The first successful American ascent of Everest took place in 1963. Ten years previously Everest had been conquered for the first time by the British Expedition led by Col. John Hunt. The Americans, however, achieved the distinction of being the first to film from the summit itself.

A fifty-foot ketch travels 2,000 miles across France, Germany, Holland, Denmark, and Belgium-a voyage made possible by the vast network of canals linking the great rivers of the Continent.