Mount Everest; Khumbu region, eastern Nepal, 1986

Khumbu region, eastern Nepal, 1986. This is the traditional home of the Sherpas, meaning 'the people from the east' who migrated from eastern Tibet between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. It covers an area of 1300 square kilometres and contains three of the world's highest mountains - Everest (8845 metres); Lhotse (8501 metres), and Cho Oyu (8153 metres). Photograph shows mountain range looking northeast towards Mount Everest. The terrain in the Khumbu is difficult to navigate although scenically magnificent. The weather is unpredictable with heavy mists and fogs descending without warning. Permanent residents such as the Sherpas become physiologically adjusted to altitude and hypoxia through complex haematological changes including increased haemoglobin.