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Standing more than 29,000 feet above sea level, Mount Everest is the pinnacle of the Earth’s surface. It was on this day, May 29, 1953, that the first humans successfully reached the top the mountain.

Mount Everest rests in the Himalaya Mountains on the border between China’s Tibetan province and Nepal. The summit of the mountain stands 29,029 feet above sea level — a height of more than 5 miles — where the atmosphere and oxygen levels are approximately one-third that of sea level. Even in summer, temperatures rarely climb above 0 degrees F at the summit.

However, ever since Mount Everest was identified as the highest mountain in the world in the mid-19^th century, the concept of an ascent has been part of the human imagination. After World War I, the race began to reach the top, with pioneering mountain-climber George Mallory famously stating that he wanted to climb the mountain “because it’s there” before losing his life on the mountain in 1923.

Before 1949, Nepal would not allow foreigners to enter the country. Attempts to climb the mountain had to begin on the northern or Tibetan side. Following the annexation of Tibet by China that same year, climbers would start on the slightly less steep and complicated Nepalese side of the mountain.

The first successful trip to top the world’s highest mountain occurred in the spring of 1953 as two teams of mountaineers and more than 300 porters left Kathmandu, Nepal for the Base Camp located at 17,900 feet. Consisting of several teams of climbers and Nepalese “Sherpas” (guides), the group slowly advanced up the mountain, before taking a two-week rest at 24,000 feet.

The final “assault” on the summit occurred the last week of May, with the first group of climbers reaching the South Summit at 28,700 feet on May 26. However, a damaged valve in the breathing device of one of the members of the first group required the pair to turn back just 300 feet shy of the summit. This set the stage for the next group to tackle the mountain the next day.

Leading the way on this visit was the veteran Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, who had nearly reached the top of Mount Everest the previous year, and Edmund Hillary of New Zealand. Upon reaching the summit, the pair removed their oxygen, buried a few trinkets and spent about 10 minutes taking pictures before starting their descent. News of the pair’s success made its way around the world, reaching London on June 2, the morning of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. The Queen soon knighted Edmund Hillary and gave Norgay the George Medal.

In the years since the first ascent, the excitement of topping Mount Everest has dimmed somewhat. Over the decades, the Nepalese government has created a tourism industry, allowing anyone the chance to attempt a summit. A guide service can cost as little as $50,000, putting it in the budget of many outdoor enthusiasts. The result of this is that even though the challenges remain, the expertise level of the climbers has slipped, leading to numerous accidents and deaths. With such extreme elevations at work, rescues can be difficult if not impossible. More than 300 people are known to have died in their attempt to reach the top of the mountain; in fact, every year since 1978 has resulted in at least one fatality, with an average of nearly seven deaths per year.

A few notable incidents have occurred at Mount Everest. Numerous climbers were caught on the mountain in a May 1996 blizzard, leading to the death of eight of them. One survivor was left to die with massive frostbite, a helicopter rescue was out of the question. Recent years have been marked by deadly avalanches, most notably one caused by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in 2015. Hundreds of climbers were trapped on the mountain as snow and ice blocked the upward route and twenty-two were killed.

In addition, crowding and pollution have become major problems. With hundreds if not thousands of people on the “trail” to the summit, traffic jams have become commonplace on numerous parts of the mountain, limiting the luster of the experience. While intent is to carry out any waste products, an estimated 13 tons (26,000 pounds) of human excrement are reportedly left on the mountain. Pollution, including used oxygen bottles, also litters the route to the top.

Since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay initially climbed Mount Everest 67 years ago, thousands have challenged themselves to explore the deep unknown. Who knows where the next tests of the human spirit will be – perhaps on this planet, the Moon or Mars.

Story Image: The view of Mount Everest and nearby peaks (Thisisbadri, Wikimedia Commons)

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This Day in History -- Humans Tops Mount Everest