FLAGS ATOP MOUNT EVEREST

National Flags Atop Mt. Everest

Tenzing Norgay holds his ice-axe aloft Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) bearing flags of the United Nations, Great Britain, Nepal and India for the first time on 29 May 1953, signaling the Conquest of Mt. Everest.  Edmond Hillary took this photograph using a Kodak Retina compact camera loaded with Kodachrome colour film.

In the spring of 1953, the ninth British Everest Expedition led by Col. John Hunt made the first ascent of the summit of  Mt. Everest on 29 May 1953 with its two members, Tenzing Norgay - a Nepalese born Indian from Darjeeling and Edmond Hillary - a New Zealander.

 The Indian National flag that was flown for the first time on the Mt. Everest on 29th May 1953 is now preserved in the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum , New Delhi.

 

Tenzing Norgay "The Conqurer of the Earth", stamp released from North Korea in 1980

25th anniversary of the Conquest of Mt Everest 

 40th anniversary of the Conquest of Mt Everest 

 50th. Anniversary Year of Conquest of Mt. Everest
Special post-mark issued from Darjeeling on 29 May 2004  

50th anniversary of the conquest of Mt. Everest.

 The Mt. Everest (Tibetan: ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ, Chomolungma^[ or Qomolangma /ˈtʃoʊmoʊˌlɑːŋmə/ CHOH-moh-LAHNG-mə, "Holy Mother"; Chinese: 珠穆朗玛峰; Pinyin: Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng; Nepali: सगरमाथा, Sagarmāthā) is the earth's highest mountain, with a peak at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level. (source ; Wikipedia)

 Marshal Islands commemorates their achievements considered far beyond personal ones – but an achievement of the entire humankind. 

Nepal 1963 Everest Fiscal stamps

 While Sherpas of Nepalese origin retained their dominance on Mt. Everest, after them, Americans, British and Indians had the highest number of summiteers on the Everest. 
 

1924 British Mount Everest Expedition led by Lieut. Col. Norton. The Label showing Mt. Everest with base camp with marginal inscriptions  TIBET - NEPAL - SIKKIM and with Swastika in the four corners symbilising good luck for the expedition. The stamps were used on mail from base camp to nearest Indian P.O.

In fact, Indians have emerged as the third highest conquerors of Mt Everest among foreign climbers. successfully climbing the world's highest peak.
 The Indian Mt. Everest Expedition -1965. Nine men reached the 29,028 ft.  high summit of the Everest in four successive  attempts in May 1965

 The stamp shows Capt. Aluwallia and Phu Dorji on the summit of Mt. Everest on 29 May 1965. The facsimile of the picture was taken by one of the summit parties. The photo was taken at 10.30 a.m. when a high speed westerly wind of over 75 km per hour made the Tri-colour flutter against the deep blue sky.
Indian Army added another feather to its cap in May 2001, when its mountaineers successfully scaled Mt. Everest and put a record eight members and seven Sherpas on the summit.

 The FDC depicts ‘The dreaded Khambu Icefall’ in the background, along with a photograph of jubilant summiteers of the Indian Army Expedition 2001, atop Mount Everest in May, 2001.

 

 Several countries came out with beautiful stamps to announce and record the success of their mountaineers' great achievements.

 The illustrations above are not a comprehensive and complete one.

 Some exhibit frames depicting Flags atop Himalayan peaks in the "FLAGS - Short Hand of History" - exhibition on the Indian National flag presented by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), curated by Sekhar Chakrabarti, in August 2014 at Kolkata (Calcutta).