Mount Everest: Timeline, Maps

— -- It took 29 years from the first documented attempt to scale Mount Everest until humans successfully reached the top. Here are some maps and notable dates of the world's most famous mountain.

1841: Here it IsSir George Everest, a noted surveyor of India who made countless adaptations to methods and equipment for measuring terrain, records the mountain's exact location. In 1859 the mountain is named after him.

1924: 'Because It Is There' On the morning of June 8, British climbers George Mallory (responsible for the famous quip) and Sandy Irvine set out from their camp at 26,700 feet (8,138 meters) on the Northeast Ridge. They are last seen hours later, "moving expeditiously" toward the summit. Mallory's body is found in 1999.

1950: Switching Sides The Chinese invade Tibet, and the northern approach, used by all previous expeditions, is shut off to Westerners. Today, each season sees attempts on both the Tibetan and Nepalese sides of the peak, though most commercial expeditions climb from Nepal.

1952: Swiss MissA Swiss expedition, with climbers Raymond Lambert and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, lay the groundwork for the first successful summit. Following the South Col, or South-East Ridge Route, they get to within 800 feet of the summit before the conditions force them to turn back.

1953: First on Top Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first men to stand on the summit. They ascend via the South Col route, today the most popular path to the summit.

1960: North Side Mystery A Chinese expedition claims a first ascent of the mountain's north side, but doubts plague their account. There is no summit shot and scant evidence of the team above the Second Step.

1963: Yankee Victory Jim Whittaker becomes the first American to summit, on May 1. Three weeks later, his teammates, who include Barry Bishop, pioneer the West Ridge route. Bishop loses his toes and the tips of his little fingers.

1975: First Lady of Everest