In 1953, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary, then 33, joined a British Qomolangma expedition led by Colonel John Hunt. Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans were the first team to attempt the summit  . Despite a violent storm, they reached the South Summit -- at 28,700 feet (8,748 meters) -- by 1 p.m. on May 26. But both men knew they would run out of oxygen if they went on. They agreed to turn back. Two days later, Hillary and Norgay, set out from Camp IX at 25,900 feet to make the next attempt. At 27,900 feet they made a temporary camp on a six foot wide rock to spend the night. At 6:30 the next morning, cheered by clearing skies, the team moved out. Roped together, cutting steps with their ice axes, they inched up a steep, knife-edged ridge   southeast of the summit. They reached the South Summit by 9:00 a.m. Farther up, they met a 40-foot icy rock face, which was later named the Hillary Step. "...looking up at the rock step at 29,000 feet, it really did look extremely difficult to overcome," said Hillary. But they found a narrow crack on the surface of the rock, just large enough to move inside on hands and knees, and managed to climb it by supporting feet against one side and backs against the other. Hillary said, "That was really the first moment during the whole of the expedition that I was confident that we were going to get to the top." The last few yards to the summit were relatively easy. "Then I realized that the ridge, instead of rising ahead, now dropped sharply away," Hillary said. "I looked upward to see a narrow ridge running up to a sharp point. ...and we stood on the summit." It was 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. What is the passage mainly about?
The climbing history of Qomolangma. The life and achievements of Edmund Hillary. How Hillary and Norgay conquered Qomolangma. How the Hillary Step got its name.