from their mountian expedtion, Hillary was knighted by Queen Elizibeth II, and Tenzing received the Brittish Empire Medal for their feats.