Even though the highest mountain in the world has been conquered many times ever since its first conquest in 1953 by Sir E. Hillary & Tenzing Norgay, Everest is still as mysterious, beguiling and magnificent as ever. Standing incredibly tall silhouetted against the shared sky of Nepal and Tibet, this mountain has many names: Chomolungma, Sagarmatha, Qomolungma or Mt. Everest. Which ever name one chooses, its mystery still lives on.

Perhaps the most colorful story about the early attempts on Everest is the one involving Captain J. Noel and his native companions. He disguised himself as a Mohammaden and made a journey from Darjeeling through Northwest Sikkim and round the north of Kanchenjunga in an attempt to reach Everest. Unfortunately, he had to retreat back short of  just sixty five kms from Everest when a posse of Tibetan soldiers forced them to turn back.

Although there are a dozen or so routes on Mt. Everest, we follow the classical route, traditionally the most reliable way to the summit