Sherpas Protested Everest Expedition Disrespect

In March 1953, Britain's expedition led by army officer John Hunt gathered in Kathmandu before attempting the first confirmed ascent of Mount Everest. British ambassador Christopher Summerhayes arranged rooms with embassy staff for the climbers, but the Sherpas had to sleep on the British Embassy's garage floor after officials offered only Tenzing Norgay a bed. Angered by the disrespect, the Sherpas lined up and urinated in front of the embassy the following day. The expedition later succeeded when Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary reached the summit on May 29, 1953.

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