Charles Evans (mountaineer) in Liverpool until 1957. Evans was John Hunt's deputy leader on the 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition which made the first ascent of Everest in 1953. With Tom Bourdillon, he made the first ascent of the South Summit, coming within three hundred feet of the main summit of Everest on 26 May 1953, but was forced to turn back. Everest was summited by their teammates Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay three days later, on 29 May 1953. Evans was the leader of the expedition which first climbed Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak, in 1955. The following year he was
Everest Marathon 1987, since when it has been run every two years. In 2003 an alternative race, The Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, was started which is held every year on 29 May to commemorate the first successful 1953 Everest expedition by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. The Everest Marathon (1987–present) starts at Gorak Shep at 5,212 m (17,100 ft), the site of the 1953 Everest Base Camp, and finishes in Namche Bazaar, with a 6-mile "Thamo loop" at the end to make the full marathon distance. The Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon (2003–present) starts at the current Everest Base Camp below the Khumbu