About Conquering Everest

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All about conquering Everest: On top of the world Junior SCHOOLS All about the Nepal earthquake All about the Nepal earthquake This article tells the story of the first people to reach the summit of Everest. This significant moment can be studied in history, in English, or across the curriculum, schools.theweekjunior.co.uk using the lesson ideas below. For more articles and lesson maps, visit schools.theweekjunior.co.uk/lesson-ideas What causes an earthquake? The Earth is broken up into Waves of energy, called seismic seven major slabs of rock, called waves, ripple through the Life after the earthquake tectonic plates. These huge ground away from the epicentre, English in context Find out how Nepal is being rebuilt, one year after a devastating earthquake. slabs float on top of super-hot causing the ground to shake. Reading comprehension melted rock called magma and Earthquakes are measured using n 25 April 2015, a deadly earthquake Use the article to answer the following questions in a whole class reading United sometimes they grind against a seismograph. The graph ripped through Nepal, a country north of session, a grouped guided reading session or as an independent task: O Kingdom each other. When this measures the strength, Vocabulary work India. It was the worst earthquake for more NEPAL 1. Why did Hillary choose Norgay to accompany him on his expedition? Nepal is a country happens, friction or magnitude, of The following activity ideas develop vocabulary using than 80 years – experts say it had the same strength north of India with a builds up between the waves of Junior 2. Which part of the mountain is the last to be attempted? Tectonic the article: SCHOOLS All about conquering Everest All about conquering Everest UK as 20 nuclear bombs. It measured 7.8 on the Moment The Death Zone 5. On top of the world population of 28 million. Climbers refer to altitudes of more than 8,000 At 11.30am on 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary the plates and energy. These metres above sea level as the Death Zone. At and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit and plates Nepal that height, the air is so thin (it contains so became the first people ever to stand at the On top of the world little oxygen) that the human body cannot highest point on Earth, 8,848 metres above Magnitude Scale. Huge cracks appeared in the roads; • Discover the story Thousands of get enough of it to stay alive for long. Almost sea level. They shook hands, hugged and took 3. Look at the section 3, The climb begins. How does the author suggest that the ice is Look at new vocabulary from the text e.g. summit, climbers have EVEREST The people of Nepal all climbers use bottled oxygen to prevent photographs to prove that they really had behind one of history’s walked in Hillary and TODAY Norgay’s footsteps. exhaustion and altitude sickness. reached the top. After eating some food, they pressure is waves are greatest achievements. More than 4,000 people, set off back down the mountain to tell their many with limited team and the world what they had done. n 10 March 1953, a huge British expedition set climbing experience, have News of the British expedition’s success was off on an extraordinary journey from Kathmandu, dangerous? homes and schools were destroyed; and historic sites obstacle, crevasses, exposed, knighthood, Sherpa O reached the top of announced in London on the day before the capital of Nepal. More than 350 porters, 20 speak Nepali and their the mountain. Queen Elizabeth II Sherpas (local people famous for their ability to work was crowned. It at high altitudes) and 10 mountaineers walked for released deep usually measured was a source of Norgay Nepal almost three weeks until they reached Mount Everest, huge national waves a flag setting up a camp on the south side of the mountain. pride. Hillary and at the top. etc. Discuss the word class and meanings. Add an Their aim? To conquer the highest peak in the world – the expedition’s that had stood for hundreds of years crumbled to the religion is mostly Hinduism. something that had never been done before. On leader, John 29 May – 64 years ago this week – they reached the Hunt, were given 4. What does the word ‘wedged’ suggest about the final moments of the climb? top. Read on to find out how they achieved it. knighthoods. underground at on a scale from action to help remember the word. 1. The race is on More than a third of Nepali British teams had been trying to climb Everest WOW! ground. The quake affected more than eight million since 1921. By 1953, however, other countries Hillary left behind a were also competing for the prize. The year crucifix, and Norgay, before, a Swiss team had come within about who was a Buddhist, a point known as 0 to 10, called the 250 metres of the summit. The race was on for made a food offering 5. Name three things that Hillary and Norgay did once they finally reached the peak of Everest? people live on less than a British expedition to reach the top. on the summit. people – over a quarter of the country’s population. • Play Word Class Race. Ask the children to skim and DEADLY PEAK Who are the Sherpas? £10 per month. 282 people have died the focus. The Earth’s Moment Magnitude Sherpas like Tenzing Norgay are natives of climbing the mountain the highest regions of the Himalaya between 1921 and 2016. mountains. Because their ancestors have 6. Drawing ideas from the text, what qualities do you think Sherpa Tenzing and Hillary possess? scan the text to find ten noun, verbs and adjectives. lived at very high altitudes for thousands of More than 8,000 people were killed and 16,000 more years, Sherpas’ bodies have adapted to work effectively with very little oxygen. This makes them excellent climbers. After retiring from crust directly above the Scale. This replaced the mountaineering, Sir Edmund Hillary and his Use sticky notes in different colours to sort the words. 2. Hillary and Norgay wife founded a charity called the Himalayan Trust. The charity helps to provide education were injured. Families slept on the streets and children Among the British team’s members were and healthcare for Sherpa people, many of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Hillary whom still work as guides on Everest 7. What phrase does the author use to show the reader that not all of the 4,000 people who was a beekeeper from New Zealand who had expeditions today. focus is called the epicentre. Richter Scale in the US in 2002. learnt to climb in the country’s Southern Alps Discuss the words that could be in two different before joining a British expedition to the Himalayas in 1951. He described himself as “a went to schools set up in temporary tents. A huge small and rather 4. The final push have climbed to the summit are expert mountaineers? lonely child”. 3. The climb begins The Hillary Norgay was the Hillary and The first major obstacle was the the icefall, the expedition moved After passing the South Summit, Hillary Step. Norgay. categories e.g. race Create oral sentences in pairs leader of the Khumbu Icefall, a huge stretch of supplies and equipment up a and Norgay reached a rock face. Hillary expedition’s jagged ice that tumbles down valley called the Western Cwm. At wedged his body between the rock and a Sherpas. from a glacier. There are deep one point, Hillary fell into a layer of ice and pushed himself to the top. He had worked cracks called crevasses, and lumps crevasse and Norgay saved his This stretch is known as the Hillary Step. On HEAVY aftershock happened on 12 May, causing more Epicentre on Everest of ice the size of houses – more life. The expedition eventually 16 May 2017, a UK climber reported that LOAD Seismic waves expeditions people have died here than on reached the South Col, a flat, the Hillary Step had collapsed, perhaps Sherpas are The Khumbu The 1953 Everest excellent 8. Why is it important for climbers to use bottled oxygen? to show the words in context. Reward ambitious before and was any other part of the mountain. exposed area between Everest weakened by the 2015 earthquake, but Icefall. climbers. very experienced. After establishing a path through and Lhotse, another peak. local climbers say that it’s still there. expedition carried four ALAMY · GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCK · AURORA PHOTOS · SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTOS · AURORA · REX SHUTTERSTOCK ALAMY · GETTY IMAGES ©THE WEEK JUNIOR, DENNIS PUBLISHING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. and a half tonnes of luggage and supplies. damage. One year later, people are still rebuilding vocabulary choice or complex sentence structure. schools.theweekjunior.co.uk schools.theweekjunior.co.uk Earth’s crust 9. How did Hillary show his gratitude to the Sherpa people? their lives. • Use the mountain investigation in the Geography 10. Using information from the text, decide whether the following statements are true or false: section (see Cross-curricular opportunities) to practise and consolidate the use of superlatives and A) Above 8,000 feet is the deadliest altitude for climbers without bottled oxygen.Why was the earthquake so devastating? comparative language e.g. taller, shorter, wider, bigger B) Hillary saved Norgay’s life at one difficult point during the expedition. Part of the reason is because Nepal’s capital city, than, smaller than, the most difficult etc. Revise spelling C) The 1953 expedition carried over 5,000 tonnes of luggage. Kathmandu, where more than one million people patterns and rules alongside this. Look at the syllable live, is only 49 miles away from the epicentre of D) Sherpas still work today assisting climbers up the highest mountain the world. Focus count in the words and discuss how the suffix changes the earthquake. The epicentre is the point on Earth if the original word ends in a y. e.g. easy to easiest. directly above the earthquake’s focus, which is Tectonic • The above activity may lead to a game. In table groups, the point inside the Earth’s crust where pressure is plate the children should write as many comparative and released. The earthquake itself was very shallow; superlative statements as they can about Everest in its source was just nine miles below ground. The two minutes. Each sentence is worth one point. They Writing tasks shallowness of the source made the shaking of the then share their sentences. If a sentence is duplicated The following ideas use the article to develop writing: ground at the surface worse than it would have been Preparing for future disasters by more than one group, the table loses that point. if it were a deeper earthquake. The huge tremors Scientists had warned for a and mobile healthcare units are The team with the most sentences left, once all the • Use hot seating and interview a teacher or confident child • Write a diary entry as Hillary. Describe the ascent up the mountains including sentences have been shared, is the winner! in the role of either of the climbers in order to ascertain the sights and sounds. Tell the reader about the obstacles that were facedwere felt hundreds of miles away in Bangladesh, long time that a catastrophic being set up so the government India and Pakistan. In Nepal’s remote, mountainous earthquake would hit Nepal. can immediately respond to a • Alphabetical adjectives: I climbed the mountain and their feelings and emotions during the climb. Following along the way and the emotions at various points in the expedition. Link this regions, landslides destroyed and cut off villages. They believe an even bigger one crisis. Earthquakes aren’t the only saw a/an______sight! Play this like the game, I this, create a newspaper report/TV news report of the to the race between the nations and the need for the British to conquer the went to the shops and bought. Play individually around achievements of Hillary and Tenzing. mountain first as a source of national pride. is still to come. Charities like the natural disasters that the country the classroom taking each letter in the alphabet in turn. • Write a non-chronological report or fact sheet about • Remind children that Sherpas are still climbing the mountain today as a means Red Cross are helping people to faces. It experiences avalanches, Use to extend vocabulary choices and consolidate famous mountains of the world. This can include the work of supporting their families. Write an application to join a new expedition up prepare by staging simulations, floods and storms every year. understanding of new words. linked to Geography (see Cross-curricular opportunities). the mountain as a Sherpa looking for a job. What qualities would you need? so they know what to do in the Geologists believe that global The children may wish to share this with another class. How would you persuade your reader that you are the best person for the job? event of an earthquake. Homes warming could be Entire buildings are being built so that they can partly to blame for ©THE WEEK JUNIOR, DENNIS PUBLISHING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED collapsed during the earthquake. withstand the impact of a quake these events.

SHUTTERSTOCK · SHUTTERSTOCK After Prince Harry’s five-day This temporary camp A group of fire cadets from outside the school. RESCUE DOG royal tour of Nepal in March was set up by an Cheshire heard about the Darcy is part of the UK’s 2016, he stayed for a few agency to look after earthquake in Nepal and What was done to help? International Search and Rescue After the quake, aid flooded in from all over the more days to help rebuild children while their wanted to help. They raised

REX SHUTTERSTOCK · REX SHUTTERSTOCK team and was sent to Nepal after world. The British Government sent £70 million, and a school in the village of families rebuild their money to build a school in one the earthquake. Darcy searched international engineers, medical experts and search- Lapubesi that was destroyed homes. In between of the villages that was hit, for people trapped under the rubble. John Ball is her

GETTY IMAGES · GETTY IMAGES and-rescue teams all arrived in the country. The UK’s by the earthquake. The their lessons the and then travelled to Nepal to A camp for International Development Secretary Justine Greening village has a population children can enjoy lend a hand. They said the best handler and he taught Darcy children whose to sniff out people. All the visited Nepal after the disaster. Recently she said, “One of 3,000 people and the arts, crafts, dance and homes were part of their trip was seeing the search-and-rescue dogs year on, we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with earthquake destroyed 95% playing outdoor games destroyed. smiles on the children’s faces love chasing toys –

