'During the hours spent in lonely mountain camp sites it was possible to have some understanding of how each one of us felt about mountains. Some considered a mountain just as something to climb, a challenger, a setting for high adventure with its attendant danger. It was not a goddess of the snows nor was it anything which would affect them personally. Others felt the summit of Everest was an entity, a 'something' which could influence their lives. Wilf Noyce and John Hunt, I am sure, thought like this. I firmly believed all mountains had the power to teach sharp lessons and perhaps even to kill if approached without due respect and reverence'
extracted from the Introduction, 'Alfred Gregory's Everest',
a photo documentary collection
published in 1993,
marks the 40th anniversary of
the first ascent of Everest