Generations of Sherpas have tirelessly schlepped foreigners’ gear (and hides) up Everest. And for much of that time they’ve been treated as little more than servants, not mountaineers in their own right. Even before setting out for Everest in 1953 with Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay (left) – as sirdar, or leader, of the Sherpas [ more... ]

Have you been following the Everest weirdness? I’ve been reading a bit about it here and there. NPR even covered it. Interesting to follow from the outside, but so odd. Egos, stress, and sleep deprivation clashing on the world’s highest mountain. It’s more painful to watch than Vertical Limit. And now this strange peace treaty drafted [ more... ]

How could you be on the edge of your seat reading about a 50-year-old expedition to the top of Everest? Easily. Pick up a copy of the May issue of Outside (the Everest feature isn’t on the web yet, unfortunately) and read Grayson Schaffer’s exhaustive, riveting, even arm-hair raising account of the first successful American [ more... ]

While Ueli Steck made significant headlines announcing about a month back that he and Simone Moro would climb a new route up Everest’s south face using no Sherpas, oxygen, or fixed lines, it should not be overlooked that around the same time Kazakh Denis Urubko and Russian Alexei Bolotov announced they would try a similar [ more... ]

George Lowe, the last surviving member of the first successful assault on Mt. Everest, has died at the age of 89. During the climb he displayed massive skill over 10 days in spearheading a route up the Lhotse face, immediately below the South Col. Then his job was to ferry support up and down the [ more... ]

Using original archival footage supplied by the Royal Geographic Society and two film newcomers as stars, a New Zealand filmmaker is beginning production on a 3D, feature-length account of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay’s 1953 first ascent of Mt. Everest. Called Beyond the Edge — not so original, but whatever — the film cast [ more... ]

Did George Mallory and Sandy Irvine summit Everest before dying on the way down in 1924? It’s an age-old mystery and the one shred of evidence that might actually help shed light on it is their camera. Tom Holzel is an Everest historian who has for some time championed the idea that finding the camera [ more... ]

Chhurim is a Sherpa who holds the distinction of being the only person to summit Mount Everest twice in one week. She made the ascents in May, spending some time recovering at base camp before hitting the peak again seven days later. Her accomplishment is a standout from the Everest circus because Chhurim’s name appears [ more... ]

Three separate pairs of climbers are preparing to attempt aggressive new routes on Mt. Everest this spring. Success on any one of these attempts would be a major development in Everest’s climbing history, particularly if they succeed in pure alpine style, without supplemental oxygen. Ueli Steck (Switzerland) and Simone Moro (Italy) will try a new [ more... ]

Each year Alan Arnette calculates the costs of climbing the tallest peak in the world and shares the breakdown as well as what each guiding company is charging. The cheapest rings in at about $39k, while the most expensive will cost you about $85k (don’t forget to tip your Sherpa!). Besides the rather large outlay [ more... ]