South Base Camp, Mount Everest, Nepal

South Base Camp, Mount Everest, Nepal

Greetings from base camp at Mount Everest, the highest peak on Earth. For most of us, pictures are as close as we’ll get to this iconic destination, which was first summited on this day in 1953. Mountaineers Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the historic first ascent and achieved instant fame. The two spent 15 minutes on the summit, with Norgay burying some sweets and biscuits in the snow as a Buddhist offering to the gods.