Nevertheless, the British mountaineers successfully traversed the glacier. The next stage of the ascent, 4,500 feet to the South Col, was made through such poor weather that the expedition fell far behind schedule. A New Zealander, Edmund Hillary, and the native porter, Tenzing Norgay, both of whom Hunt had been resting for the final climb to the summit, were committed to the effort. Hillary’s presence boosted the morale of the other climbers and on the next day they finally reached the South Col and established Camp VIII.

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Like Hunt, Hillary had become interested in mountain climbing at a young age. He took the sport seriously, spending two seasons each year in the mountains of New Zealand, sharpening his skills. Despite suffering serious wounds during the Second World War, he resumed climbing after the armistice. The New Zealand Alpine Club recognized his accomplishments by selecting him to join both Eric Shipton’s 1951 expedition to Everest and, two years later, Hunt’s attempt. By 1953 Hillary had acquired an excellent reputation outside his native country. Hunt later wrote of him:

Although his climbing experience dates from immediately after the war, he had quickly risen to the foremost rank among mountaineers in his own country. His testing in the Himalaya[s] had shown that he would be a very strong contender, not only for Everest, but for an eventual summit party. Quite exceptionally strong and abounding in a restless energy, possessed of a thrusting mind which swept aside all unproved obstacles, Hillary’s personality had made its imprint on my mind . . . long before we met.

Following their success in reaching the South Col, Hillary and Tenzing Norgay returned to a lower altitude to rest, while Charles Evans and Thomas Bourdillon made a first effort to reach the summit. Hunt and Sherpa Da Namgyal followed the first pair with the supplies need to set up a final camp. The expedition leader reached 27,750 feet before the heavy load he carried exhausted him. Leaving the supplies for Camp IX behind, he and Da Namgyal returned to their starting point. Evans and Bourdillon achieved a notable success, climbing to a new record altitude. But running out of both daylight and oxygen, they were forced to turn back just 300 feet below the summit.

With oxygen enough for only one more attempt, Hillary and Tenzing got their long-awaited chance to conquer Everest. For the first part of their ascent, four other climbers accompanied them, carrying extra supplies for Camp IX to add to those Hunt had already left behind.

Hillary and Tenzing pitched a tent at 28,200 feet and spent the night alone on a narrow ledge of ice. Taking periodic breaths from their dwindling stocks of oxygen, the two rested as much as possible before the next morning’s 800-foot ascent.

The morning of 29th May broke to reveal some uncharacteristically fine weather. The climbers left their tent at 6.30 a.m. and after a steady five-hour climb, noticed that the slope abruptly angled downward, revealing the familiar features of the North Face. ‘I felt good at the top’ Hillary remembered. ‘It was a beautiful day with a moderate wind. As we got there, my companion threw his arms around me and embraced me.’ Neither of the climbers felt particularly tired. Hillary removed his oxygen mask and for about 20 minutes the two men photographed each other, gazed down upon glaciers nearly 30,000 feet below, and searched unsuccessfully for any indications that George Leigh-Mallory had been there before his death.

The report of Hillary’s success reached England just hours before the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and was interpreted as a sign of good times to come for the new Monarch. Three years later a Swiss expedition would duplicate Hillary’s feat, and in 1963 four Americans reached the summit, two via the supposedly unassailable West Ridge. All of these subsequent mountaineers, however, benefited from the lessons learned by the nine British expeditions–a debt acknowledged in the United States by President Eisenhower as early as 1954, when he awarded Hunt and Hillary the National Geographic Society’s Cullum Medal.

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