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KF5JRV > TODAY 29.05.26 07:45z 64 Lines 5133 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 26162_KF5JRV
Subj: Today in History - May 29
Path: HB9ON<DK0WUE<PI8ZTM<VE3CGR<VE3TOK<VE3KPG<N2MH<VE2PKT<NS2B<KF5JRV
Sent: 260529/0720Z 26162@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.24
At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal, become the first known expl
orers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which at 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest point on earth. The two, part o
f a British expedition, made their final assault on the summit after spending a fitful night at 27,900 feet. News of their achi
evement broke around the world on June 2, the day of Queen Elizabeth IIs coronation, and Britons hailed it as a good omen fo
r their countrys future.
Mount Everest sits on the crest of the Great Himalayas in Asia, lying on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Called Chomo-Lungm
a, or “Mother Goddess of the Land,” by the Tibetans, the English named the mountain after Sir George Everest, a 19th-centur
y British surveyor of South Asia. The summit of Everest reaches two-thirds of the way through the air of the earths atmosphe
reat about the cruising altitude of jet airlinersand oxygen levels there are very low, temperatures are extremely cold, a
nd weather is unpredictable and dangerous.
The first recorded attempt to climb Everest was made in 1921 by a British expedition that trekked 400 difficult miles across th
e Tibetan plateau to the foot of the great mountain. A raging storm forced them to abort their ascent, but the mountaineers, am
ong them George Leigh Mallory, had seen what appeared to be a feasible route up the peak. It was Mallory who quipped when later
asked by a journalist why he wanted to climb Everest, “Because its there.”
A second British expedition, featuring Mallory, returned in 1922, and climbers George Finch and Geoffrey Bruce reached an impre
ssive height of more than 27,000 feet. In another attempt made by Mallory that year, seven Sherpa porters were killed in an ava
lanche. (The Sherpas, native to the Khumbu region, have long played an essential support role in Himalayan climbs and treks bec
ause of their strength and ability to endure the high altitudes.) In 1924, the British launched a third Everest expedition, and
climber Edward Norton reached an elevation of 28,128 feet, 900 vertical feet short of the summit, without using supplemental o
xygen. Four days later, Mallory and Andrew Irvine launched a summit assault and were never seen alive again. In 1999, Mallory
s largely preserved body was found high on Everesthe had suffered numerous broken bones in a fall. Whether or not he or Irv
ine reached the summit remains a mystery.
Several more unsuccessful summit attempts were made via Tibets Northeast Ridge route, and after World War II Tibet was close
d to foreigners. In 1949, Nepal opened its door to the outside world, and in 1950 and 1951 British expeditions made exploratory
climbs up the Southeast Ridge route. In 1952, a Swiss expedition navigated the treacherous Khumbu Icefall in the first real su
mmit attempt. Two climbers, Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay, reached 28,210 feet, just below the South Summit, but had to tu
rn back for want of supplies.
Shocked by the near success of the Swiss expedition, a large British expedition was organized for 1953 under the command of Col
onel John Hunt. 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. Members of the expedition were equipped with specially insulated boots and clothin
g, portable radio equipment, and open- and closed-circuit oxygen systems.
Setting up a series of camps, the expedition pushed its way up the mountain in April and May 1953. A new passage was forged thr
ough the Khumbu Icefall, and the climbers made their way up the Western Cwm, across the Lhotse Face, and to the South Col, at a
bout 26,000 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.
On May 28, Tenzing and Hillary set out, setting up high camp at 27,900 feet. After a freezing, sleepless night, the pair plodde
d on, reaching the South Summit by 9 a.m. and a steep rocky step, some 40 feet high, about an hour later. Wedging himself in a
crack in the face, Hillary inched himself up what was thereafter known as the Hillary Step. Hillary threw down a rope, and Norg
ay followed. At about 11:30 a.m., the climbers arrived at the top of the world.
News of the success was rushed by runner from the expeditions base camp to the radio post at Namche Bazar and then sent by c
oded message to London, where Queen Elizabeth II learned of the achievement on June 1, the eve of her coronation. The next day,
the news broke around the world. Later that year, Hillary and Hunt were knighted by the queen. Norgay, because he was not a ci
tizen of a Commonwealth nation, received the lesser British Empire Medal.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email KF5JRV@gmail.com
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