Mount Everest. Even its name conjures up images of steep icy ramparts, jagged rock faces, and cold rarefied air. Strong winds scour and pummel the mountain as the summit pokes into the jet stream. This giant casts a shadow some 250 miles long. It straddles the borders of Nepal to the south and Tibet to the north. And at 8,850 meters (29,035 ft), it’s the highest mountain on earth.

It was the British reconnaissance expedition of 1921 that determined the only feasible route to the summit was via the North Col to the Northeast Ridge. Prior to 1938, this route was made famous by seven unsuccessful British attempts, but it was during the 1924 expedition that George Leigh Mallory and his young climbing partner Andrew Irvine would disappear into the history books. It would be another 40 years before a very large Chinese team successfully climbed this route in 1960. And it wasn’t until the 1990s that this route became more popular with the commercial expeditions. Even to this day the North Col Route sees far less climbers than the traditional Southeast Ridge Route that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed in 1953.

The British American Lightweight Everest 2001 Expedition of Walter Keller (American), Tim Boelter (American), Phil Austin (British), and Mike Chrisp (British) will attempt to climb the Classic North Col to Northeast Ridge from Tibet. After sufficient acclimatization in Base Camp near the Rongbuk Monastery, at approximately 5,000 meters, a series of camps will be placed as they climb higher up the mountain. From the North Col (Camp IV) at approximately 7,000 meters, two additional camps will be placed before they attempt the summit from the highest camp at 8,300 meters.

There are certain challenges inherent to climbing the North Col Route. Most notably are the famous steps located on the Northeast Ridge. There are three steps guarding the summit of Everest. These rock cliffs vary in height and exposure, with the First Step being approximately half the size of the Second Step. The varying degree of exposure on both the First Step and the Second Step make these obstacles quite daunting at extreme altitudes. The Third Step has little exposure and is considered a scramble up broken rock. But the steps are not the only obstacles along the way. The Yellow Band is a steep section of crumbling limestone rock that slants downward like tiles on a roof. This 400-foot-wide band requires careful footing on rocks that routinely pull away and tumble almost 8,000 feet to the Rongbuk Glacier. There are knife-edge cornices, where a wrong step could punch through, sending one down the Kangshung face, and steep traverses across the North Face with more down-sloping, and brittle rock. At 8,000 meters, the rarefied air magnifies these obstacles.

The route is hard, and the cold is intense. The lack of oxygen makes everything a struggle, including the simple act of putting on a pair of boots.

The expedition will start from Katmandu in Nepal and cross the border into Tibet by truck. It will take nearly a week to arrive at Base Camp and then with the help of porters and yaks their gear and supplies will move up towards the foot of the mountain. It’s only then that the real climbing will begin.