Hillary Step

The step was closed during the 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition by the First Assault Party of Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans when they reached the South Summit on 26 May at 13:00, too late to continue on. Seated on the snow dome, they could look closely at the last {{convert|90|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}} ascent to the summit. It was not the gentle snow ridge they had hoped for, but a thin crest of snow and ice on rock, steep on the left, overhanging as a cornice on the right. It was interrupted by a formidable-looking {{convert|12|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} rock step two-thirds of the way up.{{cite book |last= Gill |first= Michael |title= Edmund Hillary: A Biography |year= 2017 |publisher= Potton & Burton |location= Nelson, NZ |isbn= 978-0-947503-38-3 |pages=202, 257 }}

The step was named after Sir Edmund Hillary, who partnered with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, on 29 May 1953 climbing the crack between the snow and the rock, earning the feature its name.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jBILmF2PguMC&q=hillary+step&pg=PT19|title=Hillary and Norgay: To the Top of Mount Everest|last=Whipple|first=Heather|date=2007|publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company|isbn=9780778724186}} Upon completion of the summit, the pair reported the snowpack on Hillary is harder than that of lower elevation.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JgEKGGYEpZIC&q=hillary+step&pg=PA289|title=Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes|last1=Isserman|first1=Maurice|last2=Weaver|first2=Stewart|last3=Molenaar|first3=Dee|date=1 February 2010|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300164206}}

In his 1953 account of summiting Everest he wrote:{{cite book |last=Hunt |first= John |title= The Ascent of Everest |url=https://archive.org/details/ascentofeverest0000hunt |url-access=registration |year= 1953 |publisher= Hodder & Stoughton |location= London |page= [https://archive.org/details/ascentofeverest0000hunt/page/204 204] }} The Summit (Chapter 16, pp 197-209) is by Hillary.

:After an hour’s steady going we reached the foot of the most formidable-looking problem on the ridge – a rock step some forty feet [12 m] high. We had known of the existence of this step from aerial photographs, and had also seen it through our binoculars from Thyangboche. We realised that at this altitude it might well spell the difference between success and failure. The rock itself, smooth and almost holdless, might have been an interesting Sunday afternoon problem for a group of expert rock climbers in the Lake District, but here it was a barrier beyond our feeble strength to overcome. I could see no way of turning it on the steep rock bluff on the west, but fortunately another possibility of tackling it still remained. On its east side was another great cornice, and running up the full forty feet [12 m] of the step was a narrow crack between the cornice and the rock. Leaving Tenzing to belay me as best he could, I jammed my way into this crack, then kicking backwards with my crampons I sank their spikes deep into the frozen snow behind me and levered myself off the ground. Taking advantage of every little rock hold and all the force of knee, shoulder and arms I could muster, I literally cramponed backwards up the crack, with a fervent prayer that the cornice would remain attached to the rock. Despite the considerable effort involved, my progress although slow was steady, and as Tenzing paid out the rope I inched my way upwards until I could finally reach over the top of the rock and drag myself out of the crack on to a wide ledge. For a few moments I lay regaining my breath and for the first time really felt the fierce determination that nothing now could stop us from reaching the top. I took a firm stand on the ledge and signalled to Tenzing to come on up. As I heaved hard on the rope Tenzing wriggled his way up the crack and finally collapsed exhausted at the top.

In more recent years, the ascent and descent over the Step were generally made with the assistance of fixed ropes, usually placed there by the first ascending team of the season. In a good climbing situation, it was about a two-hour climb from the South Summit to the Hillary Step, one to two hours to climb the cliff, and then another 20 minutes from the top of the Hillary Step to the summit of Mount Everest.{{cite book |last=Hamill |first=Mike |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fiSgyRhsUrgC&q=hillary+step&pg=PA92 |title=Climbing the Seven Summits: A Comprehensive Guide to the Continents' Highest Peaks |date=4 May 2012 |publisher=The Mountaineers Books |isbn=9781594856495 |access-date=22 May 2017 |via=Google Books}} Only one climber at a time could traverse it. With increasing numbers of people climbing the mountain, the Step frequently became a bottleneck, with climbers forced to wait for their turn on the ropes and thereby slowing the flow of people up and down the mountain.

