Timeline of climbing Mount Everest
Encyclopedia
Mount Everest
is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level.
The first British
expedition – organized and financed by the newly formed Mount Everest Committee
– came under the leadership of Colonel Ashton Rushton, with Kyle Carter as mountaineering leader, and included Andrew ferdinand, Brian Donahue, Guy Bullock, Caiti Clarke and Edward Oliver Wheeler
. It was primarily for mapping and reconnaissance to discover whether a route to the summit could be found from the north side. As the health of Raeburn broke down, Mallory assumed responsibility for most of the exploration to the north and east of the mountain. He wrote to his wife: "We are about to walk off the map..." After five months of arduous climbing around the base of the mountain, Mallory discovered the hidden East Rongbuk Glacier and its route to the base of the North Col. On September 23, Mallory, became the first person to set foot on the mountain and he, Bullock and Wheeler reached the North Col
at 7020 metres (23,031.5 ft) before being forced back due to strong winds. To Mallory's experienced eye, the route up the North ridge intersecting the NE Ridge and from there to the summit looked long, but feasible for a fresher party.
The second British expedition, under General Charles Granville Bruce
and climbing leader Lt-Col. Edward Lisle Strutt
, and containing Mallory, returned for a full-scale attempt on the mountain. On May 22, they climbed to 8,170 m (26,800 ft) on the North Ridge before retreating. A day later, George Finch
and Geoffrey Bruce climbed up the North Ridge and Face to 8,320 m (27,300 ft) using oxygen for the first time. They climbed from the North Col to their highest camp at a phenomenal rate of 900 vert-ft/hr., and were the first climbers to sleep using oxygen. On June 7, George Mallory, about to lead a third attempt, was caught in an avalanche on the steep walls of the North Col in which seven Sherpa climbers were killed. These became the first reported deaths on Everest.
The third British expedition was led by Brigadier-General Charles Bruce
, although becoming indisposed as a result of a flare-up of malaria, he relinquished leadership of the expedition to Lt-Col. Edward Norton
, with Mallory promoted to climbing leader. Bruce, Howard Somervell
, and John Noel returned from the previous year, along with newcomers Noel Odell
and Andrew Irvine
.
On June 2, Mallory & Bruce set off from the North Col (C-4) to make the first summit attempt. But extreme wind and cold, exhaustion and the refusal of the porters to carry farther led Mallory to abandon the attempt and the next day the party returned to the North Col camp.
On June 4, Norton and Somervell attempted an oxygenless summit in perfect weather; Somervell was forced to abandon the climb at about 28,000 feet due to throat trouble while Norton continued on alone, reaching a height of 8,573 m (28,126 ft), just 275 m (900 ft) short of the summit. Exhausted, he turned back and rejoined Somervell for the descent.
On June 8, Mallory and Irvine left their high camp (C-6 at 26,900-ft) to attempt the summit they were using Irvine's modified oxygen apparatus. Odell, climbing in support below, wrote in his diary that at 26,000-ft he "saw Mallory & Irvine on the ridge, nearing base of final pyramid" climbing what he thought at the time was the very difficult Second Step at 12:50 p.m. It was the last time the two were seen; whether either of them reached the summit remains a question that has reverberated through the decades.
Back in England, the climbing establishment pressured Odell to change his view. After about six months he began to equivocate on which Step it was he saw them—from the Second to possibly the First. If the First, they had no chance of having reached the top; if the Second, they would have had about three hours of oxygen each and the summit was at least three hours away. It is conceivable (though unlikely) that Mallory might have taken Irvine's remaining oxygen and attempted to reach the summit.
A much more probable scenario is that the two reached First Step at about 10:30AM. Mallory, seeing the treacherous nature of the traverse to the Second Step, went it alone. He reconnoitered the base of the climbing crux and decided it was not for him that day. He returned, picked up Irvine and the two decided to climb the First Step for a look around and to photograph the complex approach to the Second Step. It was when climbing this small promontory that they were spotted from below by Odell, who assumed that, since they were ascending, they must therefore have been on the Second Step, although it is now difficult to believe that the two would still be climbing from so low down at a time—five hours late—that was considered to be the turn-around hour.
Descending from the First Step, the two continued down when, at 2PM, they were hit by a severe snow squall. Roping up, Mallory, leading, may have slipped pulling himself and Irvine down. The rope must have caught to inflict severe rope-jerk injury around Mallory's (and presumably, Irvine's) waist. Some researchers believe Irvine was able to stay high and struggle along the crest of the NE Ridge another 100 yards, only to succumb to cold and possible injuries of the fall. Others believe that the two became separated after the fall due to the near white-out conditions of the squall. Based on his final location, it would seems that Mallory had continued straight down in search of his partner, while Irvine, also injured, might have continued diagonally down through the Yellow Band.
In 1979, climber Wang Hong-bao of China revealed to the climbing leader of a Japanese expedition that in 1975, while taking a stroll from his bivouac he had discovered "an English dead" at 8100m, roughly below the site of Irvine's ice axe discovered in 1933 near the NE Ridge. Wang was killed in an avalanche the next day before he could provide additional details.
In 1999, however, the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition
found Mallory's body in the predicted search area near the old Chinese bivouac. There are opposing views within the mountaineering
community as to whether the duo may have summited 29 years before the first successful ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary
and Tenzing Norgay
in 1953. Despite the existence of many theories, the success of Mallory and Irvine's summit assault must be viewed as remote at best.
The leading theory amongst those supporting the summit push has Mallory overcoming the difficulty of the sheer face of the Second Step by standing on Irvine's shoulders. Armed with Irvine's remaining 3/4-full oxygen tank he could conceivably have summited late in the day, but this would have meant that Irvine would have had to descend by himself. However, rope-jerk injuries around Mallory's waist must mean the two were roped when they fell from below the First Step. 1960s Chinese Everest climber Xu Jing told Eric Simonson and Jochen Hemmleb in 2001 that he recalled spotting a corpse somewhere in the Yellow Band. Despite numerous searches of the north face, no sign of Irvine has turned up so far. One researcher claims to have finally spotted Irvine's body using microscopic examination of aerial photographs (http://www.velocitypress.com/IrvineSearch.htm). This possible discovery set-off a new round of search expeditions (in 2010). Others are planned for 2011.
, set out to climb with the great expectations that this time they would succeed. Oxygen was taken but not used due to the incorrect but lingering belief that it was of little benefit to a properly acclimatised climber. After delays caused by poor weather and illness of team members, a much higher assault camp was placed than in 1924. On the first summit attempt, Lawrence Wager
and Percy Wyn-Harris
intended to follow the North-East ridge, but were unable to regain it, having bypassed (rather than climb over) the First Step, which they reached at 7 AM. The direct access to the Second Step from the First involves a treacherous traverse. Instead of taking it, they dropped down to follow the lower, easier traverse pioneered by Norton in 1924. Observing the Second Step from 100-ft. below it, Wyn-Harris declared it "unclimbable." Shortly after crossing the Great Couloir, they turned back due to poor snow conditions and the lateness of the hour. A subsequent attempt by Eric Shipton
and Frank Smythe
followed the same route but got no higher.
Lucy, Lady Houston
, a British millionaire
ex-showgirl
, funded the Houston Everest Flight of 1933, which saw a formation of airplanes
led by the Marquess of Clydesdale
fly over the summit in an effort to deploy the British flag at the top.
, a British eccentric
, stated his intention to summit Everest by himself. After only a few flying lessons, Wilson flew illegally from Britain to India
, hiking through Darjeeling and into Tibet
and with the help of Sherpa guides began his attempt. Wilson was not a climber and had no climbing equipment. He expected to transport himself to the summit with spiritual help and signal the monks at the Ronbuk monastery of his success with a shaving mirror. It is not believed he attained the North Col (7000m). Maurice Wilson's body and his diary were found wrapped in a tent in 1935 by another British expedition. Although several times dumped into a crevasse below the North Col, his body has been rediscovered a number of times, including in 1960 by the Chinese expedition. Unlike Mallory's body, Wilson's has decayed because the temperature at the head of the East Rongbuk Glacier does rise above freezing.
season in preparation for the following year's expedition. The team climbed smaller peaks in the vicinity of Everest, and examined alternative possible routes on the mountain, including the West Ridge, and entry into the Western Cwm
via Lho La. Both were dismissed as impractical, though Shipton did decide that an ascent from the Western Cwm would be possible if entry from the Nepal
ese side could be made. This would be the route by which the mountain would eventually be climbed in 1953. The expedition is also notable as the first visit to Everest for Tenzing Norgay, who was engaged as one of the 'porters'.
was appointed leader of the 1938 Everest expedition which attempted the ascent via the north west ridge. They reached over 27000 ft (8,229.6 m) without supplemental oxygen before being forced down due to bad weather and sickness.
Nepal opened its borders to foreigners. Earlier expeditions had attempted the mountain from Tibet, via the north face. However, this access was closed to western expeditions in 1950, after the Chinese
took control over Tibet. In 1950, Bill Tilman
and a small party which included Charles Houston
, Oscar Houston and Betsy Cowles undertook an exploratory expedition to Everest through Nepal along the route which has now become the standard approach to Everest from the south.
, Tom Bourdillon
, Bill Murray and Mike Ward travelled into Nepal to survey a new route via the southern face. On September 30 at 20000 ft (6,096 m) on Pumori
, Shipton and Hillary saw the whole of the Western Cwm and concluded that ascent was possible from the top of the Cwm to the west face of Lhotse
followed by a traverse to the South Col
. They spent the next month attempting to reach the Western Cwm through the Khumbu Icefall
but were stopped just short of success when an insurmountable crevasse (100–300 ft wide) blocked further progress near the top of the icefall. Murray wrote: "We were defeated".
Klaus Becker-Larsen along with two Sherpas attempt the North col but turn back due to rockfall. He had no mountaineering experience and minimal equipment. First European to reach Nangpa La.
expedition lead by Edouard Wyss-Dunant
attempted to climb via the South Col
and the southeast ridge. After five days of effort, the team found a route through the icefall; they got past the crevasse that stymied the 1951 expedition by first descending 60 ft into it to a snow bridge and then used a precarious rope bridge to reach the other side. They were the first people to stand in the Western Cwm. On May 27, four climbers (Raymond Lambert
, Tenzing Norgay
, Rene Aubert and Leon Flory) started from their tents on the South Col, two teams of Lambert/Norgay and Aubert/Flory. Lambert/Norgay reached Camp VII first at 27500 ft (8,382 m) followed by Aubert/Flory. The tent was too small for both teams and Aubert/Flory decided to return to the South Col. The team had only undergone the ascent for reconnaissance and so only one tent and a bit of food had been taken. On May 28 in unsettled weather, the final assault team of Lambert and Norgay turned back 150 metres short of the south summit. The Swiss attempted another expedition in the autumn of 1952; this team included Lambert and Norgay was stopped by bad weather after reaching an altitude of 8100 metres. Several Western climbing journals reported that the Soviet Union
had launched an attempt from Tibet in October with the aim of reaching the summit before the following year's British expedition. The alleged expedition, apparently led by Pavel Datschnolian, was said to have been a disaster, resulting in the deaths of Datschnolian and five other men. Both Russian and Chinese authorities have consistently denied that such an attempt took place, no physical evidence has ever been found to confirm its existence, nor is there any record of a person named Pavel Datschnolian.
