Quick Overview:
- Historic Summit Date: 29 May 1953 — the day the world changed forever
- The Pioneers: Sir Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal/India)
- Route Taken: South-East Ridge via the South Col, Nepal side
- Modern Record Holder: Kami Rita Sherpa — 31 summits and counting (as of May 2025)
At 11:30 a.m. on 29 May 1953, two men stood on the roof of the world. A New Zealand beekeeper and a Nepali Sherpa mountaineer had just done something no confirmed human being had ever done before — they reached the summit of Mount Everest, rising 8,848.86 metres (29,032 feet) above sea level. The world would never see this magnificent mountain quite the same way again.
The story of the first people to climb Mount Everest is not simply a tale of physical endurance. It is a story of partnership, sacrifice, and the extraordinary human spirit that defines Nepal’s proud mountaineering legacy. Whether you are planning an Everest Base Camp trek or simply want to understand the history of the world’s greatest mountain, this story belongs to every person who has ever looked up at the Himalayas and felt something stir inside them.
Who Were the First People to Climb Mount Everest?
The question has one clear, celebrated answer: Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, the Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer, became the first confirmed climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953. They were part of the ninth British Everest expedition, led by Colonel John Hunt.
Hillary was 33 years old at the time — a beekeeper from Auckland who had discovered a passion for mountains in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Tenzing Norgay was around 39, born in the Khumbu region of Nepal (or, by some accounts, in the Kama Valley of Tibet), and by 1953 he was already regarded as the most experienced high-altitude Sherpa climber of his generation.
Their backgrounds could hardly have been more different, yet on the slopes of Sagarmatha — as Nepal calls Everest, meaning “Goddess of the Sky” — they became something greater than either could have been alone.
Edmund Hillary: The Beekeeper Who Conquered Everest
Edmund Hillary’s path to the summit of Everest was characterised by persistence. He made his first major mountain climb in 1939 and served as an airforce navigator during World War II before returning to the mountains with renewed dedication. He joined a British reconnaissance expedition to Everest’s southern flank in 1951, then attempted Cho Oyu in 1952 before receiving the invitation to join John Hunt’s 1953 team.
What distinguished Hillary was not just physical strength but good judgement at altitude. During early expedition days in 1953, Tenzing Norgay saved Hillary’s life by quickly arresting his fall into a crevasse with swift ice axe technique — a moment that cemented their trust and led Hunt to choose them as the summit pair.
On the morning of 29 May, Hillary discovered his boots had frozen solid outside their tent at approximately 8,500 metres. He spent two hours warming them over a stove before the pair set off for the final push. That detail alone tells you something about the character required for such a climb.
Hillary was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II later in 1953, and his portrait has appeared on New Zealand’s five-dollar banknote since 1992. He dedicated much of his later life to the welfare of the Sherpa people of Nepal, building schools and hospitals in the Khumbu region until his death in Auckland on 11 January 2008.
Tenzing Norgay: The Heart of the Himalayas
Tenzing Norgay’s story is, in many ways, even more extraordinary. Born into the Sherpa community of the Himalayan foothills, he had attempted Everest no fewer than six times before the 1953 expedition. In 1952, climbing with Swiss mountaineer Raymond Lambert, he reached an altitude of approximately 8,598 metres on the South-East Ridge — higher than any known person at that point.
By the time the British 1953 expedition arrived in Kathmandu, Tenzing was their obvious choice as sirdar (lead Sherpa guide). The Hunt expedition totalled over 400 people, including 362 porters, 20 Sherpa guides, and some 4,500 kg of equipment — and Tenzing led its high-altitude team with absolute authority.
At the summit on 29 May, while Hillary took photographs, Tenzing made a Buddhist offering of sweets and biscuits in the snow — a deeply moving gesture that spoke to the spiritual connection the Sherpa people have always maintained with Chomolungma, the mountain they regard as sacred.
