The Unknown Climber

the Everest expedition, with Lowe (third from left), Hillary (second from right) AP

Sometimes, one can learn the most interesting things by reading the obituaries. For example, George Lowe, who passed away recently, was the last surviving climbing member of the first team to summit Mt. Everest. That was back in 1953, when such an expedition really was a bare-bones adventure. The more famous climber, of course, was Sir Edmund Hillary, but by all accounts, it was Lowe who was the real backbone of the group: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-george-lowe-20130322,0,6335220.story