In 1953, a ninth British expedition, led by John Hunt
and organized and financed by the Joint Himalayan Committee
, returned to Nepal. After Wilfrid Noyce
and Annullu had forced a passage to the South Col, two climbing pairs previously selected by Hunt attempted to reach the summit. The first pair, Charles Evans and Bourdillon, using closed-circuit oxygen, achieved the first ascent of the South Summit, but went no further due to oxygen equipment problems and lack of time. Two days later, the expedition made its second and final assault on the summit with its fittest and most determined climbing pair. Using conventional open-circuit oxygen, the summit was eventually reached at 11:30 a.m. local time on May 29, 1953 by the New Zealand
er Edmund Hillary
and Tenzing Norgay
from Nepal climbing the South Col Route. They paused at the summit to take photographs and buried a few sweets and a small cross in the snow before descending. Although they characterized it as the culmination of a team effort by the whole expedition, there was intense public speculation as to which of the pair had set foot on the summit first. A few years later to end the speculation Tenzing disclosed that it was Hillary. News of the expedition's success reached London
on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation
. Returning to Kathmandu a few days later, Hillary and Hunt discovered that they had been knighted
for their efforts.
(fourth highest) when Ernst Reiss
and Fritz Luchsinger
reached the top of Lhotse
on May 18. The expedition setup camp 6 on the South Col and camp 7 at 8400 metres (27,559.1 ft). On May 23, Ernst Schmied and Juerg Marmet reached the summit of Everest followed by Dolf Reist and Hans-Rudolf von Gunten on May 24.
, Qu Yinhua and a Tibetan, Gingbu (Konbu), claimed to have made the first summit via the North Ridge. The claim is without substantiation. The Chinese claimed to have reached the summit at night. The highest photograph was taken somewhere above the Second Step, based on a comparison of the view of distant peaks in the 1960 photograph to later photos showing the same scene, beyond which there are no technically challenging climbs, but nowhere near the summit. It is generally accepted that the climb was successful.
First ascent by an American: Jim Whittaker
, accompanied by Nawang Gombu
Sherpa who later went on to become the first man to climb Everest twice in 1965; first ascent of the West Ridge on May 22 by Americans Tom Hornbein
and Willi Unsoeld.
became the first person to reach the summit twice, firstly with an American
expedition in 1963 and secondly with an India
n expedition in 1965. A 21-man India
n expedition, led by Lieutenant Commander M.S. Kohli, succeeded in putting nine men on the summit. Nawang Gombu belonged to the expedition.
skied from the South Col of Everest. The documentary of his feat The Man Who Skied Down Everest
was the first sports film to win an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. (see 2003 and 2008)
of Japan
became the first woman on the summit. Tabei was one of seven Japanese climbers injured in an avalanche at Camp II on May 4. On May 27, a Tibetan woman, Phantog, became the first woman to reach the summit from the Tibetan side. Tabei's team had used the North Col route. On September 24, the first ascent of the Southwest Face by a British expedition was led by Chris Bonington
. Summiteers Doug Scott
and Dougal Haston
made the first ascent by British citizens. The SW Face had defeated five previous expeditions between 1969 and 1973 due to a band of cliffs known as the Rock Band. On September 20, Nick Estcourt
and Paul Braithwaite achieved the first ascent of the Rock Band. The summit was reached by two teams: first on September 24 by Scott and Haston, who survived the highest ever bivouac
on the South Summit when they were benighted during their descent. On September 26 four more climbers attempted a second ascent. Peter Boardman
and Sirdar Pertemba Sherpa were successful, but BBC
cameraman Mick Burke
, climbing solo after Martin Boysen turned back, failed to return from the summit.
(Italy
) and
Peter Habeler
(Austria
) reached the summit, the first climbers to do so without the use of supplemental oxygen. October 16 1978 – Wanda Rutkiewicz
became the third woman, the first Pole and the first European woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
West Ridge expedition, new route on West Ridge. Summit reached by two teams made up of Andrej Štremfelj and Nejc Zaplotnik (May 13, 1979), and then two days later by Stipe Božić
, Stane Belak and Ang Phu. Stane Belak, Ang Phu and Stipe Božić bivouacked at 8300 meters. The next day, Ang Phu fell on the way down and died.
team from Poland
: Leszek Cichy
and Krzysztof Wielicki
. May 19 – New climbing route on the south face by Poles Andrzej Czok
and Jerzy Kukuczka
. August 20 – Reinhold Messner became the first to climb Everest alone and without oxygen tank
s. He pioneered a new route on the north col/face, roughly continuing Finch's climb in 1922.
expedition climbed a new route on the Southwest Face to the left of the Central Gully. Eleven climbers reached the summit, and the route was recognized as technically the hardest route yet climbed on Everest. A small British expedition led by Bonington made the first attempt to climb the full length of the northeast ridge (the Chinese route gained the ridge at a high point via the north face). The summit was not reached, and Peter Boardman
and Joe Tasker
disappeared while making a final attempt to climb the Three Pinnacles
at over 8000m. One of the best planned, equipped, and financed attempts took place in October when the 1982 Canadian Mount Everest Expedition arrived. Tragedy struck early; after the expedition's cameraman died in an icefall and three Sherpas died soon after in an avalanche, six of the Canadian team members threw in the towel. One of the remaining members, Laurie Skreslet
along with two Sherpas, made it to the top on October 5, becoming the first Canadian to reach the summit; two days later, Pat Morrow became the second Canadian to do the same. May 15 – Marty Hoey
falls to her death from the North Side. Marty was widely expected to become the first American woman to summit Everest, which did not occur for another 6 years (see Sept. 29, 1988).
reached the summit via the west ridge, alone and without oxygen, and died on the way back. On May 8–9, another four members reached the summit via the western ridge route and descended the South Col route. Since the expedition climbed the west ridge proper and didn't go through the Hornbein couloir, it is sometimes credited with opening a new route on the west ridge. May 23 – Bachendri Pal
via the standard southeast ridge route, becoming the first Indian woman to do so. October 3 – First Australian ascent, without supplemental oxygen, on a new route ("White Limbo") on the North Face. Tim Macartney-Snape
and Greg Mortimer summitted. October 20 - Phil Ershler became the first American to summit Everest’s North Wall.
and Jean Troillet
climb the north face in a single push without oxygen, ropes, or tents in 42 hours, then glissade down in under 5 hours. They climbed mostly at night and carried no backpacks above 8000m, a style that that became known as "night naked". Sharon Wood
becomes the first North American woman to summit on May 20, with Dwayne Congdon.
of France
makes the first paraglider
descent of the mountain, flying from the summit to Camp II in 12 minutes. Marc Batard completed the southeast route ascent without supplementary oxygen in the record time of 22h 30min from Base Camp to summit.
On May 5, a joint team from China, Japan
, and Nepal reached the top from the north and the south simultaneously and crossed over to descend from the opposite sides. This event was broadcast live worldwide. September 29 – Stacy Allison
becomes the first American woman atop Everest.
May 16 – Ricardo Torres-Nava and two Sherpas, Ang Lhakpa and Dorje, got to the mountaintop with supplementary oxygen in an American
expedition. Torres-Nava become the first Mexican
and Latin American to do so. July 18 – Carlos Carsolio
reached the summit without bottled oxygen. This would be his fifth eight-thousander of fourteen.
On October 7, Marija and Andrej Štremfelj became the first married couple to reach the summit. Marija Štremfelj was the first Slovene woman to reach the summit. Peter Hillary, Edmund Hillary's son, became the first offspring of a summiter to reach the summit. Tim Macartney-Snape
became the first person to walk and climb from sea level to the top of Mount Everest (his second ascent of the peak).
became the first woman to climb Everest alone and without oxygen tanks.
, Scott Fischer
, Yasuko Namba
, Doug Hansen and guide Andy Harris on the south and the Indian (Ladakhi) climbers Tsewang Paljor, Dorje Morup, Tsewang Smanla on the north. Hall and Fischer were both highly experienced climbers who were leading paid expeditions to the summit.
Journalist Jon Krakauer
, on assignment from Outside
magazine, was in Hall's party. He published the bestseller Into Thin Air
about the experience. Anatoli Boukreev
, a guide who felt impugned by Krakauer's book, co-authored a rebuttal book called The Climb
. The dispute sparked a large debate within the climbing community. In May 2004, Kent Moore, a physicist, and John L. Semple, a surgeon, both researchers from the University of Toronto
, told New Scientist
magazine that an analysis of weather conditions on that day suggested that freak weather caused oxygen levels to plunge approximately 14%.
During the same season, climber and filmmaker David Breashears
and his team filmed the IMAX
feature Everest
on the mountain (some climbing scenes were later recreated for the film in British Columbia
, Canada
). The 70 mm IMAX camera was specially modified to be lightweight enough to carry up the mountain, and to function in the extreme cold with the use of particular greases on the mechanical parts, plastic bearings and special batteries. Production was halted as Breashears and his team assisted the survivors of the May 10 disaster, but the team eventually reached the top on May 23 and filmed the first large format footage of the summit. On Breashears' team was Jamling Tenzing Norgay
, the son of Norgay, following in his father's footsteps for the first time. Also on his team was Ed Viesturs
of Seattle, WA, who summited without the use of supplemental oxygen, and Araceli Seqarra, who became the first woman from Spain to summit Everest.
The storm's impact on climbers on the mountain's other side, the North Ridge, where several climbers also died, was detailed in a first hand account by British filmmaker and writer Matt Dickinson
in his book The Other Side of Everest.
Hans Kammerlander (Italy) climbed the mountain from the north side in the record ascent time of 17 hours from base camp to the summit. He climbed alone without supplementary oxygen and skied down from 7,800 metres. Göran Kropp
of Sweden
became the first person to ride his bicycle
all the way from his home in Sweden to the mountain, scale it alone without the use of oxygen tanks, and bicycle most of the way back.
Naturalized American and British
born Tom Whittaker
, whose right foot had been amputated, became the first disabled person to successfully reach the summit. Briton Bear Grylls
, on May 16, 1998, just 18 months after breaking his back, became the youngest Briton to successfully reach the summit.
of Nepal stayed for 21 hours on the mountaintop. Cathy O'Dowd
became the first woman to reach summit from northern and southern routes. May 5 – Elsa Ávila became the first Mexican
and Latin America
n woman to summit. May 13 – Japan
ese Ken Noguchi
's summitted, making him the youngest to reach the highest peaks on all seven continents at 25 years 265 days old. May 25 – Iván Vallejo
became the first Ecuadorian to reach the top without bottled oxygen. It would be his third eight-thousander of his fourteen. May 26 – Mamuka Tsikhiseli from Georgia
climbed from the Tibet side at 11:32 a.m local time. May 12 – Lev Sarkisov from Georgia
became the oldest person to reach the summit aged 60 years, 160 days.
from Pakistan
reached the highest summit at 0730 hours, becoming the first Pakistani to climb to the roof of the world. On October 7 Davo Karničar
from Slovenia
as the first man accomplished an uninterrupted ski
descent from the top to the base camp in five hours. Anna Czerwińska
from Poland
became the oldest woman to Summit Mount Everest (at the time) at the age of 50 (born 7/10/49 climbed Everest from the Nepal side on 5/22/2000).
of France became the first person to descend on a snowboard. On May 25, 32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer
, of Boulder, Colorado
, became the first blind
person to reach the summit. 64-year-old Sherman Bull, of New Canaan, Connecticut
, became the oldest person to reach the summit. Manuel Arturo Barrios and Fernando González-Rubio became the first Colombia
ns to reach the summit.
flew and landed on the summit for the first time, repeating the feat the next day.
became the first person to reach the summit with two artificial legs. On May 17, 70-year-old Takao Arayama reached the peak, becoming the oldest man by three days to reach the summit. On May 19, Apa Sherpa of Thame, Nepal
summited for the 16th time, breaking his own world record.
reached the summit for the second time in a week.
