Introduction

On May 29, 1953, two men named Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay did something no humans had ever done. They climbed to the highest point on Earth, the top of Mount Everest in the Himalaya Mountains.

Hillary was originally from the island of New Zealand, thousands of miles away. But, Norgay grew up very near Mount Everest. Still, the voyage to the top of the highest mountain was an enormous one for both men.

For centuries local people considered the huge mountain sacred. They called the mountain Sagarmatha, “Goddess of the Sky” and Chomolungma, “Goddess Mother of the World.” No one tried to climb it. Then, in the early 1920’s, climbers from England began to explore the mountain.

By 1953 men had been trying to climb Everest for over thirty years, but no one had made it all the way to the top. A number had died on the mountain. No one knew if humans could even survive while summiting the world’s tallest mountain.

When Hillary and Norgay made it to the top, everyone knew it was possible, but still incredibly difficult!

Mount Everest is part of the Himalaya mountain range in Asia. It sits between the countries of Nepal and Tibet. Local people call the Himalaya mountain range the “roof of the world,” because it is so tall.