Hugh Ruttledge 20 May – was, as a result of disagreements between team members, never established. It was during this expedition that Wyn-Harris found the ice axe which belonged to Andrew Irvine, who had disappeared on the peak on the with George Mallory. One of the men rejected for this expedition was Tenzing Norgay, who made the first ascent of Everest in 1953 with Sir Edmund Hillary. Fortunately, Ruttledge had the foresight to hire Tenzing to come with him to Everest in 1936. In 1934 Ruttledge was awarded a Royal Geographical Society Founder's Gold Medal; his citation read 'For his journeys in
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