This is the outside podcast. By the time Tenzing Norgae and Edmond Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest in May of

1953 the British had been trying to climate for 31 years.

This was the country's ninth expedition in addition to two reconnaissance flyovers commissioned by England's wealthy elite

in the 1930s. Meanwhile, several other countries had been trying to find their way to the summit

at 29,035 feet, continually threatening to grab the prize

away from the crown. In 1947, a rogue Canadian engineer named Earl Denman got to 22,000 feet before being turned back by a storm.

In 1951, Denmark's Klaus Becker Larson made it to the North Cole, a 23,000-foot ridge on the Tibet side of the mountain,

but turned back because of rockfall.

In 1952, a Swiss expedition failed to make the summit, perhaps only because their shirpas got

nervous about the weather, and the expedition leaders were too polite to push them on.

If the how badly England needed this.

Over the previous decade, a years-long World War II bombing campaign,

the Blitz, had destroyed over a million British homes,

and the cost of victory put a damper on the economy that lasted for years.

In the summer of 1947, British control over India came to an end,

resulting in widespread violence and massive loss of life. A few years later in

early 1952 their wartime king George the sixth died suddenly a few months

after undergoing an operation for lung cancer. In short,

England was taking some lumps and the nation was looking for something to

celebrate. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II coincided nicely with Eversa climbing season.

So when Tensing and Hillary reached the summit at 1130 a.m. on May 29th,

their accomplishment was a source of pride for the whole empire.

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