Everest History

Everest History

1922: 7 Sherpa climbers die in an avalanche becoming the first reported deaths on Everest.

1953: First Summit: May 29, 1953: Tenzing Norgay & Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (New Zealand) via the South-East Ridge Route. (Western Cwn, Lhotse face to the South-East ridge.)

1960: May 25, 1960: Chinese team makes first Summit of Everest via the North Ridge.

1963: James Whittaker reaches the Summit of Everest becoming the first American.

1963: May 22, 1963: The first ascent of the Everest West Ridge, actually the West Ridge/North Face by Willi Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein. Also the first traverse as they descended the South East Ridge/ South Col.

1965: May 20, 1965: Nawang Gombu Sherpa becomes the first person to Summit Everest twice. Both of his summits were via the South east ridge, his first as a member of Jim Whittaker's American Expedition were he became the 11th person to summit Everest. Out of the first seventeen summits of Everest, Nawang had two of them!