Beginning in 1946, Elizabeth Hawley worked for Fortune magazine as a researcher. Shortly thereafter, she left both her job and the United States itself to travel the world, ending up in the exotic and remote sovereign state of Nepal. In the years that followed, she began reporting for the likes of Reuters and Time Inc., letting the world in on the strange community of mountaineers, pilgrims and politicians who were descending on Kathmandu.Despite the fact that Elizabeth Hawley has never climbed a mountain or visited the hallowed ground of Everest base camp, she has become the most important record keeper and inspirational authority figure in the Nepal Himalaya, commanding the respect of such legendary personalities as Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner, Chris Bonington, Tomaz Humar and Ed Viesturs.With production under way on a film examining her life and legacy, it is likely that Hawley will continue to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of all of those intrigued by the world's most celebrated mountain landscape.