<Ul> <Li> 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 Tom Bourdillon , using closed - circuit oxygen , achieved the first ascent of the 8,750 m ( 28,700 ft ) South Summit , within as little as 100 m ( 300 ft ) of the final summit , but could go no further because of 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 Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay , a Nepali , 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 . Times reporter James Morris sent a coded message by runner to Namche Bazaar , where a wireless transmitter was used to relay the message to London . The conquest of Everest was probably the last major news item to be delivered to the world by runner . Returning to Kathmandu a few days later , Hillary and Hunt discovered that they had been knighted for their efforts . </Li> </Ul>
<Ul> <Li> 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 Tom Bourdillon , using closed - circuit oxygen , achieved the first ascent of the 8,750 m ( 28,700 ft ) South Summit , within as little as 100 m ( 300 ft ) of the final summit , but could go no further because of 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 Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay , a Nepali , 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 . Times reporter James Morris sent a coded message by runner to Namche Bazaar , where a wireless transmitter was used to relay the message to London . The conquest of Everest was probably the last major news item to be delivered to the world by runner . Returning to Kathmandu a few days later , Hillary and Hunt discovered that they had been knighted for their efforts . </Li> </Ul>
who was the second man to climb mount everest
who was the second man to climb mount everest
Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay