A miniature sheet consisting of 1 no. of postage stamp on the Golden Jubilee of the First Ascent of Mount Everest by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary :

Issued by India

Issued on May 29, 2003

Issued for : The Department of Posts is proud to issue a postage stamp to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the ascent of Mount Everest.

Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Kamleshwar Singh
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Miniature Sheet, Mint Condition

Colour : Four Colour

Denomination : 1500 Paise

Overall size : 2.82 x 5.25 cms.

Printing size : 2.82 x 5.25 cms.

Perforation : 13.5 x 13.5

Paper : Matt Chromo

Quantity Printed :
Stamps : 0.1 million sheetlets
Miniature Sheet : 0.1 million

Number per issue sheetlet : 12

Printing Process : Photo Offset

Printer : Calcutta Security Printers Ltd.

About : 

• Mountaineering is essentially a modern sport that emerged into its own as late as the 18^th century. The initial thrust was mostly from Britain; but in the late 19^th century, the interest spread to France, Switzerland, the United States, New Zealand and other countries. The 1786 conquest of the Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe, created ripples. Thereafter, many a challenging peak of the Alps, the Andes, and the Rockies fell to gritty climbers, whose assaults of the mountains were becoming increasingly methodical and planned.
• The awesome majesty of the snow-capped summits of the Himalayas always held a strange allure to the people of India, Nepal and Tibet. It was natural that the eyes of the mountaineers also turned to their sky-challenging heights. As the 20^th century wore on, many expeditions were launched in the Himalayas and many of its peaks fell to ambitious explorers. But the tallest of them all, Mount Everest, stood undefeated at an incredible height of 8,848 metres. The peak was not only high, but also dangerous, as brought home by the lives that were lost in its pursuit. It was the expedition of 1953 led by Colonel John Hunt, a British army officer that finally succeeded in reaching the summit. The two members of the team who would ascend the peak make the whole world proud were Tenzing Norgay, a determined Sherpa mountaineer who hailed from Tami in Nepal and Edmund Hillary, a tough and amiable apiarist-turned climber from New Zealand.
• The route chosen lay-up the Khumbu Glacier and then up to long, rising valley of the Western Cwm to the face of Lhotse, a formidable peak itself, and up that to the South Col, at roughly 7.925m. Then a steep climb would lead up the South-East Ridge to the South Summit of the mountain, from which they hoped to gain the final summit. Tenzing and Hillary were strong and determined climbers with a cheerful disposition and certain ruthlessness. With their tough mental frame and incredible physical stamina, they progressed along the arduous climb, overcoming the treacherous terrain and fierce gusts of icy wind. Finally, on the 29^th of May, at 11:30 AM, they found themselves standing on the highest spot on earth.
• The ascent of the Everest created world-wide sensation. Even today, after 50 years of the event, mankind looks back with pride at that momentous achievement. The courage, determination and restless energy of Tenzing and Hillary represents the obsessive curiosity of mankind to look beyond the known and search into the unknown. It is this quest that has driven humanity to progress, from one generation to the next.
• Text : P.N. Ranjit Kumar (Based on material received from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, New Delhi).

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