Sherpa Kin Among 54 on Everest

It got crowded in the so-called Death Zone on Mt. Everest on Thursday, as a record 54 people stood atop the world’s highest peak--including a grandson of one of the first two men to conquer it in 1953. The son of the other was headed for the summit on a slower route.

Basking in rare, fine weather was Tashi Wangchuk Tenzing, whose Sherpa grandfather, Tenzing Norgay, made history when he and New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary made it to the summit 49 years ago.

Still ascending in a separate expedition was Peter Hillary, who is retracing his father’s route with a National Geographic film crew.

The two men had hoped to meet on the roof of the world--29,035 feet above sea level--to begin a year of celebrations ahead of the 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent, May 29, 1953. However, Peter Hillary’s route was slower and he was not among those who made it to the top Thursday. Climbers cannot stay at the summit for long, and by nightfall Tashi Wangchuk Tenzing was on his way back down.

Both men have climbed the mountain previously--Tenzing in 1997 and Hillary in 1990.

Tenzing Norgay died in 1986, and the elder Hillary still lives in New Zealand.