The Expeditions

Year - Sponsor	Type	Approach	Height reached (feet)
1921 - British	Reconnaissance	North	23,000
1922 - British	Summit attempt	North	27,300
1924 - British	Summit attempt	North	28,126
Expeditions to Everest were closed from 1925 to 1932 when the Dalai Lama refused to grant visas to climbers.
1933 - British	Summit attempt	North	28,100
1935 - British	Reconnaissance	North	23,000
1936 - British	Summit attempt	North	23,000
1938 - British	Summit attempt	North	27,230
From 1939 to 1945, World War II interrupted expeditions to Everest.
In 1950, Tibet fell under China's rule and the northern route was closed. About this same time Nepal opened its borders and climbers attempted to summit Everest from the south.
1950 - Anglo/British	Reconnaissance	South	18,000
1951 - British	Reconnaissance	South	20,060
1952 - Swiss (Spring)	Summit attempt	South	28,210
1952 - Swiss (Fall)	Summit attempt	South	26,560
1953 - British	Summit attempt	South	29,035

The 1953 Assault
The 1953 expedition (April 11 to June 3), led by Colonel John Hunt, was sponsored by the Joint Himalayan Committee of the Alpine Club of Great Britain and the Royal Geographic Society. It consisted of fourteen climbers and thirty-eight Sherpas (the term Sherpa refers to the Tibetan people that settled in northern Nepal). See below for a list of expedition members.

Colonel Hunt planned and managed the expedition like a military action with a series of phased operations. Along the climbing route, nine camps were established with the first camp (base camp) located at 17,900 feet. During the first phase of the mission, a trail was blazed through the shifting terrain of the treacherous Khumbu Icefall, and camps II and III were set up. Next the Western Cwm (a glacier hollow running from the top of the icefall to the south west face of Everest) was navigated, camps IV and V were established, and heavy amounts of supplies were packed in from base camp to camp IV. Then a path was forged up the steep Lhotse Face, and camps VI through VIII were established from 23,000 to 26,000 feet. The final assault phase was launched from the advanced base camp (camp IV) and consisted of two teams starting twenty-four hours apart.

The first assault team of Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon left advanced base on May 22 and almost became the first men to climb Everest. On May 26, Evans and Bourdillon climbed to 28,750 feet ? less than 300 feet from the top. Unfortunately, strong winds and faulty oxygen gear forced the two men to turn back. The second assault team of Tenzing Norgay and Edmond Hillary left advanced base on May 23 and on May 28 at 27,900 feet they established camp IX approximately 1,100 feet from the summit. Overnight the temperature fell to -17° F. On the morning of May 29, they left their tent at 6:30 and at 11:30 a.m. they became the first people to summit the highest mountain on Earth.

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