The South Col was first reached on May 12, 1952 by Aubert, Lambert, and Flory of Edouard Wyss-Dunant's Swiss Mount Everest Expedition that failed to reach the summit. The following year, when Mount Everest was first climbed, Wilfrid Noyce and the Sherpa Annullu were the first climbers on the expedition to reach the col. According to John Hunt, the expedition leader: