Introduction

Imagine yourself high on Mount Everest, just steps away from the very top of the world. The air is thin and each breath is hard. In front of you rises a steep, narrow rock wall covered in snow and ice. 

This is the legendary Hillary Step, a famous rocky cliff near Everest’s summit. For many years it was the final big obstacle that climbers had to overcome before reaching the peak of Mount Everest. Hillary Step at an altitude of about 8,790 meters (28,839 ft) above sea level – that’s almost as high as planes fly! 

At this extreme height, often called the “death zone,” there is so little oxygen that climbers can barely breathe. The Hillary Step’s story is filled with adventure and challenge, and it has become a legend in mountaineering.

Climbers ascending the Hillary Step on Mount Everest’s southeast ridge (photo taken before 2015). This nearly vertical rock face was the final major obstacle on the way to the summit, located at around 8,790 m in the thin-air “death zone”. 

Only one climber at a time could scale this section, often leading to bottlenecks near the top of the world. The daunting slope seen in the picture had to be conquered by all who wished to stand on Everest’s summit.

Why is it called the Hillary Step?

The Hillary Step is named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person (along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay) to successfully reach Mount Everest’s summit. In 1953, during the first successful Everest climb, Hillary encountered this steep rock face blocking the final path to the top. 

He managed to find a way up by clambering through a narrow gap between the rock and the snow cornice. Since Edmund Hillary was the first to climb this intimidating step, later climbers named it in his honor.

Can you imagine being the first person ever to stand there, cutting footsteps into ice at the edge of the sky? It must have taken a lot of courage and determination. Thanks to Hillary’s pioneering ascent on May 29, 1953, this spot earned the name “Hillary Step” as a tribute to his achievement.

Why is Hillary Step famous?

The Hillary Step became famous as a legendary gateway to Everest’s summit. For decades, any climber attempting Everest from the Nepal side knew they would have to face this hurdle. It was the last test of skill and nerve in an Everest climb. 

In many expedition stories and documentaries, climbers described reaching the Hillary Step as a make-or-break moment. The Step was only wide enough for one person at a time, with a huge drop on either side, so climbers often had to wait in line here even as wind and cold battered them. 

Imagine having to stand in the freezing “death zone” waiting your turn to climb a 40-foot rock wall! In fact, traffic jams formed at the Hillary Step in some seasons, as dozens of climbers all tried to go up or down this section one by one. 

This led to famous photographs of long queues near the summit. Every Everest climber who came this way touched the Hillary Step, making it a part of mountaineering lore. It was known as the place that separated the dreamers from those who actually made it to the top.

Why is the Hillary Step so dangerous?

Climbing the Hillary Step was extremely dangerous, even for expert mountaineers. Here are a few reasons why this spot was so feared:

• Steep and technical: The Hillary Step was a ~12 meter (40 ft) near-vertical rock wall at an altitude where bodies are weak. Clinging to rock and ice at that height is like climbing a giant frozen ladder on top of the world. One small slip could send a climber tumbling thousands of feet down.
   

• Icy and exposed: The rock could be coated in ice and snow, and on one side there was a sheer drop down Everest’s southwest face. On the other side was a steep cornice of snow hanging over the Kangshung face. Climbers had to be very careful with each step and handhold. There’s no room for error when you’re balancing on a ridge only a few feet wide!
   

• Low oxygen: The Hillary Step lies in the “death zone” above 8,000 m, where there isn’t enough oxygen for humans to survive for long. At this altitude, people become weak and dizzy much faster. Even with bottled oxygen, every movement on the Step is exhausting, and thinking clearly is hard.
   

• Weather and cold: The weather near Everest’s summit can change in minutes. Climbers on the Hillary Step are fully exposed to strong winds and freezing temperatures. If a storm suddenly blows in, it becomes incredibly dangerous to stay there.
   

• Traffic jams: Only one person at a time could go up or down the Hillary Step because it was so narrow. This often created a line of climbers waiting. These traffic jams forced people to spend more time in the deadly altitude, using up precious oxygen and energy. Waiting for a slow climber above you or letting others descend could take hours, and some climbers have collapsed due to cold and fatigue while waiting.
   

All these factors made the Hillary Step a place where climbers had to be extremely cautious. Sadly, some people did not make it past this point. Did you know over 300 people have died trying to reach the summit of Everest? Many of those tragedies were caused by falls, exhaustion, or altitude sickness in places like the Hillary Step. This single rocky hurdle earned a reputation as one of the most treacherous parts of the climb. It demanded strength, skill, and a bit of luck from anyone who dared to climb it.

