29/05/2020
Mount EVEREST - World’s Highest Peak was scaled on 29th May, 1953.
For the spirited and the adventurous, mountains have always held a special appeal. Two mountain ranges which have drawn mountaineers in hordes are the Alps and the Himalayas. Specially the Peak of Everest, the highest one in the world, which stands at an altitude of 29,028 ft; has been drawing mountaineers from all parts of the globe.
Mount Everest, named after the Surveyor General of India, who estimated its height and claimed it was the highest peak in the world, began to receive attention of mountaineers in early 1920s. The first expedition to Everest was launched in 1921 by a British team, which included George Mallory. Mallory, along with two other members, Norton and Somervell reached a height of 26,985 feet, the highest ever scaled by any man till then.
Two years later came another expedition of which Mallory and Irvine as also Somervell were members. On June 8, 1924, Irvine and Mallory who had pitched camp at a height of about 27,000t out, probably on the trail of the peak. The two vanished, without a trace, in the higher regions. Did they slip and fall before they reached the top of the Everest? Or did they get caught in some avalanche on their way back, after scaling the peak? None knows. But, Irvine and Mallory are remembered as the pioneer explorers of the Himalayan ranges.
Successive expeditions to the Everest failed till 1953.But each expedition enlarged scope of understanding of the moods and whims of the Himalayan ranges. This helped the teams equip themselves better to overcome the difficulties. Further, sophisticated equipment and more tested climbing aids strengthened the capacity of the teams to stand up to the rigours of the mountains.
In 1953, a British expedition led by John Hunt, set out to seek success The members of the team were well experienced in mountaineering and were eager to reach at the top. Among them were Edmund Hillary (from New Zealand) who had tested himself against the mountains in his country and shown a natural ability to face the challenges of mountains and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa, who had proved his worth as a guide on earlier occasions.
On May 28, Hillary and Tenzing pitched tents at a height of 27,900 feet. They set out early next morning to scale the last lap of the Everest. The temperature was minus 27 degrees centigrade. The summit was visible, as a weak sun lighted up the peak. Tenzing led the way, Hillary came close behind. The two reached after four hours of plodding. the base of the slopes leading to the south side of the peak. They still had to go another 400 feet to claim victory. Hillary was in doubt whether the oxygen which they had in the cylinders could see them through. Then, with a ‘do or die’ attitude the two decided to move forward. They knew that they had come enough to the top. Another 40 feet more to go. Then they would stand right on top of the Everest. That very thought instilled courage into them.
At last, there they were – two hardy, determined men, right on top of the Everest, achieving what Mallory and his band of daring men had been dreaming for three decades.
The news of the success of the two daring men was reported by world press in bold headlines.
Hillary was awarded the Knighthood while Tenzing was felicitated by the then Prime Minister of India Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru and was appointed as the Director Field Trainings at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute at Darjeeling.
Much later, with introduction of more sophisticated and better climbing gears and technology, several expeditions successfully scaled Everest.
The first woman in the world to scale the Everest was Junko Tabei of Japan.
What was once considered an impossible task climbing the highest mountain peak of this Planet Earth, now has become a ‘tourist destination’ for adventurers. Now, each year hordes of people in thousands try their luck to reach the Top of the World through the various tourist agencies in Nepal.
