Virtual Everest–Go To The Summit Without A Pulmonary Embolism: Ever wondered what the view from Everest is like? Click here for a very cool 360 degree panorama of what the world looks like from the top of the world (takes a bit to load, then just left click and drag to rotate the image). The image was created by Roderick Mackenzie in 1989. Almost as interesting is the brief interview with McKenzie that accompanies the panorama:

“Why did I climb Everest?

I have a theory that people climb for the smell of it. Air at very high altitude smells completely different to lower altitudes. People become addicted to this smell and need more and more to get less and less of it. This is what makes them get higher.

What did I think of on the summit?

When I reached the south summit I was suffering from a lack of Spanish Olives. I was most preoccupied with thoughts of the tin of olives sitting in my tent at base camp. The preoccupation was the result of a very intense dream about olives which was interrupted by the alarm summoning me to our summit attempt. When I reached the south summit the view to the main summit interested me from a mountaineering point of view and all dreamings of olives were banished from my head.

On the summit I felt a mixture of apprehension and curiosity. Our only comments to each other after initial congratulations were about the fact that the summit is precisely half way. It seemed to me that the curvature of the earth was apparent, and I spent some time trying to think of a means to test if this was a real observation or an illusion. In the end I decided it was an illusion, but it was a strong illusion. Overall my main feeling was of surprise.”

Uhh, nice take, dude. Sorry about the olives…..

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