DFID/RUSSELL WATKINS · DFID/RUSSELL WATKINS this is how they train ©THE WEEK JUNIOR, DENNIS PUBLISHING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. the people of Nepal as they repair and rebuild.” of homes there. in the camp. when the school was finished. for emergency situations. schools.theweekjunior.co.uk schools.theweekjunior.co.uk Cross-curricular opportunities Design/ Geography Technology • Investigate where Everest is in the world using atlases and Google • Earth. Look at further images. Identify the countries that the Himalayas Link with Science. Children can span and the continent in which they can be found. investigate which materials make the Maths best thermal insulators. Using this • Linked to the Geography activity investigating famous mountains across the • Investigate other mountains in the world e.g. Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, knowledge, they can design, build world, pose mathematical problems for the pupils to solve. For example: Mount Huang in China, Aoraki Mount Cook in New Zealand etc. Identify and test a flask to see how much How much higher is Mount Kinabalu than Ben Nevis? How high are Mount the countries and continents where they can be found. Investigate how heat it retains after five minutes. This Everest and Mount Huang altogether? Which is taller, Monte Fitz Roy and high they are and rank them accordingly. Make sure to include Ben could also link to reading scales and Mount Kailash, or Mount Everest and Aoraki Mount Cook? What is the total Nevis! temperature work in maths. If you height of all the mountains? What is the average height of the mountains? test the flask with hot chocolate, the • Use the images on the article to name the parts of the mountain. This children could drink it afterwards as a • Set the children a practical maths challenge involving weight and reading would be a good opportunity to introduce/consolidate the terminology reward! scales. Decide what would be useful items to take on a mountaineering to describe the physical features of the mountain. Peak: Pupils should expedition e.g. clothes, food, water, maps, first aid kit, camping stove etc. use the term peak or summit. Many children simply refer to this as the Children will then be able to weigh each object and create a list of the items top of the mountain. Ridge: where two sides of mountain meet. Glacier: they feel it is most practical to take. How much weight is it realistic to carry like a frozen river, the ice slowly moves down the mountain. Moraine: up the mountain? rock debris deposited in front of an advancing glacier. Children could draw and label a diagram to show what they know. PSHE • Sir Edmund once said, “It is not the mountain we conquer, it is ourselves. If you can overcome your fear, you are frequently able

Junior SCHOOLS All about conquering Everest All about conquering Everest UK The Death Zone 5. On top of the world to extend yourself far beyond Climbers refer to altitudes of more than 8,000 At 11.30am on 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary Nepal metres above sea level as the Death Zone. At and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit and that height, the air is so thin (it contains so became the first people ever to stand at the On top of the world little oxygen) that the human body cannot highest point on Earth, 8,848 metres above Thousands of what you normally regard as your Discover the story get enough of it to stay alive for long. Almost sea level. They shook hands, hugged and took climbers have EVEREST all climbers use bottled oxygen to prevent photographs to prove that they really had behind one of history’s walked in Hillary and TODAY Norgay’s footsteps. exhaustion and altitude sickness. reached the top. After eating some food, they greatest achievements. More than 4,000 people, set off back down the mountain to tell their many with limited team and the world what they had done. n 10 March 1953, a huge British expedition set climbing experience, have News of the British expedition’s success was ability.” Use this as a starting off on an extraordinary journey from Kathmandu, O reached the top of announced in London on the day before the capital of Nepal. More than 350 porters, 20 the mountain. Queen Elizabeth II Sherpas (local people famous for their ability to work was crowned. It at high altitudes) and 10 mountaineers walked for was a source of Norgay almost three weeks until they reached Mount Everest, huge national waves a flag setting up a camp on the south side of the mountain. at the top. point to discuss pupils’ fears. pride. Hillary and Their aim? To conquer the highest peak in the world – the expedition’s something that had never been done before. On leader, John 29 May – 64 years ago this week – they reached the Hunt, were given Science top. Read on to find out how they achieved it. knighthoods. 1. The race is on Pupils could interview each other. British teams had been trying to climb Everest WOW! since 1921. By 1953, however, other countries Hillary left behind a • Identify and group materials as solids, liquids or gases. Look at were also competing for the prize. The year crucifix, and Norgay, before, a Swiss team had come within about who was a Buddhist, Children could write a top tip on a 250 metres of the summit. The race was on for made a food offering a British expedition to reach the top. on the summit.

