Friday 29 May 2009

29th May 1953 - Everest Conquered!!

Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal plant four flags at the peak of Mt. Everest, 29,028 feet above sea level, and become the first explorers to scale Everest. As early as the 1920s, attempts were made to scale Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain. However, no climbers succeeded until Hillary and Norgay on 29 May 1953. The two, part of a British expedition, made their final assault on the summit after spending a fitful night at 27,900 feet. News of their achievement broke around the world on 2 June, the day of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, and many called it a good omen of things to come. The Queen knighted Edmund Hillary later that year.


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