All black team to summit Mount Everest
This spring a group of climbers and mountaineers are set to make history by becoming the first all-black team to summit Mount Everest.
In the seven decades since New Zealand explorer Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first confirmed climbers to reach the peak of the world's tallest mountain, it has been summited by just over 10,000 others, only eight of whom were black.
However, this spring a group of climbers from Florida are set to more than double that figure, and make history in the process, by becoming the first all-black team of mountaineers to summit the mountain.
The group, which goes by the name Full Circle Everest Expedition, is comprised of climbers and mountaineers from a variety of backgrounds, including a former college football player, a high school chemistry teacher, a sociologist and Iraq war veteran, and a North-face sponsored ice climber. They come from across the US, apart from one member who is from Kenya.
They hope to encourage and inspire other people of colour to inspire others to take on outdoor challenges and spend more time interacting with the natural world.
"It is an expedition that is certainly about climbing. It is about spending time in the mountains, but it is also about building community, global community. And it's about changing the narrative for the Black community, particularly in the United States and how we interact with outdoor spaces," said member, Rosemary Saal.