How difficult is the Hillary Step?

Climbers considered the Hillary Step one of the most difficult sections of the South Col route up Everest. In mountaineering terms, it was rated about a “Class 4” in climbing difficulty. (On a climbing scale, Class 4 means a very steep climb where you must use your hands and feet, and a fall could be fatal – basically, you must use a rope for safety.)

For someone who isn’t a climber, you can think of it this way: It’s like climbing up a nearly vertical ladder of rock and ice at an altitude where just breathing is a struggle. Imagine trying to climb a ladder when you’re so high that the oxygen is only one-third of what you get at sea level! Each step on that ladder in the sky would feel incredibly hard. 

One expedition described climbing the Hillary Step as “strenuous” – you have to pull yourself up with freezing fingers, and there’s no place to rest or escape the weather. The temperature can be far below zero, and the wind can be strong enough to literally knock you off balance.

Despite all this, climbers did manage it for years using fixed ropes and a lot of teamwork. They would attach their harness to a rope anchored on the Step and carefully haul themselves up. It often took only a few minutes to climb in good conditions, but those minutes felt like an eternity. In short, the Hillary Step demanded technical skill and mental toughness. It was a bit like an exam right before the summit – if you could pass the Hillary Step, you were ready to stand on top of Everest.

Does Hillary Step still exist on Mount Everest?

Many people ask if the Hillary Step is still there today. The answer is yes and no – the place is there, but the famous rock face isn’t the same anymore. In April 2015, a huge earthquake struck Nepal and shook Mount Everest. After that, climbers noticed something different near the top of the mountain. When Everest expeditions resumed, the Hillary Step area looked altered. In 2016 it was hard to tell because heavy snow covered the spot. But by May 2017, photos and climber reports revealed that the Hillary Step had changed dramatically. The once steep rock wall appeared to have collapsed or crumbled, leaving a snowy slope in its place.

So, the Hillary Step as it was known – that vertical rock cliff – no longer exists in its original form. Instead, climbers now see a gentler incline filled with snow and some broken rocks where the Step used to be. 

Some people say this has made that part of the climb a little easier because you can walk up the snow rather than climb a rock wall. Others aren’t so sure – they worry that the new slope could be unstable or prone to avalanches. Climbers in recent years still have to be very careful in this section, even if it’s not the same rock climb.

If you stood there today, you might not recognize it compared to older photos. But it’s still the same spot on the ridge, just below the summit. It’s as if Mount Everest decided to “remove” that step, possibly making the final climb slightly less technical but still challenging in bad weather. Would you be brave enough to climb it today, knowing how it has changed? The spirit of the Hillary Step lives on, reminding us that even mountains can change over time.

Has the Hillary Step collapsed?

Yes – according to most experts, the Hillary Step collapsed during the 2015 earthquake. In May 2017, British mountaineer Tim Mosedale was one of the first to confirm the news, saying “the Hillary Step is no more.” He saw that the iconic rock feature had fallen away, and he even shared photographs showing a big change in the mountain’s shape near the top. 

Other climbers and guides soon agreed that the Hillary Step was essentially gone. The jagged rock that had been a hurdle for so many years was replaced by a jumble of broken rock and snow.

However, at first there was some debate and confusion. A few officials and Sherpa guides in Nepal suggested that maybe the Hillary Step hadn’t entirely collapsed but was just covered in more snow than usual. They noted that heavy snow can sometimes make it hard to see the underlying rock. 

But as more teams reached the summit in 2017 and 2018, the consensus grew that the original Hillary Step had truly been destroyed. Well-known Everest climbers like Dave Hahn (who has summited 15 times) looked at the evidence and agreed the Hillary Step was gone.

The mountaineering community felt a bit of sadness at this news – the Hillary Step was a piece of climbing history. Some called it “the end of an era” for Everest climbing. Yet, safety comes first, and many also wondered how the collapse would affect future climbs. 

Would it be easier, or would new dangers emerge? In the years after, climbers reported that without the Step, there’s a path that might be slightly less technical, but it can develop a big cornice (overhanging snow) and still bottleneck traffic. So, even collapsed, the Hillary Step’s spot continues to be a challenge.

In summary, the Hillary Step did collapse (broke apart) due to the earthquake’s force. What remains is different, but climbers will forever remember the original Step that Sir Edmund Hillary climbed. It’s a reminder that even mighty Everest is not unchanging – nature can alter the route in the blink of an eye.

Who tried to climb Everest before Hillary?

