Everest 2003

GEX-EV-0129

Chris Booher gazes at the sweeping North Face of Mount Everest, Tibet, from the North Col (Camp IV).

GEX-EV-1056

Phuru Sherpa steps off the ladder and onto the face proper of the Second Step at 28,400 feet on Everest's Northeast Ridge, Tibet.

Michael Brown stands beneath the massifs of Tengkangpoche (Tengkangboche) and Bighera-Go Shar while trekking above the village of Khumjung, Solu Khumbu, Nepal.

The upper North Face of Everest from the North Col (Camp IV).

Mark Whetu climbs the North Ridge of Mount Everest, Tibet, with the upper North Face of the mountain visible above.

Kellas Rock Peak, a 7,071 meter peak named after famed climber and physiologist Dr. Alexander Kellas, rises high above the East Rongbuk Glacier of Mount Everest as viewed from the North Col. Kellas was a member of the 1921 Everest Reconnaissance Expedition, but died from dystentery at Khampa Dzong, Tibet, en route to the mountain. The peak was named and climbed that year by George Mallory.

The sweeping North Face of Mount Everest, Tibet, taken from the North Col (Camp IV).

The North Face of Mount Everest at sunset from Rongbuk Basecamp, Tibet.

The upper North Face of Mount Everest, showing the Northeast Ridge from the Pinnacles to the summit, at sunset from Rongbuk Basecamp, Tibet.

Tents perched at Camp VI on the north face of Mount Everest at sunrise. Visible above are the First, Second, and Third Steps and summit pyramid. On the right, the first rays of dawn are illuminating Cho Oyu and Gyachung Kang.

Jesse Rickert tops out on the First Step on the Northeast Ridge of Mount Everest. The top of the Pinnacles are clearly visible behind, and Kellas Rock Peak (Lixin) rises behind.

Phuru Sherpa at Mushroom Rock (28,300 feet) on Mount Everest's Northeast Ridge at sunrise on May 30, 2003.

Gazing up the sweeping cornices and rock steps of Mount Everest’s Northeast Ridge from Mushroom Rock at 28,300 feet. Lhotse rises behind and left.

Looking east at sunrise toward Makalu and Kangchenjunga from near Mushroom Rock on the Northeast Ridge of Mount Everest, Tibet.

Ted Mahon enjoys the splendor of sunrise from Mushroom Rock, 28,250 feet, on Everest's Northeast Ridge, Tibet.

Climbers pick their way to along the Northeast Ridge of Mount Everest to the base of the Second Step. The North Col (Camp IV) is visible far below on the left.

Climbers pick their way to along the Northeast Ridge of Mount Everest to the base of the Second Step. The North Col (Camp IV) is visible far below on the left.

The Second Step headwall at 28,300 feet on the Northeast Ridge of Mount Everest, Tibet. The Second Step is considered the crux, or most difficult part, of the climb on the Northeast Ridge, and is a central point to the controversy of Mallory and Irvine's disappearance in 1924. The ladder was installed on the final bit by a Chinese expedition in 1975.

A climber approaches the base of the Second Step on the Northeast Ridge of Mount Everest, Tibet, while other climbers below navigate the Corkscrew Chimney.

Jesse Rickert approaches the base of the famed Second Step at 28,350 feet on Everest's Northeast Ridge, Tibet. Ted Mahon is topping out on the Corkscrew Chimney below.

GEX-EV-1058

Ted Mahon approaches the base of the Triangle Snowfield at 28,600 on Mount Everest's Northeast Ridge, Tibet, on May 30, 2003.