The Ascent of Everest.

HUNT, John; Edmund Hillary [Tenzing Norgay].

Item Number: 102345

London: Hodder & Houghton, 1953.

First edition of this account of the 1953 British conquest of Everest. Octavo, original blue cloth, with eight color photographic plates, 48 half-tone plates and many in-text illustrations after pen-and-ink sketches. Signed by Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay (on the frontispiece of Norgay opposite the title page), Jim Whittaker, Jon Krakauer and Thomas Hornbein. Hillary and Norgay were the first two individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 29, 1953. Time named Norgay one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Whittaker was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest as a member of the American Mount Everest Expedition led by Norman Dyhrenfurth. Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld were the first to attempt an ascent of Everest’s West Ridge. Krakauer wrote the 1997 bestselling book Into Thin Air, which is an account of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by W. Heaton Cooper. Chapter 16 is Sir Edmund Hillary’s stirring account of the final part of the climb, and the appendices are by members of the expedition. Foreword by H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh. Rare and desirable signed by both Hillary and Norgay.

The 1953 British Expedition to Mount Everest was the eighth in 30 years to attempt Everest. On May 29th, 1953 Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay at last stood at the summit; it was a culminating moment in mountaineering history, and one of the great achievements of human stamina and will. The Ascent of Everest was written by Sir John Hunt, the leader of the expedition, in one month to satisfy the great demand around the world for the story of the British team’s success. Chapter 16 is Sir Edmund Hillary’s stirring account of the final part of the climb, and the appendices are by members of the expedition.