DEADLY the ice covering the mountains and identify that ice is a solid, PEAK Who are the Sherpas? post-it note for overcoming their 282 people have died Sherpas like Tenzing Norgay are natives of climbing the mountain the highest regions of the Himalaya between 1921 and 2016. mountains. Because their ancestors have lived at very high altitudes for thousands of as it melts it becomes water and if it gets even hotter it would years, Sherpas’ bodies have adapted to work fears. These can then be built into effectively with very little oxygen. This makes them excellent climbers. After retiring from mountaineering, Sir Edmund Hillary and his 2. Hillary and Norgay wife founded a charity called the Himalayan become water vapour and evaporate. Pupils can sort and group Trust. The charity helps to provide education Among the British team’s members were and healthcare for Sherpa people, many of a classroom display. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Hillary whom still work as guides on Everest was a beekeeper from New Zealand who had expeditions today. learnt to climb in the country’s Southern Alps before joining a British expedition to the materials according to their properties. Himalayas in 1951. He described himself as “a small and rather 4. The final push lonely child”. 3. The climb begins The Hillary Norgay was the Hillary and The first major obstacle was the the icefall, the expedition moved After passing the South Summit, Hillary Step. Norgay. leader of the Khumbu Icefall, a huge stretch of supplies and equipment up a and Norgay reached a rock face. Hillary expedition’s jagged ice that tumbles down valley called the Western Cwm. At wedged his body between the rock and a Sherpas. from a glacier. There are deep one point, Hillary fell into a layer of ice and pushed himself to the top. He had worked cracks called crevasses, and lumps crevasse and Norgay saved his This stretch is known as the Hillary Step. On HEAVY • Children can investigate the melting point of three familiar on Everest of ice the size of houses – more life. The expedition eventually 16 May 2017, a UK climber reported that LOAD expeditions people have died here than on reached the South Col, a flat, the Hillary Step had collapsed, perhaps Sherpas are excellent before and was any other part of the mountain. exposed area between Everest The Khumbu weakened by the 2015 earthquake, but The 1953 Everest Icefall. climbers. very experienced. After establishing a path through and Lhotse, another peak. local climbers say that it’s still there. expedition carried four ALAMY · GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCK · AURORA PHOTOS · SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTOS · AURORA · REX SHUTTERSTOCK ALAMY · GETTY IMAGES ©THE WEEK JUNIOR, DENNIS PUBLISHING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. and a half tonnes of luggage and materials e.g. ice, chocolate and butter. They can then use a schools.theweekjunior.co.uk supplies. schools.theweekjunior.co.uk thermometer to measure temperature and record their results in a table or line graph. Pupils can then discuss how accurate their predictions were and whether melting is a reversible change. • This could be developed further. Each group could agree a Music simple hypothesis e.g. ‘If I add salt to ice cubes, they will melt • Listen to In the Hall of the Mountain King by faster than when sugar and sand are added to ice cubes.’ Grieg. The children may recognise the music, Children can discuss what makes a fair test and test according Art as it was an advert for a famous British theme • Cut up a landscape into to their plans. • Use the work of David Hockney. In particular, park. What do the children think is happening pieces and ask the children to look at a variety of his landscapes, including his in the piece? Who could possibly be involved? recreate it in the artist’s style. work that depicts mountain scenes. How did he Which instruments can they hear? Do they Use this as an opportunity to create each of the examples? What medium did represent a particular character