From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
British Mount Everest expedition of 1953
was the first
expedition
that made it to the
summit
of
Mt. Everest
.
Edmund Hillary
, an explorer, and
Tenzing Norgay
, a
Nepalese
mountain climber, were the pair who got to the top.
[1]
It was the ninth attempt to reach the summit.
The expedition was lead by Colonel
John Hunt
, who was hired by the Everest organizing committee.
[2]
The
military
-style expedition was "bottom heavy" by today's standards.
[1]
There were
tons
of equipment hauled by 350
porters
to support only ten climbers.
[1]
Other teams would also try. Finally, on May 29, Hillary and Tenzing made it to the top.
[3]
They could only stay on the summit for 15 minutes or risk running out of
oxygen
.
[3]
They began the long climb back down to the
base camp
. They arrived exhausted and unable to speak. When Hunt saw them he thought they failed and began arranging for another team to try.
[3]
But the two gestured that the climb had been a success.
[3]
Hillary and Norgay became instant
heroes
.
[4]