Chhiring Childhood Portrait in 1980
Chhiring (left) was photographed only once during his childhood. A trekker captured him on film as he passed through the village of Na. (credit Dr. Klaus Dierks)
Chhiring First Everest Expedition Portrait in 1991
Chhiring was next photographed a decade later. He was learning how to climb, carrying loads for a French Everest expedition. (credit Jean-Michel Asselin)
Original Sketch of K2
British surveyor Thomas Montgomerie inked this sketch of K1 and K2 in his field book. K1 (right) appeared higher to Montgomerie and later reverted to its local name, Masherbrum. K2 never had a local name to replace the surveyor’s designation. K2 is actually 2,592 feet taller than Masherbrum. (Courtesy of Survey of India)
Dren with Blue Barrel
Serbian climber Dren Mandic shoulders the load of a low-altitude porter. Depending on weather, the 96-mile slog to K2 Base Camp could take a week. The climbers and their low-altitude porters had to carry all food and equipment over the Baltoro glacier. (credit Iso Planic/Pedrag Zagorac)
K2 on a clear day
Many mountaineers got their first glimpse of K2 from Concordia, a camp en route to K2 where three glaciers meet. (credit Lars Flato Nessa)
Hoselito in tent with low altitude porters
Although the paying mountaineers and the low-altitude porters carrying their gear to Base Camp rarely interacted, Serbian climber Hoselito Bite made a point of getting to know the men he’d hired. (Courtesy of Hoselito Bite)
