Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953.
By Gaurav Sharma, Senior Journalist
Seventy years after Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to stand on top of the world’s highest peak, the Nepali community is renewing calls for Everest Day to be officially celebrated in New Zealand.
The pair reached the summit of Mount Everest at 11.30am on 29 May 1953, cementing a long-lasting friendship between the two climbers that blossomed into ongoing ties between the two countries.
Nepal begun commemorating the date as International Everest Day after Hillary’s death in 2008, but New Zealand has not followed suit.
The day has been celebrated in Nepal and by the Nepali diaspora ever since, as an occasion to promote alpine tourism and mark the special bond that exists between Nepal and New Zealand.
The New Zealand government has hosted Everest Day celebrations since 2019e New Zealand government has hosted Everest Day celebrations since 2019. One of the highlights of the event was the unveiling of a 3D model of Mount Everest that traces Hillary and Tenzing’s 1953 route.
As has been the tradition, the organisers auctioned a $5 note signed by Hillary for the Himalayan Trust’s ongoing work in Nepal. A 3D model of Mount Everest that traces the route that Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay used to climb the world’s tallest peak was unveiled at Everest Day celebrations in Auckland on Saturday.
Peter Hillary, Edmund’s son and Himalayan Trust chairperson, called on the public to donate generously to support Nepal.
Credit: radionz.co.nz
