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The story of two American mountaineers attempting to climb Everest without oxygen, scrupulously documented on Snapchat, has ended with a summit, a failed push—and no Snapchat from the top of the world.
Cory Richards, a National Geographic photographer from Boulder, Colorado, made his first summit of the world’s tallest mountain, while his climbing partner, Adrian Ballinger, a high-altitude mountain guide from Squaw Valley, California, turned back at 8,600 meters. They launched their ascent from the north, or Tibet, side of Everest.
During a journey that began two months ago, they shared their day-to-day experiences on Snapchat using #EverestNoFilter. Over countless 15-second video blips, Richards and Ballinger arguably captured a less polished but perhaps more truthful portrait of what climbing Everest actually looks like, from countless days sitting around in tents to the garbage, crowds, and inexperienced climbers and the incomparable, sweeping beauty of the Himalaya.
They took turns speaking directly into their respective selfie Snaps (their unwashed hair subsequently spurring the hashtag #HairByEverest), sometimes making jokes, sometimes posturing vainly, but also often speaking with candid vulnerability, such as during the...
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