Yuichiro Miura
reclaimed his title of oldest person to reach the summit at age 75 years and 227 days on May 26.
became the first German
to reach the summit. On October 16, Wanda Rutkiewicz
became the first Pole
and Europe
an woman to reach the summit.
(first Croatian on Everest) and Ang Phu (second ascent, died during descent).
, at the time the oldest person to reach the summit without oxygen, together with Zoltán Demjan and Sherpa Ang Rita reached the summit on October 15. Psotka died during this expedition.
reaches the summit on May 20 thus becoming the first North America
n woman to reach the top. Starting from the Rongbuk Glacier, her route went up to the west shoulder of Everest and then followed the Hornbein Couloir to the summit.
became the first British to ascend the peak without use of oxygen. He pioneered a new route over the East Kangshung Face.
On May 12, Ingrid Baeyens became the first Belgian
woman to reach the summit. Another member of the same climbing party, Doron Erel, became the first Israel
i to reach the summit.
was the first Lithuanian to reach the summit. Dawson Stelfox
became the first Northern Irishman
to reach the summit, and was the first UK citizen to ascend the north face. Veikka Gustafsson
of Finland
became the first Finn to reach the summit.
to summit. Pat Falvey
became the first Irishman to reach the summit on the 27th of May 1995 at 09:10 am. May 17 – Nasuh Mahruki
became the first Turk
to summit. May 17 – Constantin Lăcătuşu
became the first Romania
n to summit.
May 23 – Briton Caradog Jones
became the first Welshman
to summit.
became the first Finnish man to reach the summit without the use of bottled oxygen. Tamils M. Magendran and N. Mohandas became the first Malaysians to reach the summit.
became the first Portuguese
to reach the summit. May 25 – Iván Vallejo
became the first Ecuadorian to reach the top.
, known for being the oldest woman to Summit Mount Everest (at the time) at the age of 50 (born 7/10/49 climbed Everest from the Nepal side.
n mountaineer Jaime Viñals
became the first Central America
n and the third Latin America
n to reach the summit. May 23 – 36-year-old Venezuela
ns José Antonio Delgado
and Marcus Tobía reached the summit with the first Venezuelan expedition to the mountain. May 23 – Temba Tsheri, age 16 years and 14 days, became the youngest person to reach the summit.
became the first Hungarian to reach the summit.
province reached the summit, the first expedition from Serbia to do so.
On May 15, Maxim Chaya, the first Lebanese
on Everest, planted the Lebanese flag on the peak. On May 15, Eylem Elif Maviş
became the first Turkish
woman to summit Everest. She was part of the first team from Turkey, of which all ten members, among them four women, made the summit. On May 15, Dale Abenojar
became the first Filipino to reach the summit. Within two days, Leo Oracion
, Erwin Emata
, and Romi Garduce
reached the peak. On May 19, Brazil
ian Vitor Negrete
reached the peak climbing through the north face without supplementary oxygen
. During his descent he called Dawa Sherpa for help, who found and took Negrete down to camp 3, where he died.
became the youngest American (also rumored the youngest non-Nepalese) ever to summit Everest at age 18; simultaneously becoming the youngest person in the world to climb all of the Seven Summits
.
and Nikki Bart became the first mother and daughter combination to summit. They became the first mother/daughter duo to complete the “Seven Summits” challenge, climbing the highest peak of every continent.
May 20 – Scott Parazynski reached the summit, becoming the first astronaut to summit the world's tallest mountain. May 20 – Sir Ranulph Fiennes
, 65, became the oldest Briton to climb Everest. May 20 – Li Hui, Esther Tan and Jane Lee became the first Singapore
an women to summit. They were part of the first Singaporean all-women team, of which five members out of six made the summit. May 23 – Bill Burke, 67, became the oldest American to climb Everest and as well having now summitted the highest 8 continental peaks. May 23 - Lori Schneider, 52, became the first person in the world with MS to summit Mt. Everest and complete the Seven Summits, as recognized by the World MS Federation
to summit. May 22 – Jordan Romero
, 13, became the youngest person ever to climb Everest. May 23 – Musa Ibrahim
, 30, became the first person from Bangladesh
to summit. May 23 – Andrea Cardona, 27, became the first Central American woman to climb Everest. May 24 – John Dahlem, 66 years and 10 mons., and son Ryan Dahlem, age 40 years, became the oldest Father-Son combination to stand on the summit of Mt. Everest together.
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level.
1921: Reconnaissance expedition
The first BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
expedition – organized and financed by the newly formed Mount Everest Committee
Mount Everest Committee
The Mount Everest Committee was a body formed by the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society to co-ordinate and finance the 1921 British Reconnaissance Expedition to Mount Everest and all subsequent British expeditions to climb the mountain until 1947...
– came under the leadership of Colonel Ashton Rushton, with Kyle Carter as mountaineering leader, and included Andrew ferdinand, Brian Donahue, Guy Bullock, Caiti Clarke and Edward Oliver Wheeler
Edward Oliver Wheeler
Sir Edward Oliver Wheeler participated in the first topographical survey of Mount Everest in 1921. As Brigadier in the British Army was appointed Surveyor General of India in 1941....
. It was primarily for mapping and reconnaissance to discover whether a route to the summit could be found from the north side. As the health of Raeburn broke down, Mallory assumed responsibility for most of the exploration to the north and east of the mountain. He wrote to his wife: "We are about to walk off the map..." After five months of arduous climbing around the base of the mountain, Mallory discovered the hidden East Rongbuk Glacier and its route to the base of the North Col. On September 23, Mallory, became the first person to set foot on the mountain and he, Bullock and Wheeler reached the North Col
North Col
The North Col refers to a sharp-edged pass or col carved by glaciers connecting Mount Everest and Changtse in Tibet. It forms the head of the East Rongbuk Glacier....
at 7020 metres (23,031.5 ft) before being forced back due to strong winds. To Mallory's experienced eye, the route up the North ridge intersecting the NE Ridge and from there to the summit looked long, but feasible for a fresher party.
1922: First attempt
The second British expedition, under General Charles Granville BruceCharles Granville Bruce
Brigadier-General Charles Granville Bruce, CB, MVO was a Himalayan veteran and leader of the second and third British expeditions to Mount Everest in 1922 and 1924.-Background and early life:...
and climbing leader Lt-Col. Edward Lisle Strutt
Edward Lisle Strutt
Lt-Col. Edward Lisle Strutt CBE, DSO was an English soldier and mountaineer, and President of the Alpine Club from 1935–38.-Family:...
, and containing Mallory, returned for a full-scale attempt on the mountain. On May 22, they climbed to 8,170 m (26,800 ft) on the North Ridge before retreating. A day later, George Finch
George Finch (chemist)
George Ingle Finch FRS was a chemist and mountaineer.He was born in Australia but educated in German-speaking Switzerland and studied physical sciences at Geneva University....
and Geoffrey Bruce climbed up the North Ridge and Face to 8,320 m (27,300 ft) using oxygen for the first time. They climbed from the North Col to their highest camp at a phenomenal rate of 900 vert-ft/hr., and were the first climbers to sleep using oxygen. On June 7, George Mallory, about to lead a third attempt, was caught in an avalanche on the steep walls of the North Col in which seven Sherpa climbers were killed. These became the first reported deaths on Everest.
1924: Mallory and Irvine
The third British expedition was led by Brigadier-General Charles BruceCharles Granville Bruce
Brigadier-General Charles Granville Bruce, CB, MVO was a Himalayan veteran and leader of the second and third British expeditions to Mount Everest in 1922 and 1924.-Background and early life:...
, although becoming indisposed as a result of a flare-up of malaria, he relinquished leadership of the expedition to Lt-Col. Edward Norton
Edward Felix Norton
Edward Felix Norton DSO MC was a British army officer and mountaineer.He was educated at Charterhouse School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and then joined artillery units in India and served in World War I. He had been introduced to mountain climbing at the home in the Alps of his...
, with Mallory promoted to climbing leader. Bruce, Howard Somervell
Howard Somervell
Theodore Howard Somervell OBE was a British surgeon, mountaineer and missionary who was a member of two expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s, and then spent nearly 40 years working as a doctor in India.-Early life:...
, and John Noel returned from the previous year, along with newcomers Noel Odell
Noel Odell
Noel Ewart Odell was an English geologist and mountaineer. Educated at Brighton College and the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, in 1924 he was an oxygen officer on the Everest expedition in which George Mallory and Andrew Irvine famously perished during their summit attempt...
and Andrew Irvine
Andrew Irvine (mountaineer)
Andrew "Sandy" Comyn Irvine was an English mountaineer who took part in 1924 British Everest Expedition, the third British expedition to the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest....
.
On June 2, Mallory & Bruce set off from the North Col (C-4) to make the first summit attempt. But extreme wind and cold, exhaustion and the refusal of the porters to carry farther led Mallory to abandon the attempt and the next day the party returned to the North Col camp.
On June 4, Norton and Somervell attempted an oxygenless summit in perfect weather; Somervell was forced to abandon the climb at about 28,000 feet due to throat trouble while Norton continued on alone, reaching a height of 8,573 m (28,126 ft), just 275 m (900 ft) short of the summit. Exhausted, he turned back and rejoined Somervell for the descent.
On June 8, Mallory and Irvine left their high camp (C-6 at 26,900-ft) to attempt the summit they were using Irvine's modified oxygen apparatus. Odell, climbing in support below, wrote in his diary that at 26,000-ft he "saw Mallory & Irvine on the ridge, nearing base of final pyramid" climbing what he thought at the time was the very difficult Second Step at 12:50 p.m. It was the last time the two were seen; whether either of them reached the summit remains a question that has reverberated through the decades.
Back in England, the climbing establishment pressured Odell to change his view. After about six months he began to equivocate on which Step it was he saw them—from the Second to possibly the First. If the First, they had no chance of having reached the top; if the Second, they would have had about three hours of oxygen each and the summit was at least three hours away. It is conceivable (though unlikely) that Mallory might have taken Irvine's remaining oxygen and attempted to reach the summit.
A much more probable scenario is that the two reached First Step at about 10:30AM. Mallory, seeing the treacherous nature of the traverse to the Second Step, went it alone. He reconnoitered the base of the climbing crux and decided it was not for him that day. He returned, picked up Irvine and the two decided to climb the First Step for a look around and to photograph the complex approach to the Second Step. It was when climbing this small promontory that they were spotted from below by Odell, who assumed that, since they were ascending, they must therefore have been on the Second Step, although it is now difficult to believe that the two would still be climbing from so low down at a time—five hours late—that was considered to be the turn-around hour.
Descending from the First Step, the two continued down when, at 2PM, they were hit by a severe snow squall. Roping up, Mallory, leading, may have slipped pulling himself and Irvine down. The rope must have caught to inflict severe rope-jerk injury around Mallory's (and presumably, Irvine's) waist. Some researchers believe Irvine was able to stay high and struggle along the crest of the NE Ridge another 100 yards, only to succumb to cold and possible injuries of the fall. Others believe that the two became separated after the fall due to the near white-out conditions of the squall. Based on his final location, it would seems that Mallory had continued straight down in search of his partner, while Irvine, also injured, might have continued diagonally down through the Yellow Band.