Mount Everest was a magnet for adventurers long before Edmund Hillary’s time. In the 1920s, several brave climbers attempted to reach the summit, even though they had far less advanced gear and no one knew if it was even possible to survive that high. 

The most famous early climbers were George Mallory and Andrew “Sandy” Irvine. In 1924, Mallory and Irvine set off on an expedition to conquer Everest – nearly 30 years before Hillary’s successful climb. 

On June 8, 1924, another team member saw them high on the mountain, “two small black dots” climbing upward, very close to the summit. Then clouds and mist rolled in, and Mallory and Irvine disappeared from sight. They never returned to camp, and a nation mourned their loss.

For many decades, nobody knew what exactly happened to Mallory and Irvine. Did they actually reach the summit before perishing on the way down? It’s a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. 

Mallory’s frozen body was finally found on Everest in 1999, still high on the mountain. He didn’t carry a proof of reaching the top (like a photograph on the summit), so we still don’t know if he made it. Irvine’s body (and a possibly camera that could hold clues) has never been found.

Aside from Mallory and Irvine, other climbers in the 1920s and 1930s also tried to scale Everest – mostly British-led expeditions, since Nepal and Tibet (the countries on either side of Everest) were closed to foreigners for a long time. 

These early pioneers climbed in heavy wool clothes and without modern oxygen equipment. Many turned back due to bad weather or ran out of strength. It wasn’t until 1953 that Hillary and Tenzing finally succeeded. But we always wonder about Mallory and Irvine: Did they stand on the roof of the world first? We still don’t know for sure, and that mystery is part of Everest’s lore.

Hillary Step to Summit Distance

Once a climber gets past the Hillary Step, the goal is almost within reach. From the top of the Hillary Step to the summit of Everest is only about 60 meters (around 200 feet) along the ridge. 

Sixty meters – that’s shorter than a soccer field, a distance you could run in under 10 seconds on flat ground. It sounds like nothing at all, especially after a journey of thousands of meters. But at the top of Everest, that final 60 m can feel like a lifetime.

When Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay finished climbing the Step in 1953, they still had to traverse this last stretch of ridge to reach the true summit. Hillary described it as walking up a gentle snow slope that in normal conditions would be easy, but at extreme altitude every few steps he had to stop to breathe. 

Modern climbers report the same thing: you can see the prayer flags and the small mound marking the highest point on Earth, almost close enough to touch, yet those last steps are the hardest of all.

The ridge from the Hillary Step to the summit is usually windswept and narrow. On one side is Nepal, on the other side is Tibet (China). Climbers carefully put one foot in front of the other, knowing that any misstep could be fatal. 

The short distance is deceiving – after hours of climbing through the night, using every ounce of energy to get up the Step, that 60 m feels incredibly long. Every breath is heavy. Your legs feel like they weigh a ton. 

Some climbers say each step here might take 10 seconds or more. It may be short, but it can feel like an entire lifetime to reach the summit from the Hillary Step. And yet, those who make it often say that final push is the most memorable 60 meters of their lives, because at the end of it comes the ultimate reward – standing on the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth.

Hillary Step Dead Body Name

Mount Everest is not only the highest mountain; it is also a grave for many climbers who never made it down. Over the years, more than 300 climbers have died on Everest, and around 200 of their bodies are still on the mountain – preserved in the cold, high altitude. 

It’s a sad and morbid reality that on popular routes, climbers pass by the remains of those who perished. These bodies often become landmarks because removing them is too dangerous or impossible. They are usually left where they fell, as a permanent part of Everest’s landscape.

One of the most famous examples is “Green Boots.” Green Boots is the nickname given to the body of a climber who died near a cave on Everest’s northeast ridge. For nearly 20 years, anyone climbing from the north side would see this body curled up in the limestone alcove, still wearing bright green mountaineering boots. It became a grim marker on the route – a reminder of the mountain’s danger. (It’s believed Green Boots was an Indian climber who died in 1996, but the nickname is used because of the neon boots, and out of respect many avoid using his real name). In 2014, Green Boots’ body was moved out of sight, but by then it was part of Everest lore.

So, is there a famous dead body at the Hillary Step? Not exactly. The Hillary Step is very close to the summit, and it’s so high and exposed that most bodies in that area tend to slide off down the slopes or are covered by snow over time. 

There isn’t a well-known named body right at the Hillary Step itself. However, just a little below the Step and around the South Summit area, climbers have indeed seen bodies along the route. For instance, there have been reports of a figure nicknamed “Sleeping Beauty” or “The Rainbow Valley” (an area just below the summit where colorful jackets of fallen climbers are sometimes visible). 

