On May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary successfully reached the summit of Mt Everest. Most are familiar with the iconic photo from atop Everest with his ice-ax held high flying the colors of Britain, Nepal, India and the United Nations.
Except, Sir Edmund Hillary was the photographer and the photograph is of his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay. Earlier in 1953, Norgay took part in an expedition led by John Hunt. A member of Hunt’s team was Edmund Hillary who had a near-miss with death following a fall into a crevasse but, he was saved from hitting the bottom by Norgay’s prompt action in securing the rope using his ice ax. This led Hillary to consider him the climbing partner of choice for any future summit attempt.