International Everest Day: History, Significance, Date and Celebrations

International Everest Day is observed on 29 May in Nepal and New Zealand to commemorate the first successful summit of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. It is a chance to recognize the bravery and endurance showcased by those who have attempted to climb and to inspire others to take risks to achieve their goals.

Hyderabad: International Everest Day or Mount Everest Day is celebrated every year on May 29 to commemorate the first successful climb on the summit by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. The International Everest Day is an opportunity to recognize the bravery and endurance of those who have attempted to climb and also motivate others to take risks in life to achieve their goals.

Celebrations and Start Of Mount Everest Day

• Everest Day was celebrated for the first time in 2008 after the death of Sir Edmund Hillary. Since then, Nepal and New Zealand have celebrated the day annually in memory of his summit on the earth’s highest mountain.
• Different kinds of processions are held at different venues in New Zealand to celebrate the occasion when Tenzing and Hillary showcased immense determination to take human willpower to new heights. Also, various kinds of important events are held in Nepal as well and high-profile guests visit those events very often.
• The Everest marathon is one of the popular events organised on the day. The race begins from Everest’s base camp (5364 m) and concludes in Namche. Both international and national trekkers as well as climbers participate in the race and the winners get some huge rewards.

Mount Everest (Highest Mountain on Earth)

Located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas, Mount Everest’s peak is 8,848 metres metres above sea level. The massif of the mountain includes neighbouring peaks Lhotse, 8,516 m (27,940 ft); Nuptse, 7,855 m (25,771 ft) and Changtse, 7,580 m (24,870 ft). Being the tallest mountain on the earth, Everest incorporates a quest for exploration in human minds and so it attracts many highly experienced mountaineers. There are two routes which help mountaineers scale the summit. One is from the southeast in Nepal while the other is from the north in Tibet. The one from the Nepal side is preferred by most and so it is the standard route to scale the mountain.

Some Facts About Mount Everest

• Everest stands tall at 29,029 feet.
• It was recognised as the tallest mountain in the world in 1841 by a British survey team which was led by Sir George Everest. The mountain was named after him 24 years later.
• For the major part of the year, there are very strong winds at the top of the mountain and that is why it is not possible to climb the mountain throughout the year. May and September are the ideal months to attempt the climb as winds die down in those two months.
• So far, there have been more than 4000 climbers who have successfully climbed the summit so far.
• Two sherpas, Apa and Phurba Tashi hold the record of reaching the peak of the mountain on 21 occasions.
• An Indian mathematician and surveyor, Radhanath Sikdar was the first person to identify the range of mountains which were recognised as the tallest mountain eventually.
• The first climbers to climb the top of Everest were Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and a Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay from Nepal. Both of them were part of a British Expedition with Colonel John Hunt at the helm of the things.

Sir Edmund Hillary (Journey From Beekeeper To World Explorer)

Edmund was born in New Zealand in 1919 and grew up in Auckland. Although he used to work as a beekeeper, he found interest in mountain climbing in his homeland when he started scaling various mountain ranges. Eventually, he climbed 11 different peaks of over 20,000 feet. He joined Mount Everest expeditions for two successive years in 1951 and 1952. These climbs brought him to the attention of Sir John Hunt, leader of an expedition sponsored by the Joint

Himalayan Committee of the Alpine Club of Great Britain and the Royal Geographic Society.

At 11:30 AM on 29 May, he achieved a historical feat reaching the highest spot on earth.

Tenzing Norgay (The journey of scaling ultimate peak)

Tenzing was born in 1914 as a Sherpa in Tengboche, Khumbu in the northeast region of Nepal. He was the 11th child of Gang La Mingma (father) and Dokmo Kinzom (Mother). The child was earlier named Namgyal Wangdi but his name was later changed to Tenzing Norgay which means “wealthy-fortunate-follower-of-religion.”. His family sent him to Tengboche Monastery to make him a monk but he left it. In fact he ran away from his home on a couple of occasions and was later found in Kathmandu and Darjeeling respectively.

Notably, he was also a member of the 1952 Swiss expedition and had made it to the 28,210 feet with Raymond Lambert.

The first successful attempt from Tenzing and Hillary

During his expedition, Sir John Hunt wanted to include a sherpa in his team of mountaineers and Tenzing had climbed 4000 feet more than any other members of the team. His experience made him a selection for the campaign.

Hunt formed a couple of teams to scale Everest Peak, the first was the pair of Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans and the second was of of Tenzing and Hillary.

The duo of Charles and Tom made the first attempt but they came short failing to orchestrate a successful climb. Also, one of their oxygen bottles malfunctioned and returning to the base camp was the only choice they had. The next attempt wasn’t possible for the next two days due to snow and strong winds. So, three days later, Tenzing and Hillary attempted to reach the top of the mountain and the successful attempt was completed on 29 May 1953.

Taking into account the data from 1953, there have been 11,996 summits of Everest till January 2024 on all routes by 6,664 different people. There were 8350 summits from the Nepal side and there were 217 deaths in those expeditions. From the Tibet side, there have been 3,646 summits with 110 deaths.