At 84, GYALZEN SHERPA is the oldest of the four surviving climbing Sherpas from Hillary's 1953 British expedition, and reportedly the wealthiest man in the village of Namche Bazaar, the unofficial capital of the Everest region. In 1952, he landed his first expedition job, collecting firewood for a Swiss team that attempted Everest that year. In 1953, eager to earn a bonus offered to the Sherpas who climbed the highest, Gyalzen twice carried gear to Everest's 26,200-foot South Col. "Going on a mountain is like going to war," he recalls. "You don't know whether you'll come back or not." After 12 years of hauling loads for seven major expeditions, Gyalzen finally saved enough money to switch to a safer, more lucrative occupation: trading Nepalese butter and rice paper for Tibetan rock salt, wool, and yaks. He was photographed at his home in Namche Bazaar.