Record #00502Human Society archive
On 29 May 1953, New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa climber Tenzing Norgay reached Everest's summit together via the southeast ridge, supported by John Hunt's British expedition.
Achievement date
1953
1953-05-29
John Hunt's 1953 British expedition approached from Nepal, establishing high-altitude camps and supplying route-finding and logistics for the final summit party.
Hillary and Tenzing completed the ascent together. Earlier Everest attempts faced extraordinary weather and oxygen challenges; suggestions that climbers might have reached the summit in 1924 are not established, so the record is the first documented success.
The record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Basis: direct confirmation by an authority
New Zealand's Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society document Hillary and Tenzing's joint summit on 29 May 1953. Unconfirmed earlier accounts do not displace the first documented ascent. Both co-achievers are represented as person entities alongside the two-person holder team.
Current Entry identifies the current entry in this archive; it does not establish that the record is still held today.
The record value on this page is organized from the public sources above. Measurement methods may differ; JiLuDB follows the unified method described for each entry.
Help keep the archive accurate
If a fact has changed, a value is incorrect, or you know a more authoritative source, leave a note. Feedback enters an administrator review workflow and never edits a record directly.
ARCHIVE VISUAL / 01
NOT TO SCALE