Tenzing received the George Medal from Queen Elizabeth II — a lesser honour than Hillary’s knighthood, a fact that stirred considerable controversy across India and Nepal, where many felt he deserved equal recognition. He passed away on 9 May 1986 in Darjeeling. Time magazine recognised him as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
The Historic First Summit of Everest: A Detailed Timeline
Understanding the first summit of Everest requires appreciating just how many things had to go right — and how close the expedition came to failure on multiple occasions.
The 1953 expedition set up base camp in March and spent weeks methodically establishing a series of camps up the mountain, pushing through the treacherous Khumbu Icefall, across the Western Cwm, up the Lhotse Face, and finally to the South Col at approximately 7,900 metres.
Colonel Hunt had planned three assault pairs. The first attempt fell to Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon on 26 May. They reached the South Summit at 8,748 metres — just 100 metres short of the true summit — before Evans’s oxygen system partially failed and exhaustion forced them to turn back. It was agonisingly close.
Hunt then directed Hillary and Tenzing as the second assault pair. They set out on 28 May with support from George Lowe, Alfred Gregory, and Ang Nyima, and pitched a final tent at around 8,500 metres before the support climbers descended.
On the morning of 29 May — after the boot-warming episode — the pair set off at first light. They reached the South Summit by 9:00 a.m., then faced a steep rocky step of roughly 12 metres. Hillary wedged himself into a crack in the rock face and inched upward in what became known ever after as the “Hillary Step.” He threw down a rope; Tenzing followed.
At 11:30 a.m., they arrived at the summit. Hillary extended his hand; Tenzing threw his arms around his partner and pounded him on the back. They spent approximately 15 minutes on top — taking photographs, making offerings, and searching (in vain) for any sign that George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, who disappeared on the North-East Ridge in 1924, had been there before them.
The news reached London via coded telegram on 1 June 1953 — the eve of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. The timing was serendipitous, and the world erupted in celebration. When Hillary met his teammate George Lowe on the descent, his words entered mountaineering legend: “Well, George, we knocked the bastard off.”
The Route They Took
Hillary and Tenzing climbed via the South Col route on the Nepal side of Everest — the same route used by the majority of summit expeditions today. The route ascends through the Khumbu Icefall from Base Camp at approximately 5,364 metres, crosses the Western Cwm, climbs the Lhotse Face, and reaches the South Col before the final ridge to the summit. If you are considering an Everest Base Camp trek, you walk the lower portion of this very same historic approach.
Earlier Attempts and the Mystery of Mallory
The question of whether George Mallory and Sandy Irvine reached the summit during their 1924 attempt has fascinated mountaineering historians for over a century. Mallory’s famous reply when asked why he wanted to climb Everest — “Because it’s there” — remains among the most quoted phrases in exploration history. The first recorded expedition to Everest was made in 1921 by a British team that crossed 650 kilometres of Tibetan plateau to reach the mountain’s base. Subsequent British expeditions in 1922 and 1924 pushed higher and higher, with Finch and Bruce reaching above 8,320 metres in 1922.
When Mallory’s body was discovered in 1999, well below the summit on the North Face, the mystery deepened rather than resolved. Hillary and Tenzing found no evidence of prior summiting when they stood on top in 1953, and the mountaineering community generally regards their ascent as the first confirmed summit of Everest history.
Who Has Climbed Mount Everest the Most Times?
The story of the first summit of Everest is remarkable, but the story of who has climbed Everest the most times reveals a different, equally breathtaking dimension of Nepal’s mountaineering heritage.
The answer, as of May 2026, is Kami Rita Sherpa, a 55-year-old guide from Thame village in the Solukhumbu district — the same region that produced Tenzing Norgay himself. Kami Rita reached the summit of Everest for the 31st time on 27 May 2025, extending his own Guinness World Record for the most ascents of Everest by any individual.
He first climbed Everest in 1994 at the age of 24, and has reached the summit nearly every year since — sometimes twice in a single season. In 2024, he completed his 29th and 30th summits within just ten days of each other. Across his 31 Everest ascents, Kami Rita has climbed a combined vertical distance of approximately 89,992 feet on Everest alone.