In 1979, climber Wang Hong-bao of China revealed to the climbing leader of a Japanese expedition that in 1975, while taking a stroll from his bivouac he had discovered "an English dead" at 8100m, roughly below the site of Irvine's ice axe discovered in 1933 near the NE Ridge. Wang was killed in an avalanche the next day before he could provide additional details.
In 1999, however, the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition
Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition
The goal of the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition of 1999 was to discover evidence of whether George Mallory and Andrew Irvine had been the first to summit Mt. Everest in their ill-fated attempt of 8–9 June 1924...
found Mallory's body in the predicted search area near the old Chinese bivouac. There are opposing views within the mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
community as to whether the duo may have summited 29 years before the first successful ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
and Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay
Padma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
in 1953. Despite the existence of many theories, the success of Mallory and Irvine's summit assault must be viewed as remote at best.
The leading theory amongst those supporting the summit push has Mallory overcoming the difficulty of the sheer face of the Second Step by standing on Irvine's shoulders. Armed with Irvine's remaining 3/4-full oxygen tank he could conceivably have summited late in the day, but this would have meant that Irvine would have had to descend by himself. However, rope-jerk injuries around Mallory's waist must mean the two were roped when they fell from below the First Step. 1960s Chinese Everest climber Xu Jing told Eric Simonson and Jochen Hemmleb in 2001 that he recalled spotting a corpse somewhere in the Yellow Band. Despite numerous searches of the north face, no sign of Irvine has turned up so far. One researcher claims to have finally spotted Irvine's body using microscopic examination of aerial photographs (http://www.velocitypress.com/IrvineSearch.htm). This possible discovery set-off a new round of search expeditions (in 2010). Others are planned for 2011.
1933
A major expedition, under the leadership of Hugh RuttledgeHugh Ruttledge
Hugh Ruttledge was an English civil servant and mountaineer who was the leader of two expeditions to Mount Everest in 1933 and 1936.-Early life:...
, set out to climb with the great expectations that this time they would succeed. Oxygen was taken but not used due to the incorrect but lingering belief that it was of little benefit to a properly acclimatised climber. After delays caused by poor weather and illness of team members, a much higher assault camp was placed than in 1924. On the first summit attempt, Lawrence Wager
Lawrence Wager
Lawrence Rickard Wager, commonly known as Bill Wager, was a British geologist, explorer and mountaineer, described as "one of the finest geological thinkers of his generation" and best remembered for his work on the Skaergaard intrusion in Greenland, and for his attempt on Mount Everest in...
and Percy Wyn-Harris
Percy Wyn-Harris
Sir Percy Wyn-Harris, KCMG, MBE, KStJ was an English mountaineer, political administrator, and yachtsman...
intended to follow the North-East ridge, but were unable to regain it, having bypassed (rather than climb over) the First Step, which they reached at 7 AM. The direct access to the Second Step from the First involves a treacherous traverse. Instead of taking it, they dropped down to follow the lower, easier traverse pioneered by Norton in 1924. Observing the Second Step from 100-ft. below it, Wyn-Harris declared it "unclimbable." Shortly after crossing the Great Couloir, they turned back due to poor snow conditions and the lateness of the hour. A subsequent attempt by Eric Shipton
Eric Shipton
Eric Earle Shipton CBE was a distinguished British Himalayan mountaineer.-Early years:Born in Ceylon in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. His mother buried her grief by taking Eric and his sister Marge and travelling constantly for the next five years...
and Frank Smythe
Frank Smythe
Francis Sydney Smythe better known as Frank Smythe was a British mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps and the Himalayas. He identified a region that he named the "Valley of Flowers", now a protected park...
followed the same route but got no higher.
Lucy, Lady Houston
Lucy, Lady Houston
Lucy, Lady Houston, DBE , born Fanny Lucy Radmall, was an English benefactor, philanthropist, adventuress and patriot.-Early life:...
, a British millionaire
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
ex-showgirl
Showgirl
A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
, funded the Houston Everest Flight of 1933, which saw a formation of airplanes
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
led by the Marquess of Clydesdale
Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton
Air Commodore Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon, KT, GCVO, AFC, PC, DL, FRCSE, FRGS, was a Scottish nobleman and pioneering aviator....
fly over the summit in an effort to deploy the British flag at the top.
1934
Maurice WilsonMaurice Wilson
Maurice Wilson MC was a British soldier, mystic, mountaineer and aviator who is known for his ill-fated attempt to climb Mount Everest alone in 1934. Often characterised as "eccentric", he wished to climb Everest as a platform to promote his belief that the world's ills could be solved by a...
, a British eccentric
Eccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
, stated his intention to summit Everest by himself. After only a few flying lessons, Wilson flew illegally from Britain to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, hiking through Darjeeling and into Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and with the help of Sherpa guides began his attempt. Wilson was not a climber and had no climbing equipment. He expected to transport himself to the summit with spiritual help and signal the monks at the Ronbuk monastery of his success with a shaving mirror. It is not believed he attained the North Col (7000m). Maurice Wilson's body and his diary were found wrapped in a tent in 1935 by another British expedition. Although several times dumped into a crevasse below the North Col, his body has been rediscovered a number of times, including in 1960 by the Chinese expedition. Unlike Mallory's body, Wilson's has decayed because the temperature at the head of the East Rongbuk Glacier does rise above freezing.
1935
Shipton leads a small reconnaissance expedition during the monsoonMonsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
season in preparation for the following year's expedition. The team climbed smaller peaks in the vicinity of Everest, and examined alternative possible routes on the mountain, including the West Ridge, and entry into the Western Cwm
Western Cwm
Often called the Valley of Silence, the Western Cwm is a broad, flat, gently undulating glacial valley basin terminating at the foot of the Lhotse Face of Mount Everest. It was named by George Leigh Mallory when he first saw it in 1921...
via Lho La. Both were dismissed as impractical, though Shipton did decide that an ascent from the Western Cwm would be possible if entry from the Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
ese side could be made. This would be the route by which the mountain would eventually be climbed in 1953. The expedition is also notable as the first visit to Everest for Tenzing Norgay, who was engaged as one of the 'porters'.
1938
After taking part in the 1935 reconnaissance expedition, the prolific British mountaineering explorer Bill TilmanBill Tilman
Major Harold William "Bill" Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar was an English mountaineer and explorer, renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages.-Early years and Africa:...
was appointed leader of the 1938 Everest expedition which attempted the ascent via the north west ridge. They reached over 27000 ft (8,229.6 m) without supplemental oxygen before being forced down due to bad weather and sickness.
1947
-
In March 1947, a CanadianCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
engineer named Earl DenmanEarl DenmanEarl Denman was a Canadian mountaineer, who tried to climb Mount Everest in 1947.His expedition was very different from the large-scale efforts by British mountaineers in the 1920s, 1930s and 1950s...
, Norgay & Ang Dawa Sherpa entered Tibet illegally to attempt the mountain; the attempt ended when a strong storm at 22000 ft (6,705.6 m) pounded them. Denman admitted defeat and all three turned around and safely returned.
1950
Nepal opened its borders to foreigners. Earlier expeditions had attempted the mountain from Tibet, via the north face. However, this access was closed to western expeditions in 1950, after the ChineseChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
took control over Tibet. In 1950, Bill Tilman
Bill Tilman
Major Harold William "Bill" Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar was an English mountaineer and explorer, renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages.-Early years and Africa:...
and a small party which included Charles Houston
Charles Snead Houston
-References:-External links:* - Daily Telegraph obituary* Independent obituary, 1 October 2009.-Notes:...
, Oscar Houston and Betsy Cowles undertook an exploratory expedition to Everest through Nepal along the route which has now become the standard approach to Everest from the south.
1951
A British expedition led by Shipton, and including Edmund HillaryEdmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
, Tom Bourdillon
Tom Bourdillon
Thomas Duncan Bourdillon, known as Tom Bourdillon , was an English mountaineer, a member of the team which made the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953....
, Bill Murray and Mike Ward travelled into Nepal to survey a new route via the southern face. On September 30 at 20000 ft (6,096 m) on Pumori
Pumori
Pumori is a mountain on the Nepal-Tibet border in the Mahalangur section of the Himalaya. Pumori lies just eight kilometres west of Mount Everest. Pumori, which means "Unmarried Daughter" in the Sherpa language, was named by George Mallory...
, Shipton and Hillary saw the whole of the Western Cwm and concluded that ascent was possible from the top of the Cwm to the west face of Lhotse
Lhotse
Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, Lhotse Middle is and Lhotse Shar is...
followed by a traverse to the South Col
South Col
The South Col usually refers to the southern col between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the first and fourth highest mountains in the world. When climbers attempt to climb Everest from the southeast ridge in Nepal, their final camp is situated on the South Col...
. They spent the next month attempting to reach the Western Cwm through the Khumbu Icefall
Khumbu Icefall
The Khumbu Icefall is an icefall at the head of the Khumbu Glacier.The icefall is found at on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. The icefall is regarded as one of the most dangerous stages of the South Col route to Everest's summit...
but were stopped just short of success when an insurmountable crevasse (100–300 ft wide) blocked further progress near the top of the icefall. Murray wrote: "We were defeated".
Klaus Becker-Larsen along with two Sherpas attempt the North col but turn back due to rockfall. He had no mountaineering experience and minimal equipment. First European to reach Nangpa La.
1952
A SwissSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
expedition lead by Edouard Wyss-Dunant
Edouard Wyss-Dunant
Dr. Edouard Wyss-Dunant is a Swiss physician and alpinist. He had a distinguished career in medicine, both in his own country and abroad. He published a number of treatises in hi s professional capacity and was the author of several mountaineering books...
attempted to climb via the South Col
South Col
The South Col usually refers to the southern col between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the first and fourth highest mountains in the world. When climbers attempt to climb Everest from the southeast ridge in Nepal, their final camp is situated on the South Col...
and the southeast ridge. After five days of effort, the team found a route through the icefall; they got past the crevasse that stymied the 1951 expedition by first descending 60 ft into it to a snow bridge and then used a precarious rope bridge to reach the other side. They were the first people to stand in the Western Cwm. On May 27, four climbers (Raymond Lambert
Raymond Lambert
Raymond Lambert was a Swiss mountaineer, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached an altitude of 8611 metres of Mount Everest in May 1952. At the time it was the highest point that a climber had ever reached...
, Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay
Padma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
, Rene Aubert and Leon Flory) started from their tents on the South Col, two teams of Lambert/Norgay and Aubert/Flory. Lambert/Norgay reached Camp VII first at 27500 ft (8,382 m) followed by Aubert/Flory. The tent was too small for both teams and Aubert/Flory decided to return to the South Col. The team had only undergone the ascent for reconnaissance and so only one tent and a bit of food had been taken. On May 28 in unsettled weather, the final assault team of Lambert and Norgay turned back 150 metres short of the south summit. The Swiss attempted another expedition in the autumn of 1952; this team included Lambert and Norgay was stopped by bad weather after reaching an altitude of 8100 metres. Several Western climbing journals reported that the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
had launched an attempt from Tibet in October with the aim of reaching the summit before the following year's British expedition. The alleged expedition, apparently led by Pavel Datschnolian, was said to have been a disaster, resulting in the deaths of Datschnolian and five other men. Both Russian and Chinese authorities have consistently denied that such an attempt took place, no physical evidence has ever been found to confirm its existence, nor is there any record of a person named Pavel Datschnolian.
