In 1952, at the age of 45, he was the most experienced member of a group of four Swiss climbers who, along with Tenzing Norgay, pioneered the route on Mount Everest which Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay used to reach the summit the following year. Two members of the 1952 expedition, Raymond Lambert and Norgay, reached to within 200 meters (656 feet) of the summit before being forced to turn back due to severe weather conditions and lack of oxygen.