Pix Of The Day: Go Slow When The Air Is Rarefied
CREDIT: © Royal Geographical Society/ImagingEverest.RGS.org
WHERE: Mount Everest, Nepal. WHAT: pictures from nine British expeditions.
MAP: Nepal. Thumbnail click pops-up larger image.

This is the introductory paragraph from the RGS [Royal Geographical Society] special feature 'Imaging Everest':

To mark the anniversary of the first ascent of Mt. Everest on May 29, 1953, the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) in conjunction with the British Council in Nepal has created an exhibition called 'Imaging Everest' from its collection of approximately 20,000 photographs taken on the nine Mt. Everest Expeditions between 1921 and 1953. These expeditions were jointly organized by the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club.

The image of Tenzing Norgay on the summit of the world's highest mountain is both fitting and familiar as a masthead for the RGS-IBG exhibition. The sum of the parts put together by Joanna Wright, Curator of Photography at the RGS-IBG, for the slide show presentation alongside some supporting material, is worthy of an extended visit. Unfortunately the way the pages are implemented, in conjunction with bloated file sizes for relatively small image dimensions, means that page load times are as glacial as the scenes depicted. We yearned to be allowed to make a slick gallery.

The frustrating slowness is redeemed by the historical rarity of many of the images, and the opportunity to see them together as a coherent collection. Our favorite picture shows Shipton, Ward, and Murray bathing in the Arun river under umbrellas!

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