An ancient geological collision gave rise to the Himalayan mountain range, a collision that continues to this day. Climbers who reach the summit of Everest may not know it, but beneath the blanket of snow lies a stretch of mottled gray rocks that once lay on the ocean floor. The rocks arrived at this unusual...Read More

Firantes revisits the crowning of Everest in 1953 when the world’s highest peak was first conquered. Edmund Hillary and sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest on May 29, 1953, becoming the first to achieve this feat. According to current standards, the 1953 British expedition, led in an almost military fashion by Sir John...Read More

In a recent study, DNA found in the meltwater from the world’s highest peak revealed a treasure trove of biodiversity. The Himalayan snowcock is one of the species recorded on Mount Everest. In the spring of 2019, Tracie Seimon would lie awake listening to the deep rumbling of ice cracking. The glacier where she slept...Read More

In Nepal, a tradition regarding the impurity of menstrual blood forces women to exile themselves, known as chaupadi. Photographer Poulomi Basu’s mother, a widow, cannot wear red. In India, the birthplace of Basu, the color red symbolizes purity and sin, and is also used to mark joyful occasions. Traditional Hindu culture dictates that widows can...Read More