Beyond Everest, Kami Rita has also summited Cho Oyu eight times, as well as K2, Lhotse, and Manaslu — giving him a total of 42 summits of 8,000-metre peaks, a record unmatched by any other climber. He has received the Guinness World Records certificate for this combined achievement.
The Sherpa Summit Record: Nepal’s Greatest Climbing Legacy
The Sherpa summit record is not just a footnote in mountaineering statistics — it is a testament to the extraordinary genetic adaptations and generational knowledge of Nepal’s Sherpa community. Sherpas are able to respire oxygen more efficiently at altitude and acclimatise more quickly than most other people on earth, traits refined across centuries of living at high elevation in the Khumbu region.
Kami Rita’s closest competitor is fellow Nepali guide Pasang Dawa Sherpa (known as Pa Dawa), who has summited Everest 29 times. In a remarkable feat during the 2025 season, young Tashi Gyalzen Sherpa, aged just 29, became the first person to summit Everest four times in 15 days, bringing his total to eight summits.
The female record for most Everest ascents belongs to Lhakpa Sherpa, who has reached the summit ten times — an achievement that makes her one of the most accomplished high-altitude climbers of any gender in history.
What Drives These Record-Breaking Climbers?
When Kami Rita was asked about his motivation after his 30th summit in 2024, his answer was characteristically humble: “I am glad for the record, but records are eventually broken. I am more happy that my climbs help Nepal be recognised in the world.”
He also offered a perspective that every traveller to the Everest region should consider: “We should understand the value of life. Taking clients to the summit is not the ultimate success; bringing them safely back to the base of the mountain is more important.”
These words carry enormous weight coming from a man who has navigated the Death Zone — the region above 8,000 metres — more times than any other human being alive.
Key Milestones in Everest Climbing History
The story of Everest stretches far beyond 1953. From the summit pioneers of the early 20th century to today’s modern expeditions, the mountain has witnessed some of humanity’s most extraordinary achievements.
1921 — First British reconnaissance expedition reaches the base of Everest via Tibet.
1924 — George Mallory and Sandy Irvine disappear near the summit; their fate remains one of mountaineering’s greatest mysteries.
1953 — Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay complete the first confirmed summit of Everest on 29 May via the South Col route.
1960 — A Chinese expedition becomes the first to summit Everest from the Tibetan (north) side.
1963 — James Whittaker becomes the first American to summit Everest.
1975 — Tabei Junko of Japan becomes the first woman to reach the summit.
1978 — Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler achieve what many thought impossible: summiting Everest without supplemental oxygen.
1980 — Reinhold Messner solos Everest without oxygen — arguably the greatest individual mountaineering achievement in history.
1994 — Kami Rita Sherpa makes his first Everest summit at age 24.
2015 — The deadliest single day in Everest history: an earthquake-triggered avalanche kills 19 people at Base Camp.
2025 — Kami Rita Sherpa completes his 31st Everest summit, extending his own world record.
This Everest history and climbing legacy continues to evolve with every passing season. If you want to understand the physical geography of the mountain in detail, our Mount Everest Himalayas guide covers the essential facts every visitor should know.
The Sherpas: The Unsung Foundation of Everest’s Climbing Legacy
No account of the first people to climb Everest, or of the modern record books, is complete without proper recognition of the Sherpa community’s central role in every successful expedition.
The 1953 British expedition included 362 porters and 20 Sherpa guides. Today, nearly every commercial Everest expedition relies on Sherpa guides who fix ropes, establish camps, carry oxygen and supplies, and often guide clients through the most technically demanding sections. Sherpas account for the vast majority of the summit support work — and, historically, a disproportionate share of fatalities.
Thame, the village where both Tenzing Norgay and Kami Rita were born and raised, sits at approximately 3,800 metres in the Khumbu Valley, not far from Namche Bazaar — the gateway town for most Everest trekkers. Walking through these communities gives you a profound sense of the human story behind every Everest summit.
