Without a doubt, 1963 was an incredibly important year in terms of American history on Everest. On May 1 of that year, Jim Whittaker made the first successful summit of the mountain by an American and three weeks later he was joined by Willi Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein who completed the first ascent along the difficult West Ridge. It was a season for the ages at a time when the number summits in any given year could be counted on two hands. It was a very different era on the world's tallest peak, before anyone ever used the words "over crowding" to describe the scene there.
In 2013 we'll celebrate the 50th anniversaries of those historic climbs and I'm sure that next spring there will be plenty of pomp and circumstance surrounding the anniversary. But my friends over at the Himalayan Stove Project are kicking off the celebration early with a special fund raising event that will run for a very limited time. The organization is offering a special USA on Mount Everest poster that has been commissioned specifically for the HSP.
Only 250 of the limited edition and numbered posters have been printed and they'll only be available while supplies last or until the end of December. The posters are available with a $250 donation to the Himalayan Stove Project, with all proceeds going directly towards delivering clean and efficient cook stoves to people living in Nepal. The organization has set a goal for itself of delivering 10,000 such stoves over the next five years and our contributions will help achieve that goal while dramatically altering lives at the same time.
To make a contribution to this great cause, and get your hands on one of these beautiful posters, head over to the HSP donations page. This one of a kind print would make a fantastic gift for the Everest fanatic on your holiday list this year, but you'll want to order soon. These posters are likely to get snatched up very quickly and once they're gone, they're gone.
