Yet as we climbed higher on the Geneva Spur, the excitement began to mount. After nearly seven hours of climbing from Camp III, the 8,000 meter mark was at last in reach and the south col of Everest was just around the corner. Then, after a beautiful 75 foot pitch of steep snow, the corner was finally turned — there ahead was the south col. The views of the summit pyramid of Everst to the left, Lhotse to the right, and the Western Cwm now far below cannot be adequately described. Simply put, if we hadn’t realized before that we were on the highest mountain in the world, we knew it now.