Siliguri (West Bengal): Rich tributes were paid to legendary mountaineers Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary on the 63rd International Everest Day in West Bengal on Sunday.
International Everest Day is observed to mark the conquest of the world’s highest mountain by Norgay and Hillary in 1953.
On the occasion, Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF), a voluntary organization, remembered the valour of the two climbers.
“We support and promote adventure sports on Everest Day. We want all adventure sports lovers to make this day special. To know the unknown, to reach the place where nobody has ever been, to conquer the unknown were some of the qualities in Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary,” said Secretary, HNAF, Shankar Chakraborty.
Everest has been climbed by over 7,300 people since 1953 when Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary made their pioneering ascent.
At least 18 people died a year ago when an earthquake sent a massive snow slide careening into Base Camp, while an avalanche in the treacherous Khumbu Icefall killed 16 guides in 2014. The back-to-back tragedies had halted climbing on Everest.
This year’s Everest campaign has been hit by high winds on some days when climbers had been counting on the weather ‘window’ to open to make their summit bids before the monsoon sweeps in next month.
An Indian climber has already died while two more are missing from last week who were descending from Mount Everest. (ANI)