Pictures: Climbing Everest Through History
The tragedy on Everest recalls the highs and lows of the long history of climbing the mountain.
Edmund Hillary, a New Zealander, and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese Sherpa, were the strongest and most experienced snow and ice climbers on the 1953 British expedition.
After the first team was forced to turn back, Hillary and Tenzing, the back-up team, reached the top at 11:30 a.m. on May 29. To celebrate, Hillary offered a customary handshake, but Tenzing threw his arms around Hillary, and they thumped each other's backs in joy.
Still a long way from the snow-plumed South Summit, members of the 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition cross the dizzyingly steep slope of neighboring Lhotse at 25,000 feet. Accompanied by Nawang Gombu Sherpa, Jim Whittaker became the first American to reach the true summit on May 1 by
