Nepal celebrates anniversary of Mount Everest conquest

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal's mountaineering community was celebrating the first conquest of Mount Everest 64 years ago Monday, as well as this year's climbing season during which hundreds scaled the world's highest peak.

A ceremony later Monday marking the first successful Everest climb by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, in 1953 will also honor several others who have contributed to the climbing industry, said Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.