New Zealand explorer Edmund Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.

Hundreds of people in Nepal’s capital held a rally to mark the 61st anniversary of the first conquest of Mount Everest.

There was also a separate event to remember the 16 Sherpa guides who died in an avalanche last month on the world’s highest mountain.

New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, became the first climbers to reach the top of Everest on May 29, 1953.

Kancha Sherpa, 81, the lone surviving member of the first expedition to conquer Everest, led a rally of 500 people in Katmandu yesterday, with mountaineers and trekking guides also taking part.

He carried loads on his back up the mountain for the expedition and went up to the last camp on Everest, but did not climb to the summit.

“We were all very happy on that day. It was the biggest day of my life,” he said.

More than 4,200 climbers have scaled Everest since then.

A separate rally was held on Wednesday night in memory of the 16 guides killed in an April 18 avalanche just above Everest’s base camp.

Participants held candles and pictures of those who died in the disaster, and chanted: “Long live our brave Sherpa brothers.”

The avalanche swept the Sherpas early in the climbing season, while they were carrying equipment and tents to set up camps.

After the avalanche, the Sherpa guides refused to continue for various reasons, including out of respect for the dead and pressure from family members, causing the climbing season to be cancelled.

However, a Chinese climber returned to Everest and scaled the peak last week. Her claim is being disputed because she apparently used a helicopter from the base camp to Camp 2, and mountaineering authorities say climbers are required to trek from the base camp at 5,297 metres to the 8,849 metres summit and back to be counted as a successful climb.

The avalanche, red tape and severe winds also threatened the expedition of a Maltese team.

But Gregory Attard, Matthew Xerri and Douglas Barbaro Sant made it to the summit on Sunday. The fourth team member, Raphael Fenech Adami, felt sick and had to quit his dream 250 metres from the summit.