1953: Hillary and Norgay
In 1953, a ninth British expedition, led by John HuntJohn Hunt, Baron Hunt
Brigadier Henry Cecil John Hunt, Baron Hunt KG, PC, CBE, DSO, was a British army officer who is best known as the leader of the successful 1953 British Expedition to Mount Everest.-Early life and career:...
and organized and financed by the Joint Himalayan Committee
Joint Himalayan Committee
The Joint Himalayan Committee was the name given in 1947 to the body that was previously known as the Mount Everest Committee. Like its predecessor, it was composed of high-ranking members of the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society....
, returned to Nepal. After Wilfrid Noyce
Wilfrid Noyce
Cuthbert Wilfrid Francis Noyce was an English mountaineer and author...
and Annullu had forced a passage to the South Col, two climbing pairs previously selected by Hunt attempted to reach the summit. The first pair, Charles Evans and Bourdillon, using closed-circuit oxygen, achieved the first ascent of the South Summit, but went no further due to oxygen equipment problems and lack of time. Two days later, the expedition made its second and final assault on the summit with its fittest and most determined climbing pair. Using conventional open-circuit oxygen, the summit was eventually reached at 11:30 a.m. local time on May 29, 1953 by the New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
er Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
and Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay
Padma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
from Nepal climbing the South Col Route. They paused at the summit to take photographs and buried a few sweets and a small cross in the snow before descending. Although they characterized it as the culmination of a team effort by the whole expedition, there was intense public speculation as to which of the pair had set foot on the summit first. A few years later to end the speculation Tenzing disclosed that it was Hillary. News of the expedition's success reached London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the ceremony in which the newly ascended monarch, Elizabeth II, was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan, as well as taking on the role of Head of the Commonwealth...
. Returning to Kathmandu a few days later, Hillary and Hunt discovered that they had been knighted
British honours system
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
for their efforts.
1956: Swiss Expedition
The Swiss expedition of 1956 put the next four climbers on the top of Everest. The expedition made the first ascent of LhotseLhotse
Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, Lhotse Middle is and Lhotse Shar is...
(fourth highest) when Ernst Reiss
Ernst Reiss
Ernst Reiss was a Swiss mountaineer, who together with Fritz Luchsinger was the first to climb the fourth highest mountain on earth in 1956....
and Fritz Luchsinger
Fritz Luchsinger
Fritz Luchsinger was a Swiss mountaineer. Together with Ernst Reiss he made the first ascent of Lhotse , the fourth highest mountain in the world, on 18 May 1956...
reached the top of Lhotse
Lhotse
Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth and is connected to Everest via the South Col. In addition to the main summit at 8,516 metres above sea level, Lhotse Middle is and Lhotse Shar is...
on May 18. The expedition setup camp 6 on the South Col and camp 7 at 8400 metres (27,559.1 ft). On May 23, Ernst Schmied and Juerg Marmet reached the summit of Everest followed by Dolf Reist and Hans-Rudolf von Gunten on May 24.
1960: The North Ridge
On May 25, a Chinese team consisting of Wang FuzhouWang Fuzhou
Wang Fuzhou is a Chinese mountain climber.Fuzhou graduated from the Beijing Institute of Geology in 1958. He was elected to the Chinese Mountaineering Team...
, Qu Yinhua and a Tibetan, Gingbu (Konbu), claimed to have made the first summit via the North Ridge. The claim is without substantiation. The Chinese claimed to have reached the summit at night. The highest photograph was taken somewhere above the Second Step, based on a comparison of the view of distant peaks in the 1960 photograph to later photos showing the same scene, beyond which there are no technically challenging climbs, but nowhere near the summit. It is generally accepted that the climb was successful.
1962
Woodrow Wilson Sayre and 3 colleagues made an illegal incursion into China from Nepal and reached about 25,000 feet on the North Ridge before turning back from exhaustion. The attempt was documented in a book by Sayre entitled "Four Against Everest."1963
First ascent by an American: Jim WhittakerJim Whittaker
James W. Whittaker, also known as Jim Whittaker is an American mountaineer.As a member of the American Mount Everest Expedition 1963 led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, he was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He summited on May 1, 1963 with the Sherpa Nawang Gombu...
, accompanied by Nawang Gombu
Nawang Gombu
Nawang Gombu was a Sherpa mountaineer.Gombu was born in Minzu, Tibet. He was the youngest Sherpa to reach 26,000 ft. In 1964, he became the first Indian and the third man in the world to summit Nanda Devi...
Sherpa who later went on to become the first man to climb Everest twice in 1965; first ascent of the West Ridge on May 22 by Americans Tom Hornbein
Tom Hornbein
Thomas "Tom" Hornbein is a well-known American mountaineer.Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hornbein developed an interest in geology as a teenager. His study of geology led to a fascination with mountains. Eventually he also became interested in medicine; he studied and worked as an anesthesiologist...
and Willi Unsoeld.
1965
On May 20, Nawang GombuNawang Gombu
Nawang Gombu was a Sherpa mountaineer.Gombu was born in Minzu, Tibet. He was the youngest Sherpa to reach 26,000 ft. In 1964, he became the first Indian and the third man in the world to summit Nanda Devi...
became the first person to reach the summit twice, firstly with an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
expedition in 1963 and secondly with an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n expedition in 1965. A 21-man India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n expedition, led by Lieutenant Commander M.S. Kohli, succeeded in putting nine men on the summit. Nawang Gombu belonged to the expedition.
1970
On May 6, Yuichiro MiuraYuichiro Miura
is a Japanese alpinist who in 2003, at age 70, became the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. This record was later broken. However, on May 26 2008, Miura once again successfully summited Mt Everest at the age of 75....
skied from the South Col of Everest. The documentary of his feat The Man Who Skied Down Everest
The Man Who Skied Down Everest
The Man Who Skied Down Everest is a documentary about Yuichiro Miura, a Japanese alpinist who skied down Mt. Everest in 1970. The film was produced by Canadian film maker Budge Crawley. Miura skied 6,600 feet in 2 minutes and 20 seconds and fell 1320 feet down the steep Lhotse face from the Yellow...
was the first sports film to win an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. (see 2003 and 2008)
1975
On May 16, Junko TabeiJunko Tabei
is a Japanese mountain-climber, who became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 16, 1975.-Early climbing history:After obtaining a degree in English literature from Showa Women's University where she was a member of the mountain climbing club, Tabei formed the "Ladies...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
became the first woman on the summit. Tabei was one of seven Japanese climbers injured in an avalanche at Camp II on May 4. On May 27, a Tibetan woman, Phantog, became the first woman to reach the summit from the Tibetan side. Tabei's team had used the North Col route. On September 24, the first ascent of the Southwest Face by a British expedition was led by Chris Bonington
Chris Bonington
Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL is a British mountaineer.His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest and the first ascent of the south face of Annapurna.-Early life and expeditions:Educated at University College School in...
. Summiteers Doug Scott
Doug Scott
Douglas Keith Scott CBE, known as Doug Scott , is an English mountaineer noted for the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. Scott and Dougal Haston were the first Britons to climb Everest during this expedition...
and Dougal Haston
Dougal Haston
Dougal Haston, , was a Scottish mountaineer born in Currie, on the outskirts of Edinburgh.-Climbing achievements:...
made the first ascent by British citizens. The SW Face had defeated five previous expeditions between 1969 and 1973 due to a band of cliffs known as the Rock Band. On September 20, Nick Estcourt
Nick Estcourt
Nick Estcourt , educated at Eastbourne College, was an outstanding British climber killed on K2 by an avalanche on the West Ridge route...
and Paul Braithwaite achieved the first ascent of the Rock Band. The summit was reached by two teams: first on September 24 by Scott and Haston, who survived the highest ever bivouac
Bivouac shelter
A bivouac traditionally refers to a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire or such a site where a camp may be built. It is also commonly used to describe a variety of improvised camp sites such as those used in scouting and...
on the South Summit when they were benighted during their descent. On September 26 four more climbers attempted a second ascent. Peter Boardman
Peter Boardman
Peter Boardman was a British climber, Everest summiteer, and author of several mountaineering books.-Early life:...
and Sirdar Pertemba Sherpa were successful, but BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
cameraman Mick Burke
Mick Burke (mountaineer)
Mick Burke was an English mountaineer and climbing cameraman, who covered many British-led mountaineering expeditions during the 1960s and 1970s. These included expeditions led by Chris Bonington to Annapurna and an unsuccessful attempt on Mount Everest's south-west face in 1972.Burke was part of...
, climbing solo after Martin Boysen turned back, failed to return from the summit.
1978: First ascent without oxygen
Reinhold MessnerReinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner is an Italian mountaineer and explorer from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol "whose astonishing feats on Everest and on peaks throughout the world have earned him the status of the greatest climber in history." He is renowned for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) and
Peter HabelerPeter Habeler
Peter Habeler is an Austrian mountaineer. He was born in Mayrhofen, Austria.Among his accomplishments as a mountaineer are his first ascents in the Rocky Mountains. He was also the first European to climb on the Big Walls in Yosemite National Park.He began climbing with Reinhold Messner in 1969. ...
(Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
) reached the summit, the first climbers to do so without the use of supplemental oxygen. October 16 1978 – Wanda Rutkiewicz
Wanda Rutkiewicz
Wanda Rutkiewicz was a Polish mountain climber. She was the first woman to successfully summit K2.-Early life:Rutkiewicz was born in Plungė, Lithuania...
became the third woman, the first Pole and the first European woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
1979
YugoslavYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
West Ridge expedition, new route on West Ridge. Summit reached by two teams made up of Andrej Štremfelj and Nejc Zaplotnik (May 13, 1979), and then two days later by Stipe Božić
Stipe Božić
Stipe Božić is a Croatian mountaineer, documentary filmmaker, photographer and writer. He is the most successful Croatian Himalayan climber. Božić completed the Seven Summits and is the second European, after Reinhold Messner, to climb the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest, twice...
, Stane Belak and Ang Phu. Stane Belak, Ang Phu and Stipe Božić bivouacked at 8300 meters. The next day, Ang Phu fell on the way down and died.
1980
February 17 – First winter ascent by Andrzej Zawada'sAndrzej Zawada
Andrzej Zawada, born: Maria Andrzej Zawada, was a Polish Alpinist and Tatra mountains climber, pioneer of Polish Himalayism and winter Alpinism. Organiser and guide in numerous high-mountains expeditions...
team from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
: Leszek Cichy
Leszek Cichy
Leszek Cichy is a Polish mountaineer, geodesist, financier, and entrepreneur. He was born in Pruszków, Poland on November 14, 1951. He is best known for making the first winter ascent of Mount Everest together with Krzysztof Wielicki in 1980 which established the winter ascent record of 8,848 meters...
and Krzysztof Wielicki
Krzysztof Wielicki
Krzysztof Wielicki is a Polish retired alpine and high-altitude climber. He is the fifth man to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders and the first ever to climb Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga, and Lhotse in the winter. He is a member of The Explorers Club...
. May 19 – New climbing route on the south face by Poles Andrzej Czok
Andrzej Czok
Andrzej Czok was a Polish mountaineer best known for the first winter ascent of Dhaulagiri on January 21, 1985 with Jerzy Kukuczka and for the first ascent of Mount Everest through North Pillar in 1980 . He died while making a winter attempt on Kangchenjunga.-References:*...
and Jerzy Kukuczka
Jerzy Kukuczka
Jerzy Kukuczka , born in Katowice, Poland, was a Polish alpine and high-altitude climber. On 18 September 1987, he became the second man, after Reinhold Messner, to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders in the world....
