When a British expedition put the first two men on the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, their achievement fired the world’s imagination. Since then about 3,000 people have scaled the world’s highest peak — and three of them, remarkably, have come from Corvallis.

On May 22, 1963, Willi Unsoeld became just the 14th human to stand atop Everest, pioneering with Tom Hornbein a daring route up the previously unclimbed West Ridge. As his partner snapped a picture, Unsoeld proudly unfurled the Oregon State College Mountain Club flag on the 29,028-foot summit.

You can just barely make out the “OSC (OSU was Oregon State College at the time) Mountain Club in this photo.

Of personal interest, this article also mentions the Everest Experience of OSU Alum Stacey Allison who also happens to be from my hometown of Woodburn, OR.

Even today, OSU students can still take advantage of mountain climbing opportunities at OSU through our Outdoor Rec Center and the Dixon Recreation Climbing Wall.