See how it looked in 1953

Commonwealth Team Conquers Mt. Everest

By Reuters

London

The world is cheering the news of the conquest of Mt. Everest by the British expedition.

The triumph of New Zealander E. P. Hillary and Tensing, a Sherpa guide, over the icy peak has been swiftly acclaimed by members of the Swiss expedition which came so near to achieving the summit of the world’s highest peak in 1952.
The Queen and Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill both have sent messages of congratulations to the Everest climbers.

The Queen’s telegram to the British minister in Katmandu, Nepal, said: “Please convey to Colonel Hunt (Col. John Hunt, leader of the expedition) and all members of the British expedition my warmest congratulations on their great achievement in reaching the summit of Mt. Everest. Signed, Elizabeth.”

The Duke of Edinburgh sent a personal message to Colonel Hunt, saying: “Everybody is delighted with the wonderful news. Well done. Congratulations to you all. Philip.”

Congratulations Cascade

Sir Winston’s message read:

“My congratulations on this memorable British achievement in which the whole world has been interested for so many years.”

From Washington, it is reported that Associate Justice William D. Douglas, himself a Himalayan Mountain climber, described the British conquest of Everest as “one of the loveliest Coronation presents that can be given a queen.”

He added: “It brings a thrill that only one who knows the Himalayas can appreciate.

“The top of Everest is almost beyond this world, and its conquest stretches the capacity of man to the limit. I think two other Englishmen, Mallory and Irving, probably reached the top of Everest in 1928, but they perished. We are thankful that this latest British team lived to bring back news of victory on this happy day. The courage, stamina, and character it took to reach it is one of the loveliest Coronation presents that can be given a queen,” Mr. Justice Douglas said.

Team Led by Hunt

The news was first published in a special edition of The Times, of London, on early sale among Coronation crowds in London.

Mt. Everest, 29,002 feet in the geography book, and 29,141 feet according to most recent surveys, was the last main outpost of the world unknown to man.

The 13 Britons formed the 11th team to try to conquer the mountain in the last 30 years. All the previous ones had failed.

The Sherpa guide who reached the top is a native veteran of more Everest attempts than any other man on earth.

Colonel J. Hunt, a serving officer of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, led the British team.

The successful attempt was reported to be the British expedition’s third assault of the trip.

Last year a Swiss expedition had to give up a mere 800 yards from the summit.

If Britain had failed this time, the French planned to try next year and the Swiss again, in 1955.

The expedition carried three flags—the Union Jack, the United Nations flag of a white globe on a blue background and the Nepalese flag—to plant on the summit.

The victorious Mr. Hillary is a New Zealand beekeeper. He joined the expedition in India. He has had wide climbing experience in the New Zealand Alps, where heavy snowfalls and peculiar ice falls make conditions not unlike those in the Himalayas.

Tensing made an epic ascent last year with the Swiss climber Raymond Lambert, reaching the previous record height of 28,215 feet.

George Band, the youngest of the party of 24, was chosen with Tensing to make the first, unsuccessful, assault. He is a Cambridge geologist and the president of the university mountaineering club. The expedition was his first Himalayan experience.

The team of climbers was exceptionally strong, but the Britons owed nearly everything to their predecessors who blazed the trail.

It is expected the British achievement will help to solve at least one long-standing problem about Everest, its actual height. “Survey of India” maps give it as 29,002 feet, but claims have been made that it is higher than this. The Swiss last year estimated it to be 29,610 feet. American and some other maps give it as 29,149 and 29,141 feet.

In any case, Everest is known to be the highest mountain on the surface on the earth. It is situated on the Nepal-Tibet border in latitude 27 degrees 59 minutes 16 seconds north, longitude 86 degrees 55 minutes 40 seconds east. It was named after Sir George Everest, surveyor-general of India just over 100 years ago.