NEW YORK, NY.- In May 2001 photographer Tom Wool spent four weeks photographing life in the villages of Tibet ’s Rongbuk Valley , an expanse of rugged terrain which stretches roughly fifty miles from the base of Mount Everest on the north side. Home to some 3,000 Tibetans, this area is of distinct importance to the indigenous population for its sacred geography and religious history. Believed to be the place where earth touches the heavens, Mount Everest is called “Chomolungma” in Tibetan, meaning “Mother Goddess of the Earth.” The valley is also home to the Rongbuk Monastery, the highest of any in the world at 17,000 feet. Accompanied by two yakmen and a tiny horse, Wool followed the route taken during the first British expeditions of this area, including that taken by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine as they attempted their ill-fated Everest climb in 1924. Indeed, Wool feels that the ghosts of Mallory and Irvine haunted his trip. During his stay, an e