Conquering Everest

On May 29, 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary stood where no human had been before: at the top of the world. They were 29,032 feet above sea level, on the summit of Mount Everest—Earth’s highest point. 

Hundreds of people before them had tried to make that death-defying journey up Everest, part of the Himalayan mountain range in Asia. Climbers risked freezing to death, being buried by an avalanche, or falling hundreds of feet to certain doom.

The achievement made Hillary, a beekeeper from New Zealand, and Norgay, his local guide, famous. Hillary’s name became the more well-known of the two, largely because the British newspapers that first reported the story heaped most of the glory on him.

It was Norgay, however, who was the world’s most experienced Everest climber. Conquering the mountain had been his lifelong dream.

It was May 29, 1953. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary stood where no human had been before: at the top of the world. They were 29,032 feet above sea level, on the summit of Mount Everest. That is Earth’s highest point.

Everest is part of the Himalayan mountain range in Asia. Hundreds of climbers before Norgay and Hillary had tried to make the dangerous journey to the top of Everest. Climbers risked freezing to death or being buried by an avalanche. They risked falling hundreds of feet to certain doom.

Hillary was a beekeeper from New Zealand. Norgay was his local guide. Their achievement made them famous. Hillary became the more well-known of the two. That is largely because the British newspapers that first reported the story gave him most of the glory.

But Norgay was the world’s most experienced Everest climber. Conquering the mountain had been his lifelong dream.

Born in May 1914, Norgay was the 11th child of yak herders from Tibet, a state in Central Asia claimed by China. He was part of an ethnic group called the Sherpa, who live in the mountainous regions of Nepal, India, and Tibet.

Norgay grew up in the shadow of Everest. But he wasn’t satisfied with living near the massive mountain. He wanted to climb it—and to someday stand on its seemingly unreachable summit.

“What I wanted,” Norgay later wrote, “was to see for myself; find out for myself. This was the dream I have had for as long as I can remember.”

At age 19, Norgay made his way to Darjeeling, India, then the starting point for many Everest expeditions. There, like many other Sherpas, he got jobs on climbing teams as a porter, a person who carries loads for others.

Sherpas often become skilled mountaineers because they are used to the rugged terrain and high altitude. They’re essential guides for foreigners hoping to scale Himalayan peaks.

Between 1935 and 1951, Norgay took part in six expeditions aimed at reaching Everest’s summit. Then, in 1952, he was hired as the chief guide for a Swiss team’s attempt. That failed too, but Norgay and another climber set a height record: just over 28,000 feet above sea level.

Then came the 1953 British-led expedition that would forever notch Norgay’s place in history.

Norgay was born in May 1914. He was the 11th child of yak herders from Tibet. That is a state in Central Asia claimed by China. He was part of an ethnic group called the Sherpa. They live in the mountainous regions of Nepal, India, and Tibet.

Norgay grew up in the shadow of Everest. But he was not satisfied with living near the huge mountain. He wanted to climb it. He hoped to someday stand on its seemingly unreachable summit.

“What I wanted,” Norgay later wrote, “was to see for myself; find out for myself. This was the dream I have had for as long as I can remember.”

At age 19, Norgay made his way to Darjeeling, India. That was the starting point for many Everest expeditions. There, he got jobs on climbing teams as a porter. That is a person who carries loads for others. Many Sherpas did that.

Sherpas often become skilled mountaineers. That is because they are used to the tough terrain and high altitude. They are very important guides for foreigners hoping to scale Himalayan peaks.

Between 1935 and 1951, Norgay took part in six expeditions aimed at reaching Everest’s summit. In 1952, he was hired as the chief guide for a Swiss team’s attempt. That failed too. But Norgay and another climber set a height record. They reached just over 28,000 feet above sea level.

Then came the 1953 British-led expedition. It would forever mark Norgay’s place in history.