Above: A Sherpa carrying equipment on a rope ladder in the Icefall. The 30-foot rope ladder was a pot-holing ladder donated by the Yorkshire Ramblers Club and was presented to the 1953 team to deal with any vertical ice pitches.

Left: Edmund Hillary assisting Sherpas with supply loads in the Khumbu Icefall. Over 3 tons of stores were ferried through by 34 porters, all of whom were properly equipped and clothed for climbing at high altitudes.