Nepal, Nov. 9 -- In 1972, my father gave me 'Everest: The West Ridge' by Thomas Hornbein, about the American Everest Expedition ten years previously.

The book inspired a lifelong passion to learn about the world's tallest mountain. Dad wrote in the book, 'Adam, when you want to go on your own, this will show how it was done in the old days.'

Neither of us could have predicted how prophetic this would be. Those words motivated me to make three treks to the Everest region: via Nepal in 1983 and 2018 and from China in 2025.

Last year's trek to Kharta Valley on the east side of Everest followed the footsteps of British mountaineers who explored the region in 1920 and 1921 to find a plausible route to the top.

Kharta is also where Namgyal...