A Photo Essay on Mount Everest

Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics, and others with a shaky hold on reality

  • Published:
  • 27/05/2013 12:00 AM

Image by : Mary Evans Picture Library

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Image by : Mary Evans Picture Library

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A biplane reconnoitres the Himalayas

Image by : Getty Images

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Image by : Getty Images

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Animals too have a tough time on the slopes of Everest. Here, yaks avoid a crevasse on their way down East Rongbuk Glacier 

Image by : Royal Geographical Society

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Image by : Royal Geographical Society

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A member of a 1936 expedition tries to cross a crevasse

Image by : Royal Geographical Society

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Image by : Royal Geographical Society

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One of the most enduring mysteries of Everest is whether George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine reached the summit before disappearing in 1922. Mallory’s boot was found intact with his body in May 1999 

Image by : Getty Images

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Image by : Getty Images

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A view of the team that was part of a snowboarding expedition at Advanced Base Camp III 

Image by : Getty Images

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Image by : Getty Images

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In 2001, American Erik Weihenmayer (centre), blind since the age of 13, became the first blind person to scale Everest. He had to rely on his teammates who would shout out instructions and warnings to help him make his way up 

Image by : Corbis

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Image by : Corbis

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Tom Whittaker was the first disabled person—his right foot was amputated after an accident—to climb to Everest's summit. He described his ascent as a "climb of imagination, technology and human spirit" 

Image by : Royal Geographical Society

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Image by : Royal Geographical Society

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Tenzing Norgay on the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953 ( Photographs courtesy
Roli Books, from the new book, Incredible Ascents to Everest by Sumathi Nagrath)