Tenzing and Hillary summited Everest on 29 May 1953. Photo: Sotti CC-BY-SA-3.0

Tenzing and Hillary summited Everest on 29 May 1953. Photo: Sotti CC-BY-SA-3.0

The first successful ascent of Everest is being recreated on social media.

As the 60th anniversary of Tenzing Norgay’s and Edmund Hillary’s summit triumph approaches, outdoor fans can follow an online re-enactment of events in Nepal in 1953.

The Twitter timeline, which has been created by Hstry.org, aims to recreate the highs and lows of the expedition on its 60th anniversary, in the voice of Hillary.

The account offers historically accurate 140-character updates in ‘real time’ and also shares photographs and videos of the expedition. Other Twitter users and content partners are encouraged to get involved by sharing comments, questions, pictures and more through the #Everest53 hashtag.

Hstry.org was launched by two social entrepreneurs to improve the way history is taught and encourage young people to engage with the topic in a different way.

They said they see the use of social media, and historic Twitter re-enactments such as the Everest ascent, as a way to inspire a passion for history in young people used to consuming media through mobile phones, tablets and the internet.

Thomas Ketchell, co-founder of the organisation, said: “We know that in many instances the classroom has become a place which fails to inspire young people who have grown up with Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

“With the help of these social media services we can create the next generation of educational platforms which inspire, engage and most importantly educate.

“Ultimately we want to bring history to life and speak to the next generation in a language that they can understand and will want to engage with.”

The Everest timeline follows hstry.org’s previous re-enactment of London’s Great Smog of 1952 in December 2012 which reached more than nine million people and brought attention to continuing deadly air pollution events in places such as China.

The 60th anniversary of Tenzing and Hillary’s Everest summit is less than a week away.

The Hstry.org Twitter feed can be seen at @everest1953. A timeline with text and pictures also appears on the Hstry.org website.

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