Frank Wells and Dick Bass had a dream. It was as straightforward as it was difficult: climb the highest mountain on each of the world's seven continents; a feat that had eluded the world's best mountaineers. What made it all the more extraordinary was that Frank and Dick were businessmen, not mounta[...]

"The Last Step"tells the story, written by Rick Ridgeway, a member of the expedition team, of the 1978 first American ascent of K2. It was the third ascent overall of K2 and the first on which any members reached the summit without using supplemental oxygen on the final push. They experienced the us[...]