in their practise colour mixing. he use? What kinds of colours does he use? Does imagination? he use a range of colours? How does Hockney • Create a landscape • Create a storyboard based on their ideas create texture in his work? Show pupils a colour representing one of the when listening and appraising the piece. The Junior wheel and discuss the use of opposite colours mountain ranges investigated storyboard could then be used as a basis for SCHOOLS All about the Nepalfor different earthquakeelements of his landscapes and in Geography. All about the Nepal earthquake writing. schools.theweekjunior.co.uk neighbouring colours to build up texture. What causes an earthquake? The Earth is broken up into Waves of energy, called seismic seven major slabs of rock, called waves, ripple through the Life after the earthquake tectonic plates. These huge ground away from the epicentre, Find out how Nepal is being rebuilt, one year after a devastating earthquake. slabs float on top of super-hot causing the ground to shake. melted rock called magma and Earthquakes are measured using n 25 April 2015, a deadly earthquake United sometimes they grind against a seismograph. The graph ripped through Nepal, a country north of O Kingdom each other. When this measures the strength, India. It was the worst earthquake for more NEPAL happens, friction or magnitude, of than 80 years – experts say it had the same strength Nepal is a country north of India with a builds up between the waves of as 20 nuclear bombs. It measured 7.8 on the Moment Tectonic population of 28 million. the plates and energy. These Magnitude Scale. Huge cracks appeared in the roads; plates The people of Nepal pressure is waves are homes and schools were destroyed; and historic sites speak Nepali and their Nepal released deep usually measured that had stood for hundreds of years crumbled to the religion is mostly Hinduism. underground at on a scale from ground. The quake affected more than eight million More than a third of Nepali a point known as 0 to 10, called the people – over a quarter of the country’s population. people live on less than £10 per month. the focus. The Earth’s Moment Magnitude More than 8,000 people were killed and 16,000 more crust directly above the Scale. This replaced the were injured. Families slept on the streets and children focus is called the epicentre. Richter Scale in the US in 2002. went to schools set up in temporary tents. A huge aftershock happened on 12 May, causing more Seismic waves Epicentre damage. One year later, people are still rebuilding Earth’s crust their lives.

Why was the earthquake so devastating? Part of the reason is because Nepal’s capital city, Kathmandu, where more than one million people live, is only 49 miles away from the epicentre of Focus the earthquake. The epicentre is the point on Earth directly above the earthquake’s focus, which is Tectonic the point inside the Earth’s crust where pressure is plate released. The earthquake itself was very shallow; its source was just nine miles below ground. The shallowness of the source made the shaking of the ground at the surface worse than it would have been Preparing for future disasters if it were a deeper earthquake. The huge tremors Scientists had warned for a and mobile healthcare units are were felt hundreds of miles away in Bangladesh, long time that a catastrophic being set up so the government India and Pakistan. In Nepal’s remote, mountainous earthquake would hit Nepal. can immediately respond to a regions, landslides destroyed and cut off villages. They believe an even bigger one crisis. Earthquakes aren’t the only is still to come. Charities like the natural disasters that the country Red Cross are helping people to faces. It experiences avalanches, prepare by staging simulations, floods and storms every year. so they know what to do in the Geologists believe that global event of an earthquake. Homes warming could be Entire buildings are being built so that they can partly to blame for collapsed during the earthquake. withstand the impact of a quake these events.

SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY SCIENCE PHOTO One year on: working together to rebuild Nepal Helicopters reach Nepal’s Prince Harry helps out A place to smile Building schools mountainous regions. The fire cadets stand DARCY THE SHUTTERSTOCK · SHUTTERSTOCK After Prince Harry’s five-day This temporary camp A group of fire cadets from outside the school. RESCUE DOG royal tour of Nepal in March was set up by an Cheshire heard about the Darcy is part of the UK’s 2016, he stayed for a few agency to look after earthquake in Nepal and What was done to help? International Search and Rescue After the quake, aid flooded in from all over the more days to help rebuild children while their wanted to help. They raised

DFID/RUSSELL WATKINS · DFID/RUSSELL WATKINS this is how they train ©THE WEEK JUNIOR, DENNIS PUBLISHING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. the people of Nepal as they repair and rebuild.” of homes there. in the camp. when the school was finished. for emergency situations. schools.theweekjunior.co.uk schools.theweekjunior.co.uk Junior SCHOOLS All about conquering Everest All about conquering Everest UK The Death Zone 5. On top of the world Climbers refer to altitudes of more than 8,000 At 11.30am on 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary Nepal metres above sea level as the Death Zone. At and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit and that height, the air is so thin (it contains so became the first people ever to stand at the On top of the world little oxygen) that the human body cannot highest point on Earth, 8,848 metres above Discover the story Thousands of get enough of it to stay alive for long. Almost sea level. They shook hands, hugged and took climbers have EVEREST all climbers use bottled oxygen to prevent photographs to prove that they really had behind one of history’s walked in Hillary and TODAY Norgay’s footsteps. exhaustion and altitude sickness. reached the top. After eating some food, they greatest achievements. More than 4,000 people, set off back down the mountain to tell their many with limited team and the world what they had done. n 10 March 1953, a huge British expedition set News of the British expedition’s success was off on an extraordinary journey from Kathmandu, climbing experience, have O reached the top of announced in London on the day before the capital of Nepal. More than 350 porters, 20 the mountain. Queen Elizabeth II Sherpas (local people famous for their ability to work was crowned. It at high altitudes) and 10 mountaineers walked for was a source of Norgay almost three weeks until they reached Mount Everest, huge national waves a flag setting up a camp on the south side of the mountain. pride. Hillary and at the top. Their aim? To conquer the highest peak in the world – the expedition’s something that had never been done before. On leader, John 29 May – 64 years ago this week – they reached the Hunt, were given top. Read on to find out how they achieved it. knighthoods. 1. The race is on British teams had been trying to climb Everest WOW! since 1921. By 1953, however, other countries Hillary left behind a were also competing for the prize. The year crucifix, and Norgay, before, a Swiss team had come within about who was a Buddhist, 250 metres of the summit. The race was on for made a food offering a British expedition to reach the top. on the summit.

DEADLY PEAK Who are the Sherpas? 282 people have died Sherpas like Tenzing Norgay are natives of climbing the mountain the highest regions of the Himalaya between 1921 and 2016. mountains. Because their ancestors have lived at very high altitudes for thousands of years, Sherpas’ bodies have adapted to work effectively with very little oxygen. This makes them excellent climbers. After retiring from mountaineering, Sir Edmund Hillary and his wife founded a charity called the Himalayan 2. Hillary and Norgay Trust. The charity helps to provide education Among the British team’s members were and healthcare for Sherpa people, many of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Hillary whom still work as guides on Everest was a beekeeper from New Zealand who had expeditions today. learnt to climb in the country’s Southern Alps before joining a British expedition to the Himalayas in 1951. He described himself as “a small and rather 4. The final push lonely child”. 3. The climb begins The Hillary Norgay was the Hillary and The first major obstacle was the the icefall, the expedition moved After passing the South Summit, Hillary Step. Norgay. leader of the Khumbu Icefall, a huge stretch of supplies and equipment up a and Norgay reached a rock face. Hillary expedition’s jagged ice that tumbles down valley called the Western Cwm. At wedged his body between the rock and a Sherpas. from a glacier. There are deep one point, Hillary fell into a layer of ice and pushed himself to the top. He had worked cracks called crevasses, and lumps crevasse and Norgay saved his This stretch is known as the Hillary Step. On HEAVY on Everest of ice the size of houses – more life. The expedition eventually 16 May 2017, a UK climber reported that LOAD expeditions people have died here than on reached the South Col, a flat, the Hillary Step had collapsed, perhaps Sherpas are excellent before and was any other part of the mountain. exposed area between Everest The Khumbu weakened by the 2015 earthquake, but The 1953 Everest Icefall. climbers. very experienced. After establishing a path through and Lhotse, another peak. local climbers say that it’s still there. expedition carried four ALAMY · GETTY IMAGES · REX SHUTTERSTOCK · AURORA PHOTOS · SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTOS · AURORA · REX SHUTTERSTOCK ALAMY · GETTY IMAGES ©THE WEEK JUNIOR, DENNIS PUBLISHING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. and a half tonnes of luggage and schools.theweekjunior.co.uk supplies. schools.theweekjunior.co.uk