The First Traverse of Everest

In 1963, Willi Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein set out to make the first ascent of Everest’s West Ridge. High on the mountain, turning back became more dangerous than going on. They kept climbing, with no guarantee of reaching the top, let alone getting down by the South Col route. They did both, becoming the first people to traverse an 8,000-meter peak. They tell the story themselves: Unsoeld in what turned out to be his last Everest lecture (1979) and Hornbein in a talk 24 years later. The archival photographs come primarily from Unsoeld’s own lecture slides, from Hornbein’s book, Everest: The West Ridge, from the American Alpine Club, and from the Barry Bishop Photo Collection.