British mountaineers had last visited the north side of Everest in the 1930s. Permission for the 1982 expedition was obtained after the Chinese government began opening up mountains to foreign expeditions. The North East Ridge was an obvious choice [...] elegant, unknown and looked, from the few photographs we had, difficult but possible. The North East Ridge rises two miles from the Raphu La (6,510m) to the North East Shoulder (8,393m) and the junction with the North Ridge. From there the summit is almost another mile away. The crux of the North East Ridge is a series of pinnacles high on the ridge before the junction with the North Ridge.