Climbers on the West Ride of Mount Everest, 1983 In 1963 a group of climbers from the American Mount Everest Expedition splintered off from the main group to try to climb the unclimbed West Ridge. The climb that unfolded was one of the most dramatic human endeavors ever to occur. Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld left their camp at 27,200 feet and headed for the top. They climbed a pitch that they could not get back down leaving only one way to go. Up and over the top of the 29,035 highest peak on the planet. They summited in the evening and started down a route they had never seen. They were forced to spend the night at 28,000 feet without oxygen. Up until 1983 their route had not been repeated and it was the goal of our 1983 attempt to repeat their route. In this photo I have just led to 24,500 feet, the site of camp 4. I eventually made it to 27,200 feet without using bottled oxygen. Wind and bad weather forced the team to retreat. The experience was extremely frightening. The sense of being out in a place where you are not in control is overwhelming. My goal was to see if I was capable of high altitude climbing without oxygen dn possibly making the summit. I climbed well but I never got the chance to try for the summit. The experience convinced me that Himalayan climbing was not appealing to me and I never returned to Nepal.