Which two climbers made the first confirmed ascent of Mount Everest in 1953?

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first confirmed ascent of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953.

Hillary was a mountaineer from New Zealand, and Norgay was a Sherpa climber born in the Khumbu region of Nepal or nearby Tibet, according to differing accounts of his birthplace. They were members of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt.

The pair reached the summit via the South Col route. They left their final high camp early that morning and overcame the steep rock step later known as the Hillary Step. Expedition photographer Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans had attempted the summit two days earlier but turned back.

Earlier expeditions had reached high elevations, and George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared on Everest in 1924. Whether they reached the summit remains unknown. Hillary and Norgay’s success was announced in Britain on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, adding to the event’s international significance.