In 1963 American climbers reached the summit of Everest for the first time. Barry Bishop’s feet reflect the cost of his achievement. In the October 1963 issue of National Geographic magazine, Bishop described the onset of the frostbite pictured above. “The pain in my toes sharpens,” he wrote. “Then, as it skirts the edge of agony, it dies in a merciful numbness. I recognize the classic sequence of frostbite. Our plight is precarious and we know it.”

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