Everest: The Remarkable Story of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

On 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a former beekeeper and yak herder, reached the summit of Everest. But what were their individual stories, and how did they end up climbing Everest together?

Growing strong by working on his father’s beehive farm, Hillary enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and trained in the Wairau Valley, where he also climbed his first mountain; after the war, he was invited to join a group of climbers on their way to the Himalayas.

Tenzing Norgay, growing up with his yak-herding family in the shadow of Everest, always dreamed of climbing it and seeing for himself what the western mountaineers tried to. When, at 18, he made the move to Darjeeling, he finally managed to get recruited for his first climb, and became widely respected as an outstanding Sherpa.

The story of how the famous mountaineers came to meet and climb Everest is a fascinating one, full of perseverance and courage. As well as Norgay and Hillary’s victorious climb, Stewart and Todd-Stanton tell the story of the other attempts on the mountain, the training that Norgay and Hillary had to undertake to be successful, and the dangers they faced.

A detailed and beautifully rendered account of this amazing achievement.