Sir Edmund Hillary and his Nepalese guide, Tenzing Norgay, were the first people to make the historic climb of Mount Everest in 1953. Coming down from the mountain peak, Sir Edmund suddenly lost his footing. Tenzing held the line taut and kept them both from falling by digging his ax into the ice.
Later Tenzing refused any special credit for saving Sir Edmund Hillary¡¦s life; he considered it a routine part of the job. As he put it, "Mountain climbers always help each other."