In 1984 a small group of climbers from the world's flattest continent pulled off an audacious ascent of Mount Everest - they put a new route up the north face in lightweight style with no oxygen or sherpa support. Six years later, one of the summiteers, Tim Macartney-Snape decided to return to Everest after he realized neither he nor any other person who had climbed the mountain had truly climbed the entire 8,848 meters, as that would have meant starting from sea level. That is, no one had yet climbed it from "sea to summit".