Everest Anniversary Part 7: The climb

MAY 28, 1953

The news on the morning of May 28 was dire. The day before, Sherpa Ang Temba was so weak he had to retreat down the mountain and now Pemba was in no fit state to climb.

If Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were to begin their assault on the summit of Mt Everest, help carrying equipment up the south-east ridge to a high camp was going to be essential. Of the three "high-altitude Sherpas" chosen, only Ang Nyima was left.

Hillary described it as a "desperate situation". They would have to abandon the attempt, or carry extra loads themselves. The former was unthinkable, the latter terrible in its implications. Expedition leader Sir John Hunt had estimated summiters should be carrying no more than 7kg on the final leg. When they repacked, the support team of George Lowe and Alfred Gregory were carrying 21kg and 18kg respectively, while Ang Nyima had 19kg and Tenzing 20kg.

Hillary left Camp VIII with 23.5kg on his back. Included was one secret treat - a tin of apricots.

Lowe, Gregory and Ang Nyima set off first, cutting steps so the summiters' strength could be preserved. After struggling with his task to find a Lhotse Face route, Lowe came into his own this day 50 years ago, providing the smooth path his colleagues needed.

Reaching 8335m, where Hunt had left supplies, they added a tent and oxygen to their packs. Tenzing, Lowe and Gregory now had close to 23kg and Hillary over 27kg.

It was a "very tightly combined effort" Lowe told the Herald in his Derbyshire home recently. "The big effort was to put the material and the oxygen that was needed at 8000m ... and we put Camp IX about 350m below the summit."

Hillary focused on their new camp which, with some cutting, became two terraces, each 2m by 1m.

The sky was clear, the stars bright that night as Hillary lay in his tent wondering what the next day had in store.