1963 American Everest Expedition: The West Ridge

Everest's West Ridge has long represented a foreboding challenge and a dangerous route to the summit. On the 1963 AMEE expedition, climbers Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld completed the first successful ascent of the West Ridge route. Climbing in alpine style they traversed past the point of no return above the Hornbein Couloir and linked up on their descent with Lute Jerstad and Barry Bishop who summited via the South Col route just hours before. The climb was historic, but the descent was legendary. All four were forced into a desperate bivy at 28,000 feet with no tents and no bottled oxygen. The foursome survived due to good weather, good fortune and the warmth of their minus-85-degree Eddie Bauer Mount Everest Parkas.
The first ascent of the West Ridge is still universally respected as one of the greatest achievements in the history of mountaineering. The route is a dangerous one that has presented an equal chance of death or success during the past 50 years.
Including the West Ridge direct variation, it has been attempted more than 60 times with only 15 successful climbs yet 20 fatalities, including six French climbers who were killed in an avalanche while attempting the route in 1974. To this day, the West Ridge remains a route and a climb that deserves careful consideration and great respect.
To honor the anniversary of the first West Ridge ascent, Jake Norton, David Morton, Charley Mace and Brent Bishop travelled to Everest and followed in the footsteps of Unsoled and Hornbein's route to within 150 vertical meters of the West Ridge. They spent 45 brutal days battling the mountain but due to dry, wind-scoured terrain, excessive rockfall and brutal climbing conditions that included avalanche danger and bulletproof, ancient ice in the Hornbein Couloir, the West Ridge refused to be climbed in 2012. The West Ridge team was turned back and forced to abandon their climb, but the images they captured are a potent reminder of the magnitude of the first West Ridge ascent and the challenge that still remains.

[@nongthip]

I grew up near Olympia Washington a few houses from the Unsoelds. Willi used to share some of his mountaineering stories with us as kids. He once gave us a slide show of him lying in a hospital bed with black frost-bitten toes slowly falling off one by one. He died leading a group of students from The Evergreen State College down from the summit of Mt. Rainier (his 200th summit of the mountain) when I was 15. Great to have met such a mountaineering legend in my youth.

[@johnhunter2294]

I don't know how Hornbein and Unsoeld managed to walk with those colossal cojones. One of the greatest, if not THE greatest, climbs in mountaineering history.

[@mimivivi3003]

Первопроход и в то время это было новые открытия .

[@markshuford450]

RIP Tom Hornbein. You are now with your fellow climbers Unsoeld, Jerstad and Bishop, looking down on Mt Everest.

[@shahzadhussain2770]

Amazing. Very beautiful page

[@mariabercrombie]

Amazing men!

[@apexxxx10]

*Kiitos hyvä dokkari!*

[@davidpatrickcoggins1153]

Im sure ive seen a you tube video where jake norton found the back pack and snow shovel/spade seen in this video when he was trying to find Sandy Irvine in one of his videos on the upper mountain

[@rylan642]

Rest In Peace, Jake

[@ralphmai837]

What expedition did you join? If you didn't how did you buy the permit?

[@NJatTheDisco]

Bad ass!

[@langstonbowels]

NJatTheDisco my great uncle was part of this (Tom Hornbein) :)

[@mortyk1]

That is awesome to hear that your great uncle was involved. I just finished (tonight to be exact) reading the book, "Everest, the West Ridge." I felt like I was there with them. No doubt this climb was way ahead of its time.

[@ArmaNilam]

Your uncle , huge respect from my side . This year Ueli steck and tenzing sherpa are ascending via this route and descending through south east ridge followed by ascending lhotse and descending through lhotse south face , all without oxygen. He is the craziest alpinist of today's generation . My favourite Ueli steck.

[@rylan642]

@@langstonbowels
“Jake Breitenbach”

[@eduardodeleon1]

Is it possible to climb Everest without Sherpas?

[@metz85]

Very nice hybrid climb but wrongly named 'West Ridge', instead of 'Khumbu Icefall/Hornbein Culoir route'. Nothing to do with real West Ridge climb, except for the last (American) rock obstacle.

[@abneryokum]

No one cares.

[@iliyandimitrov2242]

Hristo Prodanov did the yugoslavian route, died on descent sadly though

[@arrackiss]

@Marian Kotúč and after them - Bulgarians - 1984

[@onceuponatimeinamerica-cha8578]

the only man who climbed Everest for the western sides of M.Everest is Stipe Bozić - Yugoslavia in 1989. everything else is a lie.

[@yourfavoritepot6285]

R/madlads

[@onceuponatimeinamerica-cha8578]

the only man who climbed Everest for the western sides of M.Everest is Stipe Bozić - Yugoslavia in 1989. everything else is a lie.