This past Wednesday marked with the sixtieth anniversary of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s first summit of Mt. Everest. We asked Jimmy Chin, a National Geographic photographer, as well as a climber and a skier, and Conrad Anker, a famous mountaineer who discovered George Mallory’s body on the mountain during one of the most significant recent expeditions to Everest, to share a selection of their photographs. (Nick Paumgarten writes about another alpinist, Ueli Steck, in the magazine this week.)

“Every year around April and May, stories from Everest begin to trickle into the public conscience,” writes Jimmy Chin. “This spring is no different, with news about Everest in National Geographic, Outside magazine, and the International New York Times, and on CNN. Everest sells. I’ve made four trips to the mountain. I’ve only made it to the top twice. (That’s not false modesty, I know plenty of people with far more ascents.) People often ask me why I undertake the climb. It’s a perfectly reasonable question without a perfectly reasonable answer. Everest draws a very eclectic group—climbers, dreamers, mad men, and trophy hunters. People’s motivations are diverse, and I’ve learned not to question or judge them.”

Here’s a slide show of images from both climbers. First are Jimmy Chin’s spectacular mountain vistas (with captions by Chin), followed by Conrad Anker’s candid iPhone snapshots. Below is a Q. and A. with Anker.

Click on the red arrows [#image: /photos/59096bf8019dfc3494ea17c9]for a full-screen view.





1 / 22 Chevron Chevron In 2004, I followed the Sherpas known as “icefall doctors” on an early trip through the notoriously dangerous and unpredictable Khumbu Icefall. Every year, this special team finds the route, places the ladders, fixes ropes between base camp and Camp 1 for the hundreds of commercial climbers attempting the mountain. These Sherpas also maintain the route throughout the pre-monsoon commercial climbing season. It is one of the most dangerous jobs on the mountain. Photograph by Jimmy Chin.

How many times have you climbed Everest?

Three. In 1999, from the North Side on the Mallory Discovery expedition; in 2007, from the North Side climbing the Second Step Free; and in 2012, from the South Side, without the aid of oxygen tanks.

Other than being the world’s tallest mountain, what distinguishes Everest from other mountains you’ve climbed?

As a three-sided pyramid, Everest has a very powerful shape. It also has a great community of climbers, from my Sherpa friends to the international mix of alpinists.

Have you seen the mountain change over the years?

In the past ten years, the glacier and high-angle cryosphere has shrunk, due to climate change.

Anything additional you'd like to share about these photos?

The images were all taken with an iPhone. As an amateur photographer, I seldom carried a large camera into the mountains. The smartphone has music, reading, movies, your contact list, and a camera.