Hillary, 1953. From the Royal Geographic Society.

Luggage: Edmund Hillary

 Sherpas, Everest, lemonade, forged steel ice axe, oxygen equipment
 

On May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary made history as the first person (his guide Tenzing Norgay followed right behind) to ascend the summit of Mount Everest. The journey was a perilous one, battling relentless subzero winds and harsh conditions. It took the combined efforts and assistance of over 400 people, including 20 Nepalese Sherpa guides, 362 porters, and 10,000 pounds of baggage and equipment.

Hillary and a fellow climber on the way to the summit of Mount Everest.
From the Royal Geographic Society.

The endeavor took more than three months, with each climber estimated to be bearing 44 pounds of weight in gear. Hillary, Norgay and their team hauled climbing gear, sleeping bags, extra clothing and boots, a tent, radios (much bigger than today’s compact versions), journals, and a camera. Food provisions consisted of tinned fish, apricots, lemonade, and chicken noodle soup.One of the heaviest pieces was Hillary’s custom ice axe, handmade in France, out of forged steel and a European ash wood handle. Modern axes weigh less than a pound and would be about a foot shorter than Hillary’s.

Hillary (right) and Norgay enjoy a cup of tea after ascending Mount Everest.
From the Royal Geographic Society.

Also necessary was oxygen equipment, back then a type of closed circuit system by which the climbers received one hundred percent oxygen from a cylinder, and an open circuit in which a portion of air, as well as pure oxygen, were absorbed. The breathing mechanism had to be carried on the climbers’ back at higher altitudes, adding more weight to their already overloaded packs. Perseverance, determination, and a fair bit of brute strength helped put this heavy expedition in the record books.

—Andrea Bolt