Everest Day Date in the current year: May 29, 2024

Mount Everest, also known as Chomolungma in Tibetan and Sagarmatha in Nepali, is the highest mountain on the Earth above sea level (8,846.86 m / (29,031 ft 81⁄2 in). It is located in the Solukhumbu District of eastern Nepal; the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China runs across the summit point of Everest.

Being the highest mountain on the planet, Mount Everest has attracted numerous climbers. The first person to suggest that an ascent of the world’s highest mountain was possible was English mountaineer Clinton Thomas Dent in his book Above the Snow Line published in 1885. The first attempts to climb Mount Everest were made by British mountaineers in the 1920s and 1930s, but they were unsuccessful.

It was the ninth British Mount Everest expedition that succeeded. Led by Colonel John Hunt, it left Kathmandu for Mount Everest on March 10, 1953 and reached Base Camp on April 12. Hunt planned three assaults on the summit, each attempted by a different pair of climbers. The first attempt, made by Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon, failed due to problems with the climbers’ oxygen sets.

The second pair of climbers consisted of Edmund Hillary, an explorer and mountaineer from New Zealand, and Nepali Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay. Norgay had previously attempted to climb Mountain Everest as a member of the 1952 Swiss Mount Everest expedition and set a new altitude record. They left camp in the early morning of May 27 and reached the summit two days and five hours later. The pair took photographs, buried a small cross and a few sweets in the snow, and began their descent.

News of the expedition’s success reached the United Kingdom on June 2, the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Hunt and Hillary were appointed knights of the Order of the British Empire; Tenzing was not eligible for knighthood due to his citizenship and was awarded the George Medal instead. In addition, King Tribhuvan of Nepal awarded him the Star of Nepal.

Everest Day was founded in 2008 following Hillary’s death to commemorate the remarkable achievement of Hillary and Tenzing and honor their lasting legacy, as well as to celebrate all climbers who reached the peak and honor the memory of those who died trying. The celebration is spearheaded by the Himalayan Trust, an international nonprofit humanitarian organization established by Sir Edmund Hillary to bring better healthcare, safe water, and education to communities in the Solukhumbu District of Nepal.

There are many ways to observe International Everest Day. You can learn more about Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, watch a documentary about famous mountaineers, take up mountain climbing, donate to or volunteer for the Himalayan Trust or another nonprofit organization that helps the people of Tibet, and spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #EverestDay, #MountEverestDay and #InternationalEverestDay.