Sir Edmund Hillary

By benjamin deforest

  • Mt. Ollivier

    Sir Edmund climbed his first mountain, Mt. Ollivier of the Southern Alps

  • Mt. Cook

    Sir Edmund Hillary's second expedition, he climbed Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest peak

  • Austrian and Swiss Alps

    In 1949, Sir Edmund Hillary traveled to Europe to climb the Austrian and Swiss Alps

  • Reconnaissance Team

    IN 1951, Sir Edmund Hillary participated in a reconnaissance expedition to Everest

  • Cho Oyu

    IN 1952, Sir Edmund Hillary was part of an expedition that attempted to climb Cho Oyu, unfortunately, this expedition failed due to the fact that there wasn't a route on the Nepal side.

  • Lead up to Mt. Everest

    Before 1953, Hillary had become an experienced climber, scaling 11 of the Himalayan peaks that were over 20,000 feet high. He also had many other accomplishments as an explorer including crossing Antarctica, the Alps and the Himalayan peaks.

  • Setting Off for Everest

    When the expedition set out, it included approximately four hundred people. There were over three hundred porters, twenty Sherpa guides, and about ten thousand pounds of baggage. The Sherpa guides were intended to lead the expedition partially up the mountain. In March of 1953, the expedition set off.

  • Climbing Everest

    During the expedition, the crew often experienced snow and wind which would delay their travel. The four climbers were broken up into teams, and Hillary and Tenzing were in one team.

  • Just Hillary and Norgay

    The trip up the mountain was extremely difficult and when they neared the summit, only four men were able to continue. Bourdillion and Evans got within 300 feet and had to turn back in May because Evans’ oxygen system didn’t work. Hillary was paired with Tenzing Norgay and they made the final attempt to make it to the summit.

  • Everest Summit

    On May 29, 1953 at about 11:30 a.m. Hillary and Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest at eleven thirty in the morning on May 29 in 1953. At the age of 33, Hillary had conquered Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth. They stayed at the summit for 15 minutes. Hillary took a photograph of Tenzing to commemorate the moment. There is no picture of Hillary atop Mount Everest because his friend Tenzing did not know how to use a camera.