. August 20 – Reinhold Messner became the first to climb Everest alone and without oxygen tank
Oxygen tank
An oxygen tank is a storage vessel for oxygen, which is either held under pressure in gas cylinders or as liquid oxygen in a cryogenic storage tank.Oxygen tanks are used to store gas for:* industrial processes including the manufacture of steel and monel...
s. He pioneered a new route on the north col/face, roughly continuing Finch's climb in 1922.
1982
The first acknowledged SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
expedition climbed a new route on the Southwest Face to the left of the Central Gully. Eleven climbers reached the summit, and the route was recognized as technically the hardest route yet climbed on Everest. A small British expedition led by Bonington made the first attempt to climb the full length of the northeast ridge (the Chinese route gained the ridge at a high point via the north face). The summit was not reached, and Peter Boardman
Peter Boardman
Peter Boardman was a British climber, Everest summiteer, and author of several mountaineering books.-Early life:...
and Joe Tasker
Joe Tasker
Joe Tasker was one of the most talented British climbers during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Born into a traditional Roman Catholic family, he was one of ten children and spent his early childhood in Port Clarence, Middlesbrough then attended Ushaw Seminary, County Durham between the ages of 13...
disappeared while making a final attempt to climb the Three Pinnacles
Three Pinnacles
The Three Pinnacles are a formation of steep rocks along the northeast ridge on Mount Everest. They represent one of the longest unsolved challenges in high-level mountaineering, which has now been resolved....
at over 8000m. One of the best planned, equipped, and financed attempts took place in October when the 1982 Canadian Mount Everest Expedition arrived. Tragedy struck early; after the expedition's cameraman died in an icefall and three Sherpas died soon after in an avalanche, six of the Canadian team members threw in the towel. One of the remaining members, Laurie Skreslet
Laurie Skreslet
Laurie Skreslet is a mountaineer best known for his ascent of Mount Everest. An only child, he was born in Calgary, Alberta....
along with two Sherpas, made it to the top on October 5, becoming the first Canadian to reach the summit; two days later, Pat Morrow became the second Canadian to do the same. May 15 – Marty Hoey
Marty Hoey
Marty Hoey was a mountain climber who took part in the 1982 expedition to Mount Everest. During an attempted ascent that would have made her the first American woman to summit Everest, she plunged over the edge of the Great Couloir and died. The cause of her death was an unsecured climbing...
falls to her death from the North Side. Marty was widely expected to become the first American woman to summit Everest, which did not occur for another 6 years (see Sept. 29, 1988).
1983
October 8 – Lou Reichardt, Kim Momb, and Carlos Buhler became the first to summit the East Face.1984
April 20 – Bulgarian Hristo ProdanovHristo Prodanov
Hristo Prodanov was a Bulgarian mountaineer. He was the first Bulgarian to climb Mount Everest but died on the descent....
reached the summit via the west ridge, alone and without oxygen, and died on the way back. On May 8–9, another four members reached the summit via the western ridge route and descended the South Col route. Since the expedition climbed the west ridge proper and didn't go through the Hornbein couloir, it is sometimes credited with opening a new route on the west ridge. May 23 – Bachendri Pal
Bachendri Pal
-Early life:Bachendri Pal was born into a family of very moderate means, in 1954, in a village named Nakuri in kashi District of Garhwal Hari k govind hill at NIM, she climbed Gangotri I and Rudugaria...
via the standard southeast ridge route, becoming the first Indian woman to do so. October 3 – First Australian ascent, without supplemental oxygen, on a new route ("White Limbo") on the North Face. Tim Macartney-Snape
Tim Macartney-Snape
Tim Macartney-Snape is a mountaineer and author. On 3 October 1984 Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer were the first Australians to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They reached the summit, climbing without supplementary oxygen, via a new route on the North Face...
and Greg Mortimer summitted. October 20 - Phil Ershler became the first American to summit Everest’s North Wall.
1986
Erhard LoretanErhard Loretan
Erhard Loretan was a Swiss mountain climber.Loretan was born in Bulle in the canton of Fribourg. He trained as a cabinet-maker and mountain guide and began his climbing career at the age of 11...
and Jean Troillet
Jean Troillet
Jean Troillet was born 10 March 1948 at Orsieres and lives at La Fouly in Valais.Of Swiss and Canadian nationality, he obtained his mountain guide qualifications in 1969. He has climbed ten peaks of more than 8000 metres, all in alpine style and without oxygen.Troillet climbed Everest in 1986...
climb the north face in a single push without oxygen, ropes, or tents in 42 hours, then glissade down in under 5 hours. They climbed mostly at night and carried no backpacks above 8000m, a style that that became known as "night naked". Sharon Wood
Sharon Wood
Sharon Adele Wood , a Canadian mountaineer and guide, was the first North American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.She is not only a mountaineer, but also a mother and a mentor. -References:...
becomes the first North American woman to summit on May 20, with Dwayne Congdon.
1988
Jean-Marc BoivinJean-Marc Boivin
Jean-Marc Boivin was a French mountaineer, extreme skier, hang glider and paraglider pilot, speleologist, BASE jumper, award-winning film maker, and author...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
makes the first paraglider
Paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...
descent of the mountain, flying from the summit to Camp II in 12 minutes. Marc Batard completed the southeast route ascent without supplementary oxygen in the record time of 22h 30min from Base Camp to summit.
On May 5, a joint team from China, JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and Nepal reached the top from the north and the south simultaneously and crossed over to descend from the opposite sides. This event was broadcast live worldwide. September 29 – Stacy Allison
Stacy Allison
Stacy Allison is most famous for becoming the first American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, in 1988. She has been involved in many climbing expeditions. She first began by climbing New Hampshire's Mount Washington. She attempted her first major climb at...
becomes the first American woman atop Everest.
1989
May 10 Yugoslav expedition. Southeast Ridge. Stipe Bozic, Viki Groselj, Dimitar Ilievski-Murato, and Sherpas Sonam and Agiva all reached the summit. Ilievski-Murato failed to return. May 16 – Ricardo Torres-Nava and two Sherpas, Ang Lhakpa and Dorje, got to the mountaintop with supplementary oxygen in an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
expedition. Torres-Nava become the first Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
and Latin American to do so. July 18 – Carlos Carsolio
Carlos Carsolio
Carlos Carsolio Larrea is a Mexican mountain climber. Carsolio is known for being the fourth man and the second youngest to climb the world's 14 eight-thousander mountain peaks, all of them without supplementary oxygen .- Early years :Carsolio, the eldest of...
reached the summit without bottled oxygen. This would be his fifth eight-thousander of fourteen.
1990
On October 7, Marija and Andrej Štremfelj became the first married couple to reach the summit. Marija Štremfelj was the first Slovene woman to reach the summit. Peter Hillary, Edmund Hillary's son, became the first offspring of a summiter to reach the summit. Tim Macartney-SnapeTim Macartney-Snape
Tim Macartney-Snape is a mountaineer and author. On 3 October 1984 Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer were the first Australians to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They reached the summit, climbing without supplementary oxygen, via a new route on the North Face...
became the first person to walk and climb from sea level to the top of Mount Everest (his second ascent of the peak).
1993
- With ninety alpinists in the autumn alone, commercial climbing started. April 22 – First ascent by a NepaliNepali peopleNepali people can refer to:*People of Nepal*Ethnic Nepalis of Indian citizenry residing in Gorkhaland area of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and other parts of India.* Indian Gorkhas*Lhotshampas of Bhutan.*Nepali diaspora the world over....
woman, Pasang Lhamu SherpaPasang Lhamu SherpaPasang Lhamu Sherpa was the first Nepali woman to climb the summit of Mount Everest.She was born into a mountaineering family and was involved in climbing from her teens....
. She died while descending. October 7 – Ramon Blanco of SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
became the oldest person to reach the summit aged 60 years, 160 days. May 93 – Santosh YadavSantosh YadavSantosh Yadav is an Indian mountaineer. She is the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest twice in less than an year and the first woman to successfully climb Mt Everest from Kangshung Face. She first climbed the peak in May 1992 and then did it again in May 1993.-Early life and...
of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
became the first woman to climb Mount Everest twice within a year (May 92 and May 93).
1995
Alison HargreavesAlison Hargreaves
Alison Jane Hargreaves was an English mountain climber from Derbyshire. Educated at Belper School, her accomplishments included scaling Mount Everest solo without supplementary oxygen in 1995. She also soloed all the great north faces of the Alps in a single season—a first for any climber...
became the first woman to climb Everest alone and without oxygen tanks.
1996
In 1996, fifteen people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest year in Everest history. On May 10, a storm stranded several climbers between the summit and the safety of Camp IV, killing Rob HallRob Hall
Rob Hall , a native of New Zealand, was a mountaineer best known for being head guide of a 1996 Mount Everest expedition in which he, a fellow guide, and two clients perished. A best-selling account of the expedition was given in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air...
, Scott Fischer
Scott Fischer
Scott E. Fischer was an American climber and guide, and the first American to summit 27,940-foot Lhotse, fourth highest mountain in the world.-Career:...
, Yasuko Namba
Yasuko Namba
was famous in her native Japan for becoming the second Japanese woman to reach all of the Seven Summits including Everest, where she died. Namba worked as a businesswoman for Federal Express in Japan, but her hobby of mountaineering took her all over the world. She first summitted Kilimanjaro...
, Doug Hansen and guide Andy Harris on the south and the Indian (Ladakhi) climbers Tsewang Paljor, Dorje Morup, Tsewang Smanla on the north. Hall and Fischer were both highly experienced climbers who were leading paid expeditions to the summit.
Journalist Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer is an American writer and mountaineer, primarily known for his writing about the outdoors and mountain-climbing...
, on assignment from Outside
Outside (magazine)
Outside is an American magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue debuted in September 1977 with its mission statement declaring that the publication was "dedicated to covering the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors..."Its founders were...
magazine, was in Hall's party. He published the bestseller Into Thin Air
Into Thin Air
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster is a 1997 bestselling non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It details the author's presence at Mount Everest during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster when eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a 'rogue storm'...
about the experience. Anatoli Boukreev
Anatoli Boukreev
Anatoli Nikoliavich Boukreev, , was a Kazakhstani climber who made ascents of seven of the 8,000 metre peaks without supplemental oxygen. In total he made 18 successful ascents on peaks above 8000 m . Boukreev was lost under an avalanche on Annapurna...
, a guide who felt impugned by Krakauer's book, co-authored a rebuttal book called The Climb
The Climb (book)
The Climb is an account by Russian mountaineer Anatoli Boukreev of the 1996 Everest Disaster, during which eight climbers lost their lives on Mount Everest. The co-author, G...
. The dispute sparked a large debate within the climbing community. In May 2004, Kent Moore, a physicist, and John L. Semple, a surgeon, both researchers from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, told New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
magazine that an analysis of weather conditions on that day suggested that freak weather caused oxygen levels to plunge approximately 14%.
During the same season, climber and filmmaker David Breashears
David Breashears
David Breashears is an American mountaineer and filmmaker. In 1985, he became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest twice...
and his team filmed the IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
feature Everest
Everest (film)
Everest is a 70mm American documentary film from MacGillivray Freeman Films about the struggles involved in climbing Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak on Earth located in Himalayan region of Nepal. It was released to IMAX theaters in 1998....
on the mountain (some climbing scenes were later recreated for the film in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
). The 70 mm IMAX camera was specially modified to be lightweight enough to carry up the mountain, and to function in the extreme cold with the use of particular greases on the mechanical parts, plastic bearings and special batteries. Production was halted as Breashears and his team assisted the survivors of the May 10 disaster, but the team eventually reached the top on May 23 and filmed the first large format footage of the summit. On Breashears' team was Jamling Tenzing Norgay
Jamling Tenzing Norgay
Jamling Tenzing Norgay is an Indian-Nepalese Sherpa mountain climber.He is the son of Tenzing Norgay and Daku, his third wife...
