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Author
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Topic: 60th anniversary first Mount Everest summit
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gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 05-29-2013 04:06 AM
   
A little of-topic, but unarguably the closest man has got to space unaided...60 years ago today the first successful ascent of Mount Everest was made by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay as part of an expedition led by John Hunt, a British Army colonel. Sadly the last surviving member of the team died earlier this year. |
Gonzo
Member Posts: 596
From: Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 05-29-2013 05:33 AM
Thanks, "Big Ed" for all you've done; for inspiration, for exploration and the Sherpa communities. |
mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 05-29-2013 11:42 AM
Quite a noteworthy accomplishment to say the least. I like viewing those first photos proving they made it to the top. Thanks for posting. |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 05-29-2013 04:14 PM
From the Atlantic magazine blog by Rebecca J. Rosen titled 'What the Man who First Summited Everest Thought of the First American to Orbit Earth': Sixty years ago this week, on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first two humans to reach the highest point on earth, the summit of Mt. Everest. Of course, it wasn't long before humans were pushing up against an even higher-altitude frontier: space. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the earth. The next year, John Glenn became the first American to do so.What did these men who had reached the highest ground think of those who had reached into the sky? In a 1974 recording, interviewer Howard Langer asked Hillary what he thought of Glenn...and his answer is a lovely little passing-of-the-torch from one age of human exploration to another. What impresses Hillary, he tells Langer, is not Glenn's courage but his technical abilities. 'There are many men who have the courage to do dramatic feats,' he says in the interview.. "I don't think we have any shortage of men of this nature. But there are not too many who are able to carry out a feat like that with the calm, precision, and common sense that Glenn displayed." The full Smithsonian Folkways interview can be heard on this website. Click on At the Smithsonian and scroll to the Everest article with the download of the recording. Glenn is mentioned at the 4:00 mark, but the whole interview is fascinating. |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 06-01-2013 09:51 AM
quote:
Originally posted by mach3valkyrie:
I like viewing those first photos proving they made it to the top...
There actually is no photograph of the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Hillary was first, but he had the camera and the classic, iconic picture which has graced numerous magazine front pages actually shows Tenzing.Now what does that remind me of? |
Gonzo
Member Posts: 596
From: Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 06-02-2013 08:47 PM
Actually, for clarification, while it is accepted that Hillary was first, neither ever admitted who was ACTUALLY first. They took credit together as, in true Hillary ethics, he recognized that Tenzing also being part of the team. So they agreed to never actually admit who was really first.But that's a small detail. They were both amazing men. Tenzing's memorial is a beautiful monument on the trail to Everest. |
mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 06-02-2013 11:44 PM
I was referring to the photo on page 59 of the July 1954 National Geographic Magazine of Everest's Northern Ridge. Only from the summit could they have seen it.From the article, which Hillary wrote, "It would be nice to have Tenzing take my portrait, too, in some heroic pose, but unfortunately he doesn't number among his many virtues a knowledge of photography, and the top of Everest strikes me as a poor place on which to conduct classes." Gonzo is correct in stating that Hillary doesn't say he was first. In the article, it's 'we'. Well worth a look. |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 06-03-2013 11:35 AM
A photograph can certainly speak volumes. In 1924, British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory (of the 'Because it's there' quote) and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine died during a third Everest expedition. Mallory's body and artifacts were discovered during a 1999 climb, but no camera was found (listed on a manifest and undoubtedly used to document such an historic event).Whether Irvine had it (his body was never found) or its film lies somewhere up on Everest, if it can still be processed an enduring mystery may be solved. |
Gonzo
Member Posts: 596
From: Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 06-03-2013 12:00 PM
For those who may not know, Onesmallstep is referring of course to the question of whether George Mallory and Sandy Irvine actually made it to the top in 1923. There have been numerous books (most notably, "Ghosts of Everest"), many studies and several searches done to try and answer the question. Yet no proof exists today (outside of the possibility of the camera George Mallory carried and has never been found). They were last seen high on the mountain prior to a possible ascent, before snow obscured the view. They were then lost. The question is, were they lost before or after a possible summit?If you look at all the evidence and consider the hardships they would have faced climbing in the day, including just hobnailed boots, it seems unlikely they made the summit. Even considering just the location of where Mallory's body was found, it seems more likely they fell on the way up. And having been tied together (opposed to using fixed ropes of today), if one fell, the other would have most likely gone with him. Considering that both perished on the mountain that day and that Irvine's body has never been found, it also seems plausible that one fell, took the other with him and they both perished. However, the question remains, did they summit? As no proof exists to answer the question either way, one can only wonder. And the mystery continues... |
mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 06-03-2013 02:34 PM
It took 75 years to find Mallory's body. It's possible to find the camera, but not probable.And, if the film survived, Kodak should start making the Brownie again. |
dogcrew5369
Member Posts: 750
From: Statesville, NC
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 06-03-2013 04:35 PM
Adventurous as astronauts are, have any ever climbed Everest or attepted? Many love to climb and hike. Just wondering. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-03-2013 04:41 PM
Scott Parazynski successfully summited Mt. Everest on his second attempt in 2009. The only other astronaut to attempt Everest was not as fortunate to have a second chance. On October 5, 1993, Karl Henize died of respiratory and heart failure while attempting to summit the north face of the mount. Buried at 22,000 feet, Henize had flown one shuttle mission and earlier served on the support crew for the fourth manned lunar landing. He was 67. |
moorouge
Member Posts: 2454
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 06-04-2013 01:01 AM
There is one, flimsy to say the least, piece of evidence to suggest that Mallory and Irvine did reach the summit. Mallory had said that he would leave a letter/photo of his wife at the top. This was not found on his body when it was discovered. |
Gonzo
Member Posts: 596
From: Lansing, MI, USA
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 06-04-2013 07:39 AM
Good point and that argument has been brought up before too. Unfortunately, with the thousands of people to have summitted, the photo has never been found there either. That's not to say he couldn't have left it there. Remember it was 30 years between the Mallory/Irvine climb and Hillary/Norgay summit. And there would have been virtually nothing to anchor it to for it to stay. Well, except ice and snow! That is, his ice axe was found near his body (so he didn't and wouldn't have left it) and nothing has been found that he could have left there to anchor it either. |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 06-07-2013 11:43 AM
Just published: The Conquest of Everest: Original Photographs from the Legendary First Ascent by George Lowe and Huw Lewis-Jones. I clicked on some thumbnail photos in the book on Amazon and it looks like a fascinating volume with some great photos. |
moorouge
Member Posts: 2454
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 06-08-2013 01:03 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Gonzo:
Unfortunately, with the thousands of people to have summitted, the photo has never been found there either. That's not to say he couldn't have left it there. And there would have been virtually nothing to anchor it to for it to stay. Well, except ice and snow!
All that was needed was ice and snow. Mallory might well have simply buried it. With the weather conditions at the summit, it is highly likely that anything left would have remained in place for just a few hours, perhaps even just minutes. |
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