1952 Swiss Mount Everest expedition

Led by Edouard Wyss-Dunant, the 1952 Swiss Mount Everest expedition saw Raymond Lambert and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reach a height of about 8,595 metres (28,199 ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record, opening up a new route to Mount Everest and paving the way for further successes by other expeditions.

Tibet had closed to foreigners but Nepal had just opened up. In 1951 Eric Shipton's British-New Zealand reconnaissance had climbed the Khumbu Icefall and reached the elusive Western Cwm, proving that Everest could be climbed from Nepal. Unfortunately for the British, who had enjoyed exclusive access to the mountain for 31 years from Tibet to the north, the Nepalese government gave the 1952 permit to the Swiss.

Edouard Wyss-Dunant was appointed leader of this expedition. The other Swiss members were Rene Aubert, Leon Flory and Raymond Lambert (despite Lambert having suffered amputation of frostbitten toes).

All the Swiss were from Geneva. Most belonged to the exclusive «L'Androsace» climbing club and knew each other very well. The city and Canton of Geneva provided moral and financial support for the expedition, and the University of Geneva provided the scientific contingent.

During this expedition Tenzing Norgay was for the first time considered a full expedition member ("the greatest honour that had ever been paid me") forging a lasting friendship with the Swiss, in particular Raymond Lambert.

The mountaineering task that this team had set itself was primarily exploring the access to the South Col, the conquest of the labyrinthine Khumbu Icefall, and possibly the advance to the South Col. The team never even considered an attempt at an ascent of Everest.

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Wikipedia