For those planning to experience the Everest region for themselves, our Everest Base Camp trekking guide for beginners provides everything you need to plan your journey responsibly. And if the history of the mountain’s challenges fascinates you, our guide to how long it takes to climb Mount Everest gives a full picture of what modern expeditions involve.
Frequently Asked Questions About the First Everest Summit
Who was the very first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest?
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit together on 29 May 1953 and are jointly recognised as the first confirmed people to summit Everest. Neither man was recorded as “first” individually — they arrived as partners.
Did anyone climb Everest before Hillary and Tenzing?
George Mallory and Sandy Irvine were last seen high on Everest’s North-East Ridge on 8 June 1924, apparently still climbing upward. Whether they reached the summit remains unresolved. Hillary and Tenzing found no evidence of any prior summiting during their own ascent, and their 1953 climb remains the first confirmed ascent in mountaineering history.
How many people have summited Everest since 1953?
According to the Himalayan Database, more than 6,000 individuals have summited Everest since Hillary and Tenzing’s historic first ascent. The number continues to grow each spring climbing season, with Nepal’s Department of Tourism issuing around 400–480 permits per year.
What is the record for most Everest summits?
As of May 2025, Kami Rita Sherpa holds the record with 31 confirmed summits — the most of any individual in history. His closest competitor, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, has summited 29 times.
Who was the first woman to climb Everest?
Tabei Junko of Japan became the first woman to reach the summit of Everest on 16 May 1975, over 22 years after the first summit. She climbed via the South Col route on the Nepal side.
How high is Mount Everest exactly?
The official height, as remeasured by a joint Chinese-Nepali survey in 2020, is 8,848.86 metres (29,031.7 feet). For more on Everest’s measurements and what they mean, see our Mt Everest height in feet guide.
Planning Your Own Everest Journey
You do not need to be a world-class mountaineer to experience the magic of Everest. Hundreds of thousands of trekkers walk the trails of the Khumbu region every year, following paths that pass through the same Sherpa villages, monasteries, and rhododendron forests that Hillary, Tenzing, and the great expedition teams traversed on their way to history.
The Everest Base Camp trek brings you to 5,364 metres — close enough to gaze up at the mountain’s imposing South Face and the Khumbu Icefall, the same icefall that every summit expedition must navigate. You will walk through Namche Bazaar, the regional hub of the Khumbu, pass the famous Tengboche Monastery with its views of Everest and Ama Dablam, and feel the thinning air as you approach Base Camp.
For those interested in the costs and logistics of an actual Everest summit attempt, our complete guide to climbing Everest costs covers permits, agency fees, equipment, and total budget in full detail. And for a step-by-step overview of a modern expedition, our climbing Mount Everest guide walks you through every stage of the process.
The South Col route — the same route Hillary and Tenzing took in 1953 — remains the most popular ascent path today and our detailed guide covers all seven camps along the way.
Whatever brings you to Nepal, understanding the history and climbing legacy of Everest enriches every step you take in the shadow of these mountains.
Conclusion of First People to Climb Mount Everest
On a clear morning in late May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay changed human history by standing where no confirmed person had ever stood. Their achievement was not merely athletic — it was a statement about what becomes possible when people from different worlds commit to a shared goal with complete trust in each other.
Seventy-three years on, their story resonates more deeply than ever. The first summit of Everest gave Nepal’s Sherpa community a platform that has only grown with each passing decade — from Tenzing Norgay’s pioneer steps to Kami Rita Sherpa’s 31 ascents, the world’s most enduring climbing legacy belongs to the mountains and people of Nepal.
Nepal is not just the country where Everest stands. It is the country where the human spirit learned what it could do. The mountains are calling — and the story they hold is far greater than any single summit.
Ready to begin your own Everest journey? Explore our complete Everest trekking guides at AskMeNepal and take the first step toward one of the world’s great adventures.
