December 26, 2006—In May 1996 eight climbers died in a single day during a blizzard on Mount Everest—the worst disaster in climbing history.

Even after ten years, the specter of that event looms in the mind of every climber determined to reach the top of the world's highest mountain—a 29,000-foot (8,840-meter) peak that has claimed at least 200 lives over the years. (Related: "Everest Decade" in National Geographic Adventure magazine.)

But the lure of reaching the "top of the world"—and seeing breathtaking vistas glimpsed by only a select few—has made Everest a more popular destination than ever before.

Take a journey up the mountain with a determined cadre of climbers, and get a glimpse of how the latest technology is making climbing Everest at least a little less dangerous.