Today marks an amazing day in history; back on May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to ever reach the summit of Mount Everest. At a height of 29,029 feet, Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.
To explore the mountain for yourself in Google Earth, you can use this KML file
that was created by user H21 in the Google Earth Community back in 2005. It’s a very useful file, as it includes a contoured overlay and placemarks of camps along the ascent.
All told, there have been a total of 5,104 ascents to the summit by 3,142 different people. However, more than 200 have died trying to make it. Reaching the summit in 1953 was an amazing accomplishment, and is one that Hillary will be remembered for forever.
To learn more, the Wikipedia entry for Mount Everest is quite comprehensive and includes a very detailed history of the various ascents.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
This is a nice tribute to a very special event. I met Sir Edmund Hillary and Sir John Hunt (the expedition leader) when I was about 9 years old. They did a presentation about the ascent of Mt. Everest in a cinema in Newport, Isle of Wight, England. Most of us school kids on the island attended.
This brought back some happy memories.
Thank You!
Jeff White