Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay

Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay
Author: Jamling Tenzing Norgay, first ascent of Mount Everest 1953, Creative Commons

Born 7/20/1919 and 5/29/1914

Died 2008 and 1986

 

On May 29, 1953 they became the first to summit Mt. Everest, the highest mountain on earth.

Named in his honor, the “Hillary Step” is considered the most difficult part of the climb.

The New Zealand mountaineer and Nepali sherpa agreed not to divulge who actually stepped on the summit first, out of respect.

 

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”