Quote: "A symmetrical, beautiful snow cone summit." said Edmund Hillary.
Paraphrase: According to Edmund Hillary looking up at a mountain the mountain can look tasty.
On the anniversary of the pair’s triumph, LIFE.com looks back at that remarkable time with some
It’s been well over half-a-century since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to summit the world’s tallest mountain, and even six long decades later their feat resonates as one of the 20th century’s enduring, signature moments. On the anniversary of the pair’s triumph, LIFE.com looks back at that remarkable time with some
After years of dreaming about it and seven weeks of climbing, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Tenzing Norgay reached the top of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, at 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. They were the first people to ever reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Mount Everest had long been considered unclimbable by some and the ultimate climbing challenge by others.
Quote: "It has been a long road...From a mountain coolie, a bearer of loads, to a wearer of a coat with rows of medals who is carried about in planes and worries about income tax."
paraphrase: According to Tenzing Norgay he is on top of the world, but yet with a consequence.
Quote: "The highest of the world's mountains, it seems, has to make but a single gesture of magnificence to be the lord of all, vast in unchallenged and isolated supremacy."
Paraphrase: According to George Hillary Everest is a force to be reckoned with. You look at it and it is intimidating, and frozen but yet you think to yourself "Why not?"