These aren’t at the Step, but they are near the top. Another is the so-called “Saluting Man” near the South Summit, which is on the same ridge; this was a climber whose body appeared to be amazingly preserved in a standing (or saluting) position. Each of these macabre sights underscores how unforgiving Everest can be.

It’s important to talk about this topic with respect. Each “landmark” body was a person – a brave soul who loved climbing and had families and stories of their own. The reason the bodies are left there is that bringing a body down from such altitude is incredibly dangerous for the living. It can take a whole team and put many more lives at risk. Thus, they remain, and climbers treat them with reverence.

So while the Hillary Step doesn’t have a specific famous dead body named after it, the legacy of loss on Everest is ever-present, even near the summit. About 200 bodies still lie on Everest’s slopes, silently reminding everyone who climbs past that the mountain must be respected. 

“Green Boots” is one such reminder on the north side. On the south side (where the Hillary Step is), climbers know they are in the company of those who came before – some who succeeded and some who paid the ultimate price. It’s a sobering thought that even as you chase a great dream, you are surrounded by the history of what can go wrong. Mountaineers use these reminders to stay cautious and humble in the face of nature’s power.

Conclusion

The Hillary Step has been a defining feature of Mount Everest’s story – a place of challenge, triumph, and sometimes tragedy. Even though the physical Step collapsed and changed, its legacy lives on in the hearts of climbers. It symbolizes the final push, the moment when a climber must summon every ounce of courage to achieve a dream. Every person who has stood on Everest’s summit has had to confront their fears and exhaustion in that spot, whether it was climbing the old rock Hillary Step or the new snowy slope.

As you’ve learned, the Hillary Step was more than just a chunk of rock; it was a legendary gateway to the top of the world. It got its name from a hero who showed us that even the toughest problems can be overcome. 

It became famous because it tested the bravery of all who dared to pass. It was dangerous and difficult, demanding respect – and it still is, even in its altered form. The tales of earlier climbers like Mallory, and the somber presence of those who never returned, all add to the aura of this spot.

Standing there, with only 60 meters to go, a climber feels both the weight of history and the pull of the summit. Sir Edmund Hillary once faced that challenge and opened the door for thousands of others to follow. 

Now, would you climb the Hillary Step if you had the chance? It’s a question that stirs the imagination. For many, just reading about it is awe-inspiring. For the few who answer “yes” and actually go, it takes incredible preparation and guts. Whether you are an armchair adventurer or a future Everest climber, the story of the Hillary Step can inspire you to push beyond your limits (with perhaps a bit more safety!).

In the end, the Hillary Step reminds us of the courage of climbers and the majestic, unyielding nature of Mount Everest. It teaches us about dreaming big, respecting nature’s dangers, and remembering those who paved the way. The next time you think of Everest, remember the Hillary Step – a small place with a big story, perched high in the sky, where ordinary people achieved something extraordinary. And ask yourself: if you were up there in that thin air, would you take that next step?

FAQs About the Hillary Step

1. What is the Hillary Step?
It was a steep 12-meter rock wall near the summit of Mount Everest, once considered the final big obstacle before the top.

2. Why is it called the Hillary Step?
Named after Sir Edmund Hillary, who was the first to climb it during the 1953 first successful ascent of Everest.

3. Where is the Hillary Step located?
On the southeast ridge of Everest, at around 8,790 meters (28,839 ft)—just below the summit.

4. Is the Hillary Step still there?
No, it collapsed during the 2015 Nepal earthquake. It has now become a snow slope with scattered rocks.

5. Why was the Hillary Step so dangerous?
It was steep, narrow, icy, and in the “death zone” with low oxygen. Many climbers waited in long queues here.

6. How far is the Hillary Step from Everest’s summit?
Just about 60 meters (200 feet)—but in extreme altitude, those are the toughest 60 meters!

7. Is the climb easier now without the Hillary Step?
Some say yes because it’s less technical, but others warn the new slope may be unstable or cause bottlenecks.

8. Did anyone die at the Hillary Step?
Yes, but there's no specific famous body at the Step. Over 300 climbers have died on Everest overall.

9. What climbing grade was the Hillary Step?
It was rated about Class 4 rock climbing—steep and dangerous, needing ropes and skill.

10. Who tried Everest before Hillary?
Climbers like George Mallory and Andrew Irvine tried in the 1920s. Some believe they might’ve reached the top before disappearing.