Knowledge does not dispel mystery.

Nan Shepherd - the great Scottish naturalist, climber, and author - wrote in The Living Mountain as she went down a rabbit hole of sorts about alpine flora.

I am, to say the least, with Nan 100%. It seems to me the more knowledge I gain, the more deeply I study and focus and learn about a given subject, the more the mystery - and desire to learn more - grows. Knowledge is for me a rabbit hole with no end, beautiful and inspiring.

To that end, my work to understand - and translate - the mystery of the Himalaya continues. The Virtual Everest project I've been working on for years is now in a new, and better, iteration. As those of you who've followed along here know, I've been at this for a number of years, trying to take my archive of panoramas, photographs, memories, and experiences in Nepal - and especially in, around, and on Mount Everest - and put them into a usable format, one through which anyone, all of you, can explore, learn, go deep, gain some knowledge and deepen some mystery.

I've got a new, updated version of the Virtual Everest live. It's still three parts (for now), starting at Bodhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, climbs the Hunku Khola over the Amphu Laptsa, continues to Khumbu Basecamp and on to the summit via the Southeast Ridge - with a foray on the West Ridge as well. The new version loads faster, and works well on phones and tablets and VR headsets. Each panorama and mapped peak, pass, and place links to its precise location in Google Maps and Gaia GPS, and all three tours connect, so you can continue from Kathmandu to the Top of the World seamlessly.

And, yes, it's a rabbit hole, allowing you to go as deep down (up?) as you'd like. Some stats from the tour:

• 142 unique panoramas, plus an interactive, 3D model of the Everest region;
• 1,200+ hotspots and cards telling and showing more about points of interest in the tour;
• 28,000 words of original writing in the cards giving detail, history, background of peaks, places, and people;
• 286 mapped features - peaks, points, ridges, places, and passes - each with location, elevation, and map links;
• 6 of the 14 8000-meter peaks: Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma;
• 38 outlined areas you can click to learn more about the routes, faces, and glaciers;
• 451 links between panoramas, and 16 links to jump between tour sections;
• And more I've not mentioned, and more yet to come.

So, what's the point? you may logically ask. It's a question I've asked myself through the hours of work. The answer? As Nan said, knowledge and mystery. Maybe you've been to the region and want to relive it, share it with your kids and grandkids. Maybe you dream of going, and want to get the feel without lacing up any boots. Perhaps you'll never go, but are still curious. And, maybe you're one of those whose mind wanders to the unknown and unclimbed, searching out the adventure? Lots of info on unknown, unclimbed, and unnamed peaks for you here, too.

Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.
— Walker Evans

The trail is open, the climb is on, knowledge - and fun - is waiting. Come join the caravan.

• Part 1: Kathmandu to the Amphu Laptsa, Muddhi Memories
• Part 2: The Amphu Laptsa to Everest Basecamp, Amphu Onward
• Part 3: Basecamp to the Summit (and the West Ridge), Everest: Basecamp & Above

We have joined the caravan, you might say, at a certain point; we will travel as far as we can, but we cannot in a lifetime see all that we would like to see or learn all that we hunger to know.
— Loren Eiseley