The 1953 British Everest Mount Expedition is the ninth mountain climbing expedition to try the first ascent of Mount Everest, and the first confirmed to have been successful when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit on Friday 29 May 1953. Led by Colonel John Hunt, it is arranged and financed by the Joint Himalayan Committee. News of the success of the expedition arrived in London in time for release on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, 2 June.
Video 1953 British Mount Everest expedition
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Identified as the highest mountain in the world during the 1850s, Everest became an interesting subject during the Golden Age of alpinism, although its height made it questionable whether it could rise. In 1885, Clinton Thomas Dent's
Most early attempts at Everest were made from the northern side (Tibet), but the Chinese Revolution of 1949, and the subsequent Tibetan annexation leading to the closure of the route. Climbers are beginning to see approaches from the Nepalese side. The 1952 expedition of Mount Everest Switzerland, climbing from Nepal, reached a height of about 8,595 m (28,199 ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new rock climbing record.
Maps 1953 British Mount Everest expedition
Leadership and preparation
Hunt, a British Army Colonel, was serving staff at Allied Powers Higher Headquarters of Europe when he was surprised he was invited by the Himalayan Joint Committee of the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society to lead Britain's Everest expedition in 1953. Eric Shipton has been widely expected to be a leader , as he led a surveillance expedition of Mount Everest from Nepal in 1951 as well as the failed British effort on Cho Oyu in 1952, from which most of the selected climber expeditions have been withdrawn. However, the Committee has decided that Hunt's experience of military leadership, along with his credibility as a climber, will provide the best prospects of success. The British felt under special pressure, because France had received permission for a similar expedition in 1954, and another Swiss in 1955, meaning that Britain would not have another chance at Everest until 1956 or later. As Shipton wrote of his position presented to the Committee on July 28, 1952: "My famous distaste for a great expedition and my hatred of a competitive element in mountain climbing may seem out of place now." This statement, according to George Band, "sealed its own fate".
Some members of the British expedition had a strong loyalty to Shipton and were unhappy that he had been replaced. Charles Evans, for example, states: "It is said that Shipton has no deadly instincts - not a bad thing that is lacking in my view." Edmund Hillary was among those most opposed to the change, but he was won by Hunt's personality and by his confession that the change had been dealt with badly. George Band recalled committee member Larry Kirwan, Director/Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, saying that "they have made the right decision but in the worst way".
Hunt later wrote that the Joint Himalayan Committee has found the task of raising funds for a challenging expedition:
One of the main tasks of the Himalayan Joint Committee next to those who understand the idea of ​​the Everest expedition, seeking political sanctions, deciding on policy issues in preparation, is to finance it. Only those who have this concern can fully appreciate the work and the anxiety in raising enormous funds for a company of this nature, duly fixed in the public mind by a series of failures, without financial guarantees other than the pockets of its own Committee members.
The party left for Nepal from Tilbury, Essex, England over S.S. Stratheden headed to Bombay on February 12, Tom Bourdillon bar, Dr Griffith Pugh, and Hunt, who were ill with antrum infection. Evans and Alfred Gregory have flown forward to Kathmandu on February 20, as the Advance Party. Hillary and Lowe approached Nepal from New Zealand, Lowe by sea and Hillary by air, because "the bees are busy at that time of year". Although the sea part is cheaper, Hunt states that the main reason for choosing it through air travel is "the further chance that life on board will provide for us to settle as a team in ideal conditions, accompanied by discomfort, urgency or stress".
In Kathmandu, the party was overseen by British ambassador Christopher Summerhayes, who arranged rooms with embassy staff, no hotels in Kathmandu at the time. In early March, twenty Sherpas, chosen by the Himalayan Club, arrived in Kathmandu to help bring the cargo to West CWM and South Colonel. They are led by their Sirdar, Tenzing Norgay, who tried Everest for the sixth time and According to the Band, "the most famous Sherpa climber and mountaineer in the world". Although Tenzing was offered a bed at the embassy, ​​the remaining Sherpas were expected to sleep on the embassy garage floor; they urinate in front of the embassy the next day in protest at the lack of respect they have shown. The first party, along with 150 porters, left Kathmandu for Mount Everest on March 10, followed by a second party and 200 porters on March 11. They reached Thyangboche on 26 and 27 March, and between March 26 and April 17 were involved in altitude acclimatization.
Base camp
The "Icefall party" reached Base Camp at 17,900 ft (5455 m) on April 12, 1953. A few days later it was taken, as planned, in building a route through Khumbu Icefall, and after it was opened the Sherpas team moved tons of supplies down to Base.