, the son of Norgay, following in his father's footsteps for the first time. Also on his team was Ed Viesturs
Ed Viesturs
Edmund Viesturs, known as Ed Viesturs is one of the world's premier high-altitude mountaineers. He is one of only 26 people and the only one from the United States to have climbed all eight-thousander peaks...
of Seattle, WA, who summited without the use of supplemental oxygen, and Araceli Seqarra, who became the first woman from Spain to summit Everest.
The storm's impact on climbers on the mountain's other side, the North Ridge, where several climbers also died, was detailed in a first hand account by British filmmaker and writer Matt Dickinson
Matt Dickinson
Matt Dickinson is a film-maker and writer who is best known for his best selling novels and his documentary work for National Geographic Television, Discovery Channel and the BBC...
in his book The Other Side of Everest.
Hans Kammerlander (Italy) climbed the mountain from the north side in the record ascent time of 17 hours from base camp to the summit. He climbed alone without supplementary oxygen and skied down from 7,800 metres. Göran Kropp
Göran Kropp
Göran Kropp was a Swedish adventurer and mountaineer, born in Eskilstuna in south Sweden. He is most famous for his May 23, 1996 solo ascent of Mount Everest without bottled oxygen or Sherpa support, travelling only by bicycle from Sweden.-Early life:In 1972, at the age of 6, Kropp's father took...
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
became the first person to ride his bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
all the way from his home in Sweden to the mountain, scale it alone without the use of oxygen tanks, and bicycle most of the way back.
1998
Naturalized American and BritishBritish people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
born Tom Whittaker
Tom Whittaker (mountaineer)
Tom Whittaker was the first disabled person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.Whittaker's right foot needed to be amputated following a car accident in 1979. Following this serious accident, he regained his strength and continued climbing.In 1981 he founded the Cooperative Wilderness...
, whose right foot had been amputated, became the first disabled person to successfully reach the summit. Briton Bear Grylls
Bear Grylls
Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls is an English adventurer, writer and television presenter. He is best known for his television series Man vs. Wild, known as Born Survivor in the United Kingdom...
, on May 16, 1998, just 18 months after breaking his back, became the youngest Briton to successfully reach the summit.
1999
Sherpa Babu Chiri SherpaBabu Chiri Sherpa
Babu Chiri Sherpa was a Sherpa mountaineer from Nepal. He was a legendary guide who reached the summit of Mount Everest ten times. He held 2 world records on Everest...
of Nepal stayed for 21 hours on the mountaintop. Cathy O'Dowd
Cathy O'Dowd
Cathy O'Dowd is a South African rock climber, mountaineer, author and motivational speaker, famous for being the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest from both south and north sides ....
became the first woman to reach summit from northern and southern routes. May 5 – Elsa Ávila became the first Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n woman to summit. May 13 – Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Ken Noguchi
Ken Noguchi
is a Japanese alpinist and environmental activist. In 1999, at the age of 25, he became the youngest person to scale the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. He graduated from Asia University in 2000, and studied environmental education at Aomori University...
's summitted, making him the youngest to reach the highest peaks on all seven continents at 25 years 265 days old. May 25 – Iván Vallejo
Ivan Vallejo
Iván Vallejo Ricaurte is a mountaineer from Ecuador. On May 1, 2008, he finished his "Desafio 14" – a personal quest for reaching the summit of all 14 mountains above 8,000 m , without the use of supplemental oxygen....
became the first Ecuadorian to reach the top without bottled oxygen. It would be his third eight-thousander of his fourteen. May 26 – Mamuka Tsikhiseli from Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
climbed from the Tibet side at 11:32 a.m local time. May 12 – Lev Sarkisov from Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
became the oldest person to reach the summit aged 60 years, 160 days.
- On the north side of the mountain, as part of Eric Simonson and Jochen Hemmleb's search expedition, Conrad Anker discovered the body of George MalloryGeorge MalloryGeorge Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s....
at 8165m on the North Face, below the site of the ice axe found on the NE Ridge by Wyn-HarrisPercy Wyn-HarrisSir Percy Wyn-Harris, KCMG, MBE, KStJ was an English mountaineer, political administrator, and yachtsman...
in 1933.
2000
On May 17 Nazir SabirNazir Sabir
Nazir Sabir Urdu: نذیر صابر is a Pakistani mountaineer. He was born in Ramanji a small hamlet in Chiporsun, upper Hunza known as Gojal...
from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
reached the highest summit at 0730 hours, becoming the first Pakistani to climb to the roof of the world. On October 7 Davo Karničar
Davo Karnicar
Davorin "Davo" Karničar is a Slovenian climber and an extreme skier.As an active Alpine skier, he was a member of the National Alpine Ski Team between 1975 and 1982. An Alpine climber since 1980, he has so far recorded over 1.400 Alpine climbs and ski descents...
from Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
as the first man accomplished an uninterrupted ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
descent from the top to the base camp in five hours. Anna Czerwińska
Anna Czerwinska
Anna Czerwińska - Polish mountaineer, known for being the oldest woman to Summit Mount Everest at the age of 50 ....
from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
became the oldest woman to Summit Mount Everest (at the time) at the age of 50 (born 7/10/49 climbed Everest from the Nepal side on 5/22/2000).
2001
On May 23, at 16 years and 14 days, Temba Tsheri Sherpa became the youngest person to reach the summit. On May 24, 22-year-old Marco SiffrediMarco Siffredi
Marco Siffredi was a French snowboarder and mountaineer. He was the first to descend Mount Everest on a snowboard in 2001 via the Norton Couloir...
of France became the first person to descend on a snowboard. On May 25, 32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer
Erik Weihenmayer
Erik Weihenmayer is the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001. He also completed the Seven Summits in September 2002. His story was covered in a Time article in June 2001 titled Blind to Failure...
, of Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, became the first blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
person to reach the summit. 64-year-old Sherman Bull, of New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, northeast of Stamford, on the Fivemile River. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States...
, became the oldest person to reach the summit. Manuel Arturo Barrios and Fernando González-Rubio became the first Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
ns to reach the summit.
- 19 people made it to the summit, surpassing the previous record of 10 people.
2003 – 50th Anniversary
- Dick Bass, the first American to climb the Seven SummitsSeven SummitsThe Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
, and who first reached the summit in 1985 at 55 years old, returned to attempt to reclaim his title at age 73, but he made it to base camp only. Bass's teammates included Jim WickwireJim WickwireJim Wickwire is a retired attorney in Seattle, Washington, most famous as the first American to reach the top of K2, the world's second-highest mountain, and then for surviving the night in the open just below the summit....
and John RoskelleyJohn RoskelleyJohn Roskelley is a noted mountain climber and author from Spokane, Washington, and is known for his first ascents and notable ascents of 7000 and 8000 meter peaks in Nepal, India, and Pakistan.-Notable ascents:...
. - The Outdoor Life Network staged a high profile survivor style show where the winners got the chance to climb Everest. Conrad AnkerConrad AnkerConrad Anker is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author famous for his challenging ascents in the high Himalaya and Antarctica. He is a member of The North Face climbing team and also works closely with Timex Expedition as brand ambassador...
and David BreashearsDavid BreashearsDavid Breashears is an American mountaineer and filmmaker. In 1985, he became the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest twice...
were commentators on this expedition. Yuichiro MiuraYuichiro Miurais a Japanese alpinist who in 2003, at age 70, became the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. This record was later broken. However, on May 26 2008, Miura once again successfully summited Mt Everest at the age of 75....
became the oldest person to reach the summit at 70 years and 222 days (on May 22). Twenty-five-year-old Nepalese Sherpa Pemba DorjiePemba DorjiePemba Dorjie is a Sherpa who currently holds the world record for the quickest climb of Mount Everest. On May 23, 2003, he reached the peak in 12 hours and 46 minutes. Lhakpa Gelu beat his record three days later, reaching the peak in 10 hours and 46 minutes. On May 21, 2004, Dorjie beat that...
made the world's fastest ascent in 12 hours 45 minutes on May 23. Three days later, Sherpa Lakpa Gelu broke this record with 10 hours 56 minutes. After a short dispute with Dorjie, the tourism ministry confirmed Gelu's record in July.
2004
Dorjie returned and broke Sherpa Lakpa Gelu's record, ascending the mountain in 8 hours 10 minutes on May 21.2005
A Chinese government-sponsored survey team with 24 members reached the peak on May 22 to anchor surveying equipment for the remeasurement of summit height. Several methods were used to assess snow and ice thickness for the new measurement and to compare it with historical data. On May 14, a Eurocopter AS-350 B3 helicopterHelicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
flew and landed on the summit for the first time, repeating the feat the next day.
2006
On May 15, the New Zealander Mark InglisMark Inglis
Mark Joseph Inglis is a mountaineer, researcher, winemaker and motivational speaker. He holds a degree in Human Biochemistry from Lincoln University, New Zealand, and has conducted research in Leukemia...
became the first person to reach the summit with two artificial legs. On May 17, 70-year-old Takao Arayama reached the peak, becoming the oldest man by three days to reach the summit. On May 19, Apa Sherpa of Thame, Nepal
Thame, Nepal
Thame is a small village in the Solukhumbu District in Nepal. It is near Mount Everest, on the salt trading route that existed between Tibet, Nepal and India. Many Sherpa live in the village and it is the home of Apa Sherpa, who holds the world record for summiting Everest 21 times...
summited for the 16th time, breaking his own world record.
2007
On May 16, Apa Sherpa climbed Everest for the 17th time, breaking his own record. On May 22, Katsusuke Yanagisawa became the oldest person to reach the summit at 71 years and 61 days. On May 24, Kenton CoolKenton Cool
Kenton Cool is an English mountaineer, alpinist and UIAGM mountain guide. Kenton is one of Britain’s leading alpine climbers with record hard first ascents and nine successful Everest summits, including leading Sir Ranulph Fiennes' 2008 and 2009 Expeditions...
reached the summit for the second time in a week.
2008
On May 22, 2008, Apa Sherpa climbed Everest for the 18th time, again breaking his own record.Yuichiro Miura
Yuichiro Miura
is a Japanese alpinist who in 2003, at age 70, became the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. This record was later broken. However, on May 26 2008, Miura once again successfully summited Mt Everest at the age of 75....
reclaimed his title of oldest person to reach the summit at age 75 years and 227 days on May 26.
2009
On May 16, Apa Sherpa climbed Everest for the 19th time, once again breaking his own record.1978
On May 10, Reinhard KarlReinhard Karl
Reinhard Karl was a German mountaineer, photographer and writer.-Early life:Karl was born in Heidelberg. At the age of 14, he started working as a mechanic apprentice. Later on, he joined night classes to complete the high school. When he was admitted to daily school, he left his work as mechanic...
became the first German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to reach the summit. On October 16, Wanda Rutkiewicz
Wanda Rutkiewicz
Wanda Rutkiewicz was a Polish mountain climber. She was the first woman to successfully summit K2.-Early life:Rutkiewicz was born in Plungė, Lithuania...
became the first Pole
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an woman to reach the summit.
