Effective Date: December 22, 2025
Welcome to teameverest03.org. We strive to ensure that your digital experience on our resource is