Sublime

Climbing of such difficulty had never been done at such extreme altitude.

Thomas (Tom) F. Hornbein, M.D.: 32, San Diego, California; Physician; Responsible for Expedition oxygen equipment and planning.

That I climbed the West Ridge and survived to tell this story owes more than a little to serendipity.

William (Willi) F. Unsoeld, Ph.D.: 36, Corvallis, Oregon; Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion, Oregon State University, on leave as deputy Peace Corps representative in Nepal; Climbing leader.

When Willi and I headed toward the summit on May 22, 1963, we were alone. We had only ourselves to depend on and worry about.

On May 22, 1963, Tom Hornbein, a thirty-two-year-old doctor from Missouri, and Willi Unsoeld, thirty-six, a professor of theology from Oregon, reached the summit of Everest via the peak’s daunting West Ridge, previously unclimbed.

rock scramblers on the West Ridge, ice climbers on the Col route.

In the bitter, pre-sun cold, Al and Barry departed. They carried fixed rope, pitons, ice screws, and one oxygen cylinder each. They also carried all our hopes for the following day.

The West Ridgers would have only one shot at a summit attempt, and it came on May 22, just three days before the expedition was slated to pack up and head for home.