1979
May 13 – Andrej Štremfelj and Jernej Zaplotnik became the first Slovenians reached the summit. May 15 – Stane Belak-Šrauf, Stipe BožićStipe Božić
Stipe Božić is a Croatian mountaineer, documentary filmmaker, photographer and writer. He is the most successful Croatian Himalayan climber. Božić completed the Seven Summits and is the second European, after Reinhold Messner, to climb the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest, twice...
(first Croatian on Everest) and Ang Phu (second ascent, died during descent).
1984
Bachendri Pal was the first woman from India and fifth overall to reach the summit. She was guided to the top by Ang Dorji, who climbed without oxygen. The Indian expedition of which she was a part rescued two stricken Bulgarian climbers descending from the west ridge ascent. Jozef PsotkaJozef Psotka
Jozef Psotka, was a Slovak mountaineer, at that time the oldest person in the world who reached the summit of Mount Everest without oxygen.-Biography:...
, at the time the oldest person to reach the summit without oxygen, together with Zoltán Demjan and Sherpa Ang Rita reached the summit on October 15. Psotka died during this expedition.
1986
Sharon WoodSharon Wood
Sharon Adele Wood , a Canadian mountaineer and guide, was the first North American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.She is not only a mountaineer, but also a mother and a mentor. -References:...
reaches the summit on May 20 thus becoming the first North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n woman to reach the top. Starting from the Rongbuk Glacier, her route went up to the west shoulder of Everest and then followed the Hornbein Couloir to the summit.
1988
Stephen VenablesStephen Venables
Stephen Venables is a British mountaineer and writer, and is a past president of the South Georgia Association and of the Alpine Club.-Mountaineer:...
became the first British to ascend the peak without use of oxygen. He pioneered a new route over the East Kangshung Face.
1992
On May 12, Ingrid Baeyens became the first BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
woman to reach the summit. Another member of the same climbing party, Doron Erel, became the first Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i to reach the summit.
1993
Vladas VitkauskasVladas Vitkauskas
Vladas Vitkauskas is a leading Lithuanian mountaineer. He became the first Lithuanian to climb Mount Everest on May 10, 1993. His mountaineering career also includes successful ascents of Seven Summits between 1993 and 1996 when he raised the same Lithuanian flag on the highest peak of each...
was the first Lithuanian to reach the summit. Dawson Stelfox
Dawson Stelfox
James Dawson Stelfox MBE is a Northern Ireland architect and chairman of Consarc Design Group. In May 2008, he was elected President of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects.-Education and career:...
became the first Northern Irishman
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
to reach the summit, and was the first UK citizen to ascend the north face. Veikka Gustafsson
Veikka Gustafsson
Eero Veikka Juhani Gustafsson, known as Veikka Gustafsson is a Finnish mountaineer. He was born in Espoo and he has three siblings, Elina, Erkki and Esa. His family bought a cabin in Tuupovaara and they moved there in 1976. In 1993 Veikka became the first Finnish person to have reached the top of...
of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
became the first Finn to reach the summit.
1995
May 15 – Tommy Heinrich became the first ArgentinianArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
to summit. Pat Falvey
Pat Falvey
Pat Falvey led the first ever Irish expedition to reach the South Pole on 8th January, 2008. The party also included Dr. Clare O'Leary, Jonathan Bradshaw, and Shaun Menzies...
became the first Irishman to reach the summit on the 27th of May 1995 at 09:10 am. May 17 – Nasuh Mahruki
Nasuh Mahruki
Ali Nasuh Mahruki is a professional mountain climber, writer, photographer and documentary film producer. An all-round outdoor sportsman, he climbed to the summit of Mount Everest and was the first ever Turkish person to climb the Seven Summits.Ali Nasuh Mahruki was born in Istanbul...
became the first Turk
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
to summit. May 17 – Constantin Lăcătuşu
Constantin Lacatusu
Constantin “Ticu” Lăcătuşu is a Romanian mountain climber, geologist and camera operator. He is the first Romanian to reach the summit of Everest , Broad Peak and Cho Oyu.- Biography :...
became the first Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n to summit.
May 23 – Briton Caradog JonesCaradog Jones
Caradog "Crag" Jones is a noted Welsh climber. Whilst he has achieved a number of firsts on peaks around the world, he is most well known for being the first Welshman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, a feat he achieved on 23 May 1995, at the age of 33. As such he was the 724th climber to...
became the first Welshman
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
to summit.
1997
Veikka GustafssonVeikka Gustafsson
Eero Veikka Juhani Gustafsson, known as Veikka Gustafsson is a Finnish mountaineer. He was born in Espoo and he has three siblings, Elina, Erkki and Esa. His family bought a cabin in Tuupovaara and they moved there in 1976. In 1993 Veikka became the first Finnish person to have reached the top of...
became the first Finnish man to reach the summit without the use of bottled oxygen. Tamils M. Magendran and N. Mohandas became the first Malaysians to reach the summit.
1999
May 18 – João GarciaJoão Garcia
João José Silva Abranches Garcia, is a leading mountaineer in Portugal. His main professional activities are as organizer and guide in mountaineering expeditions. On May 18, 1999, he became the first Portuguese man to reach the summit of Mount Everest, without the use of supplementary oxygen...
became the first Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
to reach the summit. May 25 – Iván Vallejo
Ivan Vallejo
Iván Vallejo Ricaurte is a mountaineer from Ecuador. On May 1, 2008, he finished his "Desafio 14" – a personal quest for reaching the summit of all 14 mountains above 8,000 m , without the use of supplemental oxygen....
became the first Ecuadorian to reach the top.
2000
May 22 - Anna CzerwińskaAnna Czerwinska
Anna Czerwińska - Polish mountaineer, known for being the oldest woman to Summit Mount Everest at the age of 50 ....
, known for being the oldest woman to Summit Mount Everest (at the time) at the age of 50 (born 7/10/49 climbed Everest from the Nepal side.
2001
May 23 – 32-year-old GuatemalaGuatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n mountaineer Jaime Viñals
Jaime Viñals
Jaime Viñals Massanet is a Guatemalan mountaineer, the first Central American ever to climb the Earth's highest peak, Mount Everest, and the only person from that region to have reached the Seven Summits, the highest mountains of each of the seven continents.-Biography:Born in Guatemala City,...
became the first Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n and the third Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n to reach the summit. May 23 – 36-year-old Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
ns José Antonio Delgado
José Antonio Delgado
José Antonio Delgado Sucre was the first Venezuelan mountaineer to reach the summit of five eight-thousanders and one of the most experienced climbers in Latin America. Known as el indio , Delgado led the first Venezuelan Everest expedition in 2001...
and Marcus Tobía reached the summit with the first Venezuelan expedition to the mountain. May 23 – Temba Tsheri, age 16 years and 14 days, became the youngest person to reach the summit.
2002
May 25 – Zsolt ErőssZsolt Erőss
Zsolt Erőss is the most successful Hungarian mountaineer, summiting 9 out of the 14 eight-thousanders. He is also the first Hungarian to have climbed Mount Everest....
became the first Hungarian to reach the summit.
2005
On May 29, a six man Serbian expedition from the VojvodinaVojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
province reached the summit, the first expedition from Serbia to do so.
2006
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
on Everest, planted the Lebanese flag on the peak. On May 15, Eylem Elif Maviş
Eylem Elif Mavis
Eylem Elif Maviş, née Koç, is the first Turkish woman mountaineer to climb Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth....
became the first Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
woman to summit Everest. She was part of the first team from Turkey, of which all ten members, among them four women, made the summit. On May 15, Dale Abenojar
Dale Abenojar
Dale Sto. Tomas Abenojar is a Filipino mountaineer, an adventure sportsman and a mountain guide by profession. On May 30, 2006, he was recognized by veteran Himalayan expedition chronicler Elizabeth Hawley as "the first Filipino" to reach the summit of Mount Everest. According to Hawley Dale...
became the first Filipino to reach the summit. Within two days, Leo Oracion
Leo Oracion
Heracleo Salumbides Oración reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 17, 2006, at the age of 32. He reached the summit at 3:30pm , together with 15 other climbers...
, Erwin Emata
Erwin Emata
Erwin "Pastor" Emata is a mountain climber. Based on The Himalayan Database published by American Alpine Club, Erwin is the third Filipino to reach the peak of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Like Leo Oracion, the second Filipino to reach Mount Everest's summit, he is a member...
, and Romi Garduce
Romi Garduce
Romeo "Romi" Garduce He finished His High School at Tomas del Rosario College, who sometimes goes by the nickname "Garduch", is a Filipino mountain climber and works as an IT Professional in Procter and Gamble Philippines...
reached the peak. On May 19, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian Vitor Negrete
Vitor Negrete
Vitor Negrete was a prominent mountaineer and the first Brazilian to reach the summit of Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak outside Asia and one of the Seven Summits, from its south face....
reached the peak climbing through the north face without supplementary oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
. During his descent he called Dawa Sherpa for help, who found and took Negrete down to camp 3, where he died.
2007
May 16 – Samantha LarsonSamantha Larson
Samantha Larson is an American mountain climber from Long Beach, California. On May 16, 2007, at the age of 18, she became temporarily the youngest non-Nepalese woman to summit Mount Everest...
became the youngest American (also rumored the youngest non-Nepalese) ever to summit Everest at age 18; simultaneously becoming the youngest person in the world to climb all of the Seven Summits
Seven Summits
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...
.
2008
May 23 – Cheryl BartCheryl Bart
Cheryl Sarah Bart AO is an Australian lawyer and company director.Bart was educated at Moriah College in Sydney and graduated from the University of New South Wales with degrees in commerce and law...
and Nikki Bart became the first mother and daughter combination to summit. They became the first mother/daughter duo to complete the “Seven Summits” challenge, climbing the highest peak of every continent.
2009
May 20 – Scott Parazynski reached the summit, becoming the first astronaut to summit the world's tallest mountain. May 20 – Sir Ranulph FiennesRanulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...
, 65, became the oldest Briton to climb Everest. May 20 – Li Hui, Esther Tan and Jane Lee became the first Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an women to summit. They were part of the first Singaporean all-women team, of which five members out of six made the summit. May 23 – Bill Burke, 67, became the oldest American to climb Everest and as well having now summitted the highest 8 continental peaks. May 23 - Lori Schneider, 52, became the first person in the world with MS to summit Mt. Everest and complete the Seven Summits, as recognized by the World MS Federation
2010
May 17 – Gregory Attard, Marco Cremona and Robert Gatt became the first persons from MaltaMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
to summit. May 22 – Jordan Romero
Jordan Romero
Jordan David Romero is an American mountain climber who, on May 22, 2010, became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest. He was 13 years 10 months 10 days old when he reached the summit. Romero was accompanied by his father Paul Romero, his father's girlfriend Karen Lundgren, and three...
, 13, became the youngest person ever to climb Everest. May 23 – Musa Ibrahim
Musa Ibrahim
Musa Ibrahim is a Bangladeshi mountaineer and a journalist by profession. He is the first Bangladeshi to reach the summit of Mount Everest. According to Musa, he reached the summit around 6:00am BST on May 23, 2010. Arranger of the expedition Iswari Paudel and Musa Ibrahim's wife confirmed the...
, 30, became the first person from Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
to summit. May 23 – Andrea Cardona, 27, became the first Central American woman to climb Everest. May 24 – John Dahlem, 66 years and 10 mons., and son Ryan Dahlem, age 40 years, became the oldest Father-Son combination to stand on the summit of Mt. Everest together.