The golden statues of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were unveiled in Nepal on Friday, kicking off commemorative events for the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest.
New Zealander Hillary and Nepali Sherpa reached the highest summit in the world on May 29, 1953, a historic moment for mountaineering.
“70 years ago history was made by these two simple and humble gentlemen who gave back everything they could to the people of the Himalayas,” said the son of the Nepali climber, Jamling Tenzing Norgay, during the ceremony.
The monks blessed the smiling statueserected next to the runway of the Tenzing-Hillary airport in Lukla, the gateway for hundreds of people who want to follow in his footsteps to the summit of Everest.
“It must have been a terrifying time for them, no one had ever been up there before,” said Peter Hillary, Edmund Hillary’s son, referring to the tricky pass that sits slightly below the summit and was named after his father.
“And of course they decided, yeah, let’s try it.”
Neighbors attached “khada”, the traditional Tibetan scarves, to the statues of the legendary climbers.
Since that first ascent, more than 6,000 climbers have summited the 8,849-meter mountain, according to the Himalayan Database.
In addition to supporting tourism, the rapid growth of the mountaineering industry generated revenue for the government, which charges foreigners an $11,000 Everest climbing permit.
This season 478 of these permits were issued. Since most climbers need a guide, more than 900 people were expected to try to reach the top, a record.
