Once they had reached the top of the summit they paused, took photographs, and buried a few sweets and a small cross underneath the snow. This was their final act before descending back down the mountain. Later, as a result of their accomplishment, Hunt and Hillary would be knighted in the Order of the British Empire, Tenzing would be granted the George Medal by the United Kingdom, and Hillary would become a founding member of the Order of New Zealand. It is important to remember though, that the sweets and cross that the team buried at the peak of Everest, they buried on top of the world.

A lenticular cloud hovers over the summit of Mt. Everest. Himalayan Mountains, Nepal.
Image #1251727. Craig Kassover/National Geographic Stock.

A man trudges toward the last camp before Everest's summit. Mount Everest, Himalaya Mountains, Nepal.
Image #615391. Barry Bishop/National Geographic Stock.

A climber gazes at the north face of Mount Everest. Tibet, People's Republic of China.
Image #1011684. Jimmy Chin/National Geographic Stock.

The crater of Mount Saint Helens. Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington.
Image #1438426. Diane Cook and Len Jenshel/National Geographic Stock.

At 8:32:17am PDT on Sunday, May 18th, 1980, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake weakened the structure of the north face of Mount St. Helens, causing a landslide that traveled at 110 to 155 miles per hour and extended over an area of approximately 24 square miles. This landslide exposed the magma in the volcano’s neck to much lower pressure and as a result, explosions burst through the trailing part of the landslide. These fast-moving currents of rocks and extremely high temperature gases called called pyroclastic flows, can reach up to 1,830 °F. The resulting power of St. Helens pyroclastic flow knocked down about 230 square miles of forest and the extreme heat ended up killing trees miles beyond the blow-down zone. A huge ash column grew to a height of 12 miles sending about 540 million tons of ash over an area of 22,000 square miles.

In total, the eruption at Mount St. Helens produced 24 megatons of thermal energy with 7 megatons stemming directly from the blast alone. This amount of thermal energy is equivalent to roughly 1,600 times the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

Dropping onto the fuming crest of Mount Saint Helens just a week before the volcano blew itself apart in May 1980, photographer David F. Cupp (at left) records an ash-collecting mission inside the crater rim. Mount St. Helens, Cascade Range, Washington.
Image #529833. Rowe Findly/National Geographic Stock.

A bus driver cleans ash from Mount Saint Helens off of his windshield. KELSO, WASHINGTON.
Image #284772. Annie Griffiths Belt/National Geographic Stock.

The film has helped the University connect with prospective students, faculty, and staff through a creative, and viral medium in order to show them what the campus has to offer in terms of sheer beauty.

To view some stock photographs of more of Stephen’s work, click here.

The video can been seen below. And remember, make sure to vote for “On Assignment”!

Instead, come browse high-quality graduation photos from some award-winning National Geographic photographers by clicking here.

Trust us, it’s a lot easier this way.

Graduation ceremony from the East China Normal University. Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Image #993904. Michael S. Yamashita/National Geographic Stock.

Naval Academy graduates toss their caps into the air. United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.
Image #1052955. Annie Griffiths Belt/National Geographic Stock.

Twin sisters on the set of a comedy-horror film. Indianapolis, Indiana.
Image #1445791. Jodi Cobb/National Geographic Stock.

Participants at the Twins Days Festival. Twinsburg, Ohio.
Image #1458779. Jodi Cobb/National Geographic Stock.

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Miss Landmine Cambodia 2009, tries on her prize, a titanium leg. Battambang, Cambodia.
Image #1445820. Lynn Johnson/National Geographic Stock.

Founder of the Cambodia Landmine Museum, displays mines he defused. Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Image #1445826. Lynn Johnson/National Geographic Stock.

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Friends and neighbors share beers after branding calves. Sweet Grass, Montana.
Image #1445815. William Albert Allard/National Geographic Stock.

Horses are trailered and saddled for cattle roundup. Malta, Montana.
Image #1460026. William Albert Allard/National Geographic Stock.

The low orbit allows the telescope to take extremely sharp images with almost no background light, which allows us to observe some of the most fascinating and detailed images of other planets, systems, and galaxies. Twenty-two years and four servicing missions later, the telescope still remains in operation, providing some of the most important images and insights into the infinity beyond our world’s atmosphere.

To see more photos captured by or of the Hubble Space Telescope, click here.

Astronauts revitalize the Hubble Space Telescope with new instruments. Space.
Image #1281892. NASA/National Geographic Stock.

Young stars flare in the Carina Nebula. Space.
Image #1281906. NASA/ESA/National Geographic Stock.

The Hubble Space Telescope. Space.
Image #1095047. NASA/National Geographic Stock.