Before 2015, the {{clarification needed span|text=descending sequence along Everest's southeast ridge was:|reason=First, how is this any different than previous (with the Step just being shorter)? Second, how is it different (and more logically put if so) than the ascending sequence?|date=February 2024}}

• Summit of Everest
• Final slope to summit
• Hillary Step {{convert|40|ft|m|0|order=flip|adj=on}} rock cliff
• Cornice traverse (knife-edge ridge)
• South Summit of Everest
• The Balcony ({{convert|27500|ft|m|order=flip|adj=on}}){{cite web |author=Leo and jack |date=25 May 2016 |title=Did Everest's Hillary Step collapse in the Nepal earthquake? |url=http://www.markhorrell.com/blog/2016/did-everests-hillary-step-collapse-in-the-nepal-earthquake/ |access-date=26 May 2017 |website=MarkHorrell.com}}

It was suspected in 2016 that the April 2015 Nepal earthquake had altered the Hillary Step, but there was so much snow it was not clear whether it had truly changed.{{Cite news|url=http://www.markhorrell.com/blog/2016/did-everests-hillary-step-collapse-in-the-nepal-earthquake/|title=Did Everest's Hillary Step collapse in the Nepal earthquake?|date=25 May 2016|work=Mark Horrell|access-date=19 May 2017|language=en-GB}}'I honestly couldn't recognise it' – the Hillary Step has changed. [http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/83325986/I-honestly-couldn-t-recognise-it-the-Hillary-Step-has-changed Stuff August 19, 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016]. Kenton Cool wrote that the Hillary Step "is only 12 to 15 feet [3.7 to 4.6 m] high."{{cite book |last= Cool |first= Kenton |title= One Man's Everest |year= 2015 |publisher= Preface (Penguin Random House) |location= London |isbn= 9781848094482 |page=120 }} In May 2017, Tim Mosedale and other climbers reported that "the Hillary Step is no more", although the full extent and interpretation of the changes were still nascent.{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/timmosedale/status/866318646620172289|title=Tim Mosedale on Twitter|work=Twitter|access-date=22 May 2017}}{{Cite web|url=http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11695931|title=Mt Everest's Hillary Step potentially collapsed in earthquake|last=Herald|first=New Zealand|website=m.nzherald.co.nz|access-date=19 May 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/everest-hillary-step-collapsed.html|title=Everest Hillary Step collapsed|work=PlanetMountain.com|access-date=19 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2017/05/17/everest-2017-teams-prepare-for-huge-summit-push/|title=Summit Without the Hillary Step!|website=AlanArnette.com|access-date=22 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2017/05/mt-everest-s-hillary-step-destroyed.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520080209/http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2017/05/mt-everest-s-hillary-step-destroyed.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 May 2017|title=Mt Everest's Hillary Step destroyed|publisher=Newshub|date=20 May 2017}}{{Cite web | last=Lyons | first=Kate | date=21 May 2017 | title=Mount Everest's Hillary Step has collapsed, mountaineer confirms| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/21/part-of-mount-everest-has-collapsed-mountaineers-confirm | website=TheGuardian.com | access-date=22 May 2017 | quote=Mosedale, who reached Everest’s summit for the sixth time on 16 May, posted a photograph of what remains of the Hillary Step when he returned to base camp. It shows the topography has changed significantly compared with photographs taken a few years ago.}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39997548|title=Everest's Hillary Step: Has it gone or not?|date=22 May 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=22 May 2017|language=en-GB}} Another climber who thought the Step changed by 2016 was six-time Everest summiter David Liaño Gonzalez,{{cite web|url=http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2017/05/17/everest-2017-teams-prepare-for-huge-summit-push/|title=Everest 2017: Teams Prepare for Huge Summit Push - The Blog on alanarnette.com|date=17 May 2017|website=AlanArnette.com|access-date=26 May 2017}} who summited in 2013 and 2016, when the relevant changes are reported to have occurred.{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Nepal/Rush-for-Everest-glory-records-begin/Article1-1062798.aspx |title=Rush for Everest glory, records begin |work=The Hindustan Times |date=May 20, 2013 |access-date=20 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522141024/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Nepal/Rush-for-Everest-glory-records-begin/Article1-1062798.aspx |archive-date=2013-05-22 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/1st-foreign-climbers-scale-everest-in-2-years/|title=2 Brits, Mexican are 1st foreigners on Everest in 2 years|date=11 May 2016|website=SeattleTimes.com|access-date=26 May 2017}} However, some important Nepalese climbers, including Ang Tshering Sherpa, chairman of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, reported that the Step was still intact but covered in more snow than before.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/23/mount-everests-hillary-step-is-still-there-say-nepalese-climbers |title=Mount Everest's Hillary Step is still there, say Nepalese climbers |date=May 23, 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=May 24, 2017 }}{{cite web | last=Gurubacharya | first=Binaj | date=23 May 2017 | title=Nepali climbers say outcrop near top of Everest is intact | url=https://apnews.com/399fe065f3724a529b616b9198baa135/Nepali-climbers-say-outcrop-near-top-of-Everest-is-intact | website=APNews.com | access-date=26 May 2017 }} Later in the year, after seeing a large exhibition of photos from 2006 to 2016, he did agree that at least the upper portion of the step had indeed changed.{{Cite web |last=Shrestha |first=Sangita |title=Rangdu’s photo exhibit reveals truth about Hillary Step |url=http://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/23434/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216232938/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/mycity/news/rangdus-photo-exhibit-reveals-truth-about-hillary-step |archive-date=2020-12-16 |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=My City}}

