Climbing to the summit of Mt. Everest remains the last challenge to be completed by the intrepid British explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. After abortive attempts in two consecutive years, the man described by the Guinness Book of World Records as “the world’s greatest living explorer" is quietly calculating his chances of success were he to make a third attempt.

In April of 2008, company-founder Michael Kobold followed Sir Ranulph to climb Everest. The following is a photo essay of the grueling two-month-long trip during which the author learned a number of important lessons - such as how television documentaries are made and how to lose 25 lbs in two months while eating mostly chocolate.