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HomeExplorePeoplePioneering Mountaineers in Historic Photos
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From the first climbers photographed on Everest to the free climbers who changed what was possible on El Capitan, these photographs show mountaineers close to the rock and ice that made their names. The captions explain where each photograph was taken and how the climbers earned their place in the history of the sport.

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Images19

1
Tenzing Norgay on Everest
Tenzing Norgay on Everest: Tenzing Norgay raises his ice axe on the summit of Everest on May 29, 1953. Flags tied to the…
2
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay at Camp IV
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay at Camp IV: Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary drink tea outside a tent at Camp IV in…
3
Lynn Hill on the Nose
Lynn Hill on the Nose: Lynn Hill climbs the Pancake Flake on the Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite. She made the route’s first…
4
Lino Lacedelli on K2
Lino Lacedelli on K2: Lino Lacedelli stands on the summit of K2 on July 31, 1954. Achille Compagnoni took the photograph…
5
Edward Whymper Near the Matterhorn
Edward Whymper Near the Matterhorn: Edward Whymper appears in the Swiss Alps in this photograph by Herbert George Ponting…
6
Fanny Bullock Workman on the Silver Throne Plateau
Fanny Bullock Workman on the Silver Throne Plateau: Fanny Bullock Workman holds up a paper calling for women’s suffrage on…
7
Walter Harper at Clearwater Camp
Walter Harper at Clearwater Camp: Walter Harper stands at the far right with members of the 1913 Denali expedition at…
8
George Mallory and Andrew Irvine at Camp IV
George Mallory and Andrew Irvine at Camp IV: George Mallory, left, and Andrew Irvine prepare to leave Camp IV on Everest’s…
9
Barbara Washburn on Denali
Barbara Washburn on Denali: Barbara and Bradford Washburn kneel in the snow with flags during the 1947 Denali expedition…
10
Junko Tabei on Everest
Junko Tabei on Everest: Junko Tabei stands on Everest’s summit on May 16, 1975, after becoming the first woman to reach it…
11
Maurice Herzog on Annapurna
Maurice Herzog on Annapurna: Maurice Herzog holds his ice axe aloft during the 1950 Annapurna expedition. He and Louis…
12
Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler on Everest
Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler on Everest: Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler pose in climbing gear on the 1978 Everest…
13
Nawang Gombu on Everest
Nawang Gombu on Everest: Jim Whittaker photographed Nawang Gombu on Everest’s summit on May 1, 1963. Gombu returned with…
14
Gaston Rébuffat on the Pic du Roc
Gaston Rébuffat on the Pic du Roc: Gaston Rébuffat stands on the tip of a rock spire on the Pic du Roc in the Alps. He was…
15
Bachendri Pal on Everest
Bachendri Pal on Everest: Bachendri Pal displays the Indian flag on Everest on May 23, 1984. She was the first Indian woman…
16
Wanda Rutkiewicz at K2 Base Camp
Wanda Rutkiewicz at K2 Base Camp: Wanda Rutkiewicz rests on a boulder at K2 Base Camp with the snowy Karakoram behind her…
17
Alex Honnold on Freerider
Alex Honnold on Freerider: Alex Honnold climbs high above Yosemite Valley without a rope on June 3, 2017. He was the first…
18
Jerzy Kukuczka on Shishapangma
Jerzy Kukuczka on Shishapangma: Jerzy Kukuczka stands on the summit of Shishapangma on September 18, 1987. The ascent…
19
Hermann Buhl on Nanga Parbat
Hermann Buhl on Nanga Parbat: Hermann Buhl sits in mountaineering gear with a camera in his hand and a snowy peak behind…

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