Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, was named after Sir George Everest, who was the surveyor-general of India and the first to produce detailed maps of the Indian subcontinent including the Himalayas. Exactly sixty years ago, in 1953, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary were the first to reach the summit of the "Holy Mother", as the Tibetans call the eight-thousander.

After an exhausting climb up the southern face, Norgay and Hillary reached the Everest’s top at 11:30 local time. It is reported that they stayed for only 15 minutes because they were low on oxygen, but used the time to take several photos and give a Buddhist offering to the gods, before beginning their slow descent to join their team leader Colonel John Hunt further down the mountain.

The photo on the left shows Sir Tensing and Sherpa Norgay in 1971 in Wellington, New Zealand.

If you always dreamed of conquering Mount Everest yourself or have already done so, join the Mount Everest group and share your photos and experiences with the Flickrverse.

Photos from Thùy .., TomGay81, viiny, and the National Library of New Zealand. Discover more breathtaking photos of Mount Everest in our photo search.