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Offers observations on the 50th anniversary of the attempt by mountain-climbers Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Our own Barry Bishop--a 31-year-old writer, photographer, and geographer--was part of the team. When I joined the staff of the National Geographic Society in 1969, Barry was already a legend here. After recovering from Everest, where he'd lost his toes and nearly lost his life, the cheerful man with the handlebar mustache turned his boundless energy to promoting science, eventually becoming chairman of the Society's Committee for Research and Exploration. Nine years ago Barry was killed in a car accident. But his family's connection with Everest didn't end. Last spring Barry's son, Brent, joined Sir Edmund's son, Peter, and Tenzing's son Jamling on an expedition to the peak as a tribute to their fathers.