29th May 1953: The Conquest of Everest

Updated 

Today is the 70th anniversary of the first (or was it the second? we'll probably never know) summiting of Mt. Everest - by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

To celebrate, here's a particularly good rendition of 'Everest' by Public Service Broadcasting - live at Brixton Academy

Brendan Conway has been busy making some excellent maps using ArcGIS Online - one in 2D and one in 3D. 

🔊🏔️*The roof of the world* 🏔️🔊
1953 Everest Sagarmatha Chomolungma route mapped in @ArcGISOnline showing camps; key points; pop-up details w GIFs; time-enabled#Everest1953 #GIS
Music: 'Everest'🙏@PSB_HQ
Images: @RGS_IBG
2D interactive web map: https://t.co/Who1uK66Ho pic.twitter.com/1DSKUillff

— BC (@mildthing99) May 18, 2023

Here are the links:

2D map: https://arcg.is/1CqWWK0

3D Scene: https://notredamecobham.maps.arcgis.com/home/webscene/viewer.html?webscene=cb67c8d220ef44b7a359d207f2df2fd4 (I’ll make a video clip for Twitter with Everest by PSB, naturally!)

Plenty of tweets and images today commemorating the occasion. I studies this with Year 8 groups last week and will do some more when we return after half term to draw out what makes this such an extreme place, and one that has an irresistible pull for many.

Despite that, it is left in a shocking state and some would say is the preserve of the wealthy who can afford to pay for the permits and other costs of expeditions to the summit.

Disheartening to see the accumulation of garbage at Camp IV on Mt #Everest (8848.86 m). It's high time we address this issue with urgency and commitment. Let's demand stricter regulations, enforcement of clean climbing practices, and effective waste management strategies. Video… pic.twitter.com/KGMlRmUuZk

— Everest Today (@EverestToday) May 28, 2023

I recommend visiting Matt Podbury's page of resources if you are intending to teach about the mountain and the impacts of the climbers, and the link with the Sherpa. More on that to come in a later post as I'm currently reading a book on the Sherpa.

On this day in 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary became the first explorers to reach the top of Mt. Everest. Revisit Christopher Rand’s report on their incredible journey: https://t.co/lznhPjRTps pic.twitter.com/l5NbAPHsNZ

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) May 29, 2023

Main image copyright: Alfred Gregory/Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images

As Steve Brace says, this is a chance to consider some alternative narratives.

#Everest first ascent is also opp
for #geographyteachers to explore diversity. The 1953 summit pic features Nepali-Indian #tenzingnorgay (there's no Hillary pic) . The Telegram sent by the then James-later Jan Morris, was about a mount known locally as Chomolungma or Sagarmatha https://t.co/STsQLUI9C6

— Steve Brace (@SteveBraceGeog) May 29, 2023

Update - June

A link to a BBC Sounds programme which focusses on the 1999 expedition to try to locate George Mallory's body. Which they successfully did.