The Hillary Step is a nearly vertical rock face (height around 12 m or 40 ft) high on Mount Everest, located approximately 8,790 m (28,840 ft) above sea level. It is located on the South East ridge, halfway between the "South Summit" and the true summit and is the last real challenge before reaching the top of the mountain via the South East route. The Step was named after Sir Edmund Hillary, who was the first person, along with Tenzing Norgay, to scale it on the way to the summit.