70th Anniversary of the First Mount Everest Conquest

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Mount Everest conquest made by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953. Since the death of Sir Edumund Hillary in 2008, Nepal has been celebrating this day as Everest Day. This year as well, the Nepal government has been celebrating the day by honoring all the record holding mountain climbers. 

Many people joined in the celebrations, including Sherpa guides, officials and others from the mountaineering community. A rally was organized in Kathmandu to honor all the exceptional mountain climbers and to pay homage to the 1953 Mount Everest expedition. Celebrators were seen holding placards, photos of record holding climbers and celebratory banners while participating in the rally and marching along the tunes of the military bands. 

Sir Edmund Hillary’s son Peter and Tenzing Norgay’s son Jamling will jointly inaugurate a statue of their fathers at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Nepal. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Mount Everest conquest, 70 commemorative coins will also be released.

The list of record holding climbers included Sanu Sherpa who has climbed the summits of 14 of the world’s highest peaks twice, Kami Rita, a Sherpa guide who climbed Mount Everest for a total of 288 times, and Hari Budha Magar who recently became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest.