In This Month: May

On Top of the World
On the 29th May 1953, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the top of Everest, the world's highest mountain. The two men, who only stayed at the summit for 15 minutes because they were low on oxygen, climbed up the southern face of the mountain, which is 29,028 feet (8,848 m) above sea level. Hillary described the peak as "a symmetrical, beautiful snow cone summit".

In this picture we see Tenzing Norgay (left) and Edmund Hillary (right) celebrating upon their return to Britain in July 1953. Within 50 years of their ascent, more than 1,500 people had reached the summit.