Assault at the top
A series of advanced camps were created, slowly reaching higher mountain peaks. Camp II at 19,400 feet was founded by Hillary, Band and Lowe on April 15, Camp III at the head of Icefall at 20,200 feet on April 22, and Camp IV by Hunt, Bourdillon and Evans on May 1st. All three made initial reconnaissance from Lhotse Face on May 2, and Camp V at 22,000 feet was established on May 3. On May 4, Bourdillon and Evans, backed by Ward and Wylie, reached Camp VI at 23,000 feet on Lhotse Face, and just under two weeks later on May 17, Wilfrid Noyce and Lowe set up Camp VII at 24,000 feet. On May 21, Noyce and Sherpa Annullu (Da Tenzing's younger brother) have reached the Southern Col, just under 26,000 feet. The first of two climbing pairs previously hunted by Hunt, Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans, departed to the summit on May 26 using closed circuit oxygen and made it to the first ascent of 8,750 m (28,700 feet) South Summit, coming in 100 m (300 feet) from the final peak. They are forced to return after exhaustion, beaten by oxygen equipment problems and lack of time. On May 27, the expedition made its second and final attack on the summit with second pair of climbers, Edmund Hillary New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal. Norgay had previously climbed to a record peak at Everest as a member of the 1952 Swiss expedition. They reached a peak at 11:30 am on May 29, 1953, climbing the South Col route. Before going down, they stay on top long enough to take photos and bury some candy and small crosses in the snow. Upon returning from the summit, Hillary's first words to George Lowe were "Well, George, we hit the bastard".
News events
James Morris, a correspondent at The Times, heard the news at Base Camp on May 30 and sent a coded message by runners to Namche Bazaar, where wireless transmitters were used to pass it on as telegram to the British Embassy in Kathmandu. Everest conquest is probably the last headline to be delivered to the world by runners. Morris's encoded message for his paper reads: "The condition of the bad snow stopped the sophisticated base abandoned yesterday stopped waiting for repairs". "Snow Conditions Bad" is the agreed code to indicate that the summit has been reached, while "Advance Base Abandoned" refers to Hillary (Evans phrase is "Ridge Camp Untenable" and Westmacott's "Assault Postponed"). This was accepted and understood in London in time for news to be released, by chance, on the morning of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June.
Honors and aftermath
Returning to Kathmandu a few days later, the expedition learned that Hillary had been appointed Commander of the Knights of the Order of the Kingdom of England and Hunt a Knight Bachelor for their efforts. On June 22, the Government of Nepal gave a reception to expedition members in which the senior queen in the country handed Tenzing with a purse of ten thousand rupees, which then was about Ã, Â £ 500. Hillary and Hunt were kukri inside a gem sheath, while other members received the jewel coffin. On the same day, the Government of India announced the creation of a new Gold Medal, an award for civilian valor modeled on the George Medal, where Hunt, Hillary and Tenzing would be the first recipients. On June 7 it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II wanted to acknowledge Tenzing's achievement, and on July 1, 10 Downing Street announced that after consultation with the Indian and Nepalese authorities, the Queen had approved the award of George Medal to him. Some commentators have seen this lower honor as a reflection of the "small bigotry" of British stance at the time, although many Indians and Nepalis had previously received knights and it has been suggested that Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru refused permission. in order for Norgay to become a knight. Hunt received his knighthood in July 1953, on his return to London.
Further awards continue to fall on expedition members: Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Society, who have never been awarded on a team basis, even though individual medals were beaten bronze for Hunt, Hillary and Tenzing; Cullum Geographical Medal of the American Geographical Society, Founding Medal of the Royal Geographical Society; Lawrence Medal from Royal Central Asian Society; and honors from universities in Aberdeen, Durham, and London. In the New Year's Honors list of 1954, George Lowe was appointed Commander of the Royal Order of the United Kingdom for membership on the expedition.
Expeditionary cameraman Tom Stobart produced a film called The Conquest of Everest, which came later in 1953.
Although Hillary and Tenzing represented their victory as part of the team's efforts by the entire expedition, there is strong speculation as to who of the two men actually first set foot on the summit of Everest. In Kathmandu, a large banner depicts Tenzing pulling Hillary "semi-conscious" to the top. Tenzing finally put an end to speculation by revealing that Hillary was the first to peak. After this Hillary himself wrote that after climbing the 40-foot Hillary Step, lying just below the summit:
I continued, cutting steadily and passing the bump after the lump and cornice after the cornice looking eagerly for the top. It seems impossible to take it and time is running out. Finally I cut off the back of an extra large lump and then on a tight rope from Tenzing I climbed the soft snow ridge to the top. It was soon clear that we had achieved our goal. It was 11:30 AM and we were at the top of Everest!
Shipton commented on the success of the ascent: "Thank God, we can now continue the proper climb."
Expedition participants
Expedition participants are selected for their climbing qualifications and also for their expertise in providing a number of other necessary supportive skills and support services. Impact Griffith Pugh is often ignored. It increases activity such as hydration and oxygen intake, and allows sustainable mountain climbing efforts. His ideas revolutionized almost every aspect of the height of British mountains, changing the climber's attitude to oxygen, the clothes they wore, their equipment, fluid intake and acclimatization. While most come from the UK themselves, they are also taken from other countries of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations. The leader, Hunt, was born in India.
The mountain climbers were accompanied by Jan Morris (known under the name of James Morris), London newspaper correspondent, and by 362 coolies, so the expedition in the end numbered more than four hundred people, including twenty Sherpa guides from Tibet and Nepal, with total weight of ten thousand pounds of luggage.
See also
- Timeline for climbing Mount Everest
- List of 20th century summiter of Mount Everest
References
Further reading
John Hunt, Everest Ascent (London: Mountaineers' Books, 1953, ISBNÃ, 0-89886-361-9); The American edition is called The Conquest of EverestExternal links
- The BBC article: "The 1953 technology used to climb Everest"
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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