Peter Hillary, Edmund Hillary's son, was asked his opinion about the Step based on photos.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/93001131/mount-everests-hillary-step-is-missing-a-large-block-but-is-still-there-mountaineers-son-says|title=Mount Everest's Hillary Step is missing a 'large block' but is still there, mountaineer's son says|website=Stuff|access-date=26 May 2017}} He agreed it was there in part, but seemed to think it had undergone some sort of a change, noting especially what looked like a fresh broken rock. By early June 2017, more reports and photographic evidence came in, with Garrett Madison reporting that the step had conclusively changed.{{Cite news|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2191911/american-climbers-confirm-hillary-step-gone|title=American Climbers Confirm the Hillary Step Is Gone|last=Bouchard|first=Jay|date=2017-06-12|work=Outside Online|access-date=2017-06-14}} Dave Hahn, who has climbed Everest 15 times, was shown photos and agreed that it was changed. A special kind of mourning hit the community with realization of missing rocks and freshly hewn scars of new coloured rock at this landmark feature. Hahn noted how it was a great tribute to Hillary and Tenzing and he thought of them whenever he scrambled over it.

Later in 2017, mountaineering guide and trained photographer Lhakpa Rangdu mounted a photo exhibition at the Nepal Tourism Board showing how the Hillary Step area had changed. Rangdu has climbed Everest multiple times since 2005, including before and after the big Nepal earthquake. The combination of these skills—high-altitude photography and mountaineering—allowed him to provide a photographic history of the Hillary Step, and he has said that it is indeed gone.

• 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition
• Hillary Montes (Also named after Edmund Hillary)
• Hillary Peak
• Aiguille du Dru (2005 rock-fall ended climbing of Bonatti route)
• Aoraki / Mount Cook (2013 rock-fall shortened mountain)
• Three Steps

{{Commons category}}

• [https://www.panoramio.com/photo/8021970 Link to a picture of the Hillary Step feature] (circa 2008)
• [https://brooksrange.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/the-risks-of-high-altitude-climbing/ Part way down is picture from on it looking up]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aigf5Eb9ReA Helmet cam near step at around 1:30]

{{Mount Everest}}

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Category:Mount Everest

Category:2015 Nepal earthquakes

Category:Edmund Hillary