IN spring 1953, as the young Princess Elizabeth was preparing to receive the Crown of England, a British-backed team of mountaineers was reaching the crown of the world. The announcement that New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay had made the first successful recorded assault on Mount Everest arrived in Britain on the very morning of the coronation. The news rang out, cheering the spirits of the assembled crowds as the rain fell. Back on the mountain, the climbers tuned their radio to the events in London as they rested in their ice-bound tent.
'The story is one of teamwork... the value of comradeship, regardless