Sir Edmund Hillary Leads the First Team to Reach the Summit of Mt. Everest
Overview
In 1953 Edmund Hillary (1919- ) of Britain and Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) of Nepal became the first individuals known to have reached the highest point on Earth, the summit of Mount Everest. Since that time, reaching Mount Everest's summit has become a matter of pride, both national and individual, and has led to a variety of expeditions sponsored by nations and private organizations and has even resulted in guided tours. This situation, in turn, has produced a steadily mounting death toll, culminating in the disastrous 1996 climbing season, in which eight climbers, many of them with paid guides, died during a single storm.
Background
In 1852 a worker with the British Governmental Survey of India was calculating the heights of a number of mountains in the Himalayas based on information gathered over the past few years. According to the story, he completed his calculations and, paper in hand, went to his supervisor to announce that he had just located the highest mountain in the world. Named Chomolunga (Goddess Mother of the World) by the local Sherpas, Peak XV (as it appeared on the British maps) was renamed Mount Everest in honor of Sir George Everest, the Indian Surveyor General from 1830 through 1843.
This is a free page. This page contains 201 words. This
article contains 1,600 words (approx. 5 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Sir Edmund Hillary Leads the First Team to Reach the Summit of Mt. Everest Access Pass.
