Back to the Top of the World

Bitter cold, oxygen deprived, and deadly, Everest, at its summit, is 29,035 feet above sea level, the closest you can come to walking in space. And yet the history of humankind and Everest is a history of longing to be up there at the top of the world.

On May 29, 1953, a New Zealand beekeeper named Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa climbing companion Tenzing Norgay made history when they reached the top of Mount Everest.

What does it take to make it to the top? Why are so many drawn to the challenge?

Guests:

David Breashears, filmmaker, adventurer, mountaineer
extraordinaire, he has made four trips to the top of Everest
and in 1983 transmitted the first live pictures from the summit. He also co-directed, photographed, and co-produced the acclaimed IMAX movie "Everest."