Everest, Scientific Expedition. Wally Berg was on Everest with a special mission: to bolt to bedrock as close as possible to the summit a GPS station from which signals can be sent to satellites and thus reveal exactly where the summit is at any given time. This is of great interest to scientists wanting to determine whether the mountain is actually drifting ever-so-slightly to the northwest and also creeping upward. Berg had been to the top in three previous years; he had no great ambition to stand again at the highest point on earth, but was there to do a job for the scientists. And he did it on May 20, getting his job done, and touching the top of the world once again.

Elizabeth Hawley