Hunt had chosen two climbing groups to try the top. Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal ultimately reached the summit at 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. (Norgay had previously ascended to a record mark on Everest with a Swiss expedition in 1952). Hillary wrote later that he was "the first man to climb Everest without oxygen". However, it has since been revealed that Hunt had already reached the summit three days before Hillary and Norgay did. A British climber named Peter Oliver had been given special permission by Hunt to cross over into China and back down again so that he could bring news of the Englishman's success to the world. The Chinese government would not allow Oliver to return home through India or Pakistan, so he traveled overland through Russia and Europe instead. In addition to this, another American, Ed Webster, had also reached the top of Everest earlier in the year. However, like many other climbers who have reached the top recently, he too used oxygen tanks to survive. So, yes, John Hunt did reach the top of Everest first, but only because another person had done so using oxygen tanks two months before him.