![]() The present image shows a replica of Victoria, built in 1992, visiting Nagoya, Japan, for Expo 2005. More than 300 climbers have died attempting to summit the mountain.Įverest’s deadliest day occurred on April 25, 2015, when 19 people were killed in an avalanche at base camp following a 7.8 earthquake, which killed more than 9,000 people and injured more than 23,000 in Nepal.The Nao Victoria managed to carry out the first circumnavigation in history. Three years later, Reinhold Messner of Italy and Peter Habeler of Austria achieved what had been previously thought impossible: climbing to the Everest summit without oxygen. In 1975, Tabei Junko of Japan became the first woman to reach the summit. In 1960, a Chinese expedition was the first to conquer the mountain from the Tibetan side, and in 1963 James Whittaker became the first American to top Everest. Since Hillary and Norgay’s historic climb, numerous expeditions have made their way up to Everest’s summit. Norgay, because he was not a citizen of a Commonwealth nation, received the lesser British Empire Medal. Later that year, Hillary and Hunt were knighted by the queen. The next day, the news broke around the world. News of the success was rushed by runner from the expedition’s base camp to the radio post at Namche Bazar, and then sent by coded message to London, where Queen Elizabeth II learned of the achievement on June 1, the eve of her coronation. At about 11:30 a.m., the climbers arrived at the top of the world. Hillary threw down a rope, and Norgay followed. Wedging himself in a crack in the face, Hillary inched himself up what was thereafter known as the Hillary Step. and a steep rocky step, some 40 feet high, about an hour later. After a freezing, sleepless night, the pair plodded on, reaching the South Summit by 9 a.m. On May 28, Tenzing and Hillary set out, setting up high camp at 27,900 feet. On May 26, Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon launched the first assault on the summit and came within 300 feet of the top of Everest before having to turn back because one of their oxygen sets was malfunctioning. A new passage was forged through the Khumbu Icefall, and the climbers made their way up the Western Cwm, across the Lhotse Face, and to the South Col, at about 26,000 feet. Setting up a series of camps, the expedition pushed its way up the mountain in April and May 1953. Members of the expedition were equipped with specially insulated boots and clothing, portable radio equipment, and open- and closed-circuit oxygen systems. In addition to the best British climbers and such highly experienced Sherpas as Tenzing Norgay, the expedition enlisted talent from the British Commonwealth, such as New Zealanders George Lowe and Edmund Hillary, the latter of whom worked as a beekeeper when not climbing mountains. Shocked by the near-success of the Swiss expedition, a large British expedition was organized for 1953 under the command of Colonel John Hunt. Two climbers, Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay, reached 28,210 feet, just below the South Summit, but had to turn back for want of supplies. In 1952, a Swiss expedition navigated the treacherous Khumbu Icefall in the first real summit attempt. In 1949, Nepal opened its door to the outside world, and in 19 British expeditions made exploratory climbs up the Southeast Ridge route. Several more unsuccessful summit attempts were made via Tibet’s Northeast Ridge route, and after World War II Tibet was closed to foreigners. Whether or not he or Irvine reached the summit remains a mystery. In 1999, Mallory’s largely preserved body was found high on Everest-he had suffered numerous broken bones in a fall. Four days later, Mallory and Andrew Irvine launched a summit assault and were never seen alive again. (The Sherpas, native to the Khumbu region, have long played an essential support role in Himalayan climbs and treks because of their strength and ability to endure the high altitudes.) In 1924, a third Everest expedition was launched by the British, and climber Edward Norton reached an elevation of 28,128 feet, 900 vertical feet short of the summit, without using artificial oxygen. In another attempt made by Mallory that year, seven Sherpa porters were killed in an avalanche. A second British expedition, featuring Mallory, returned in 1922, and climbers George Finch and Geoffrey Bruce reached an impressive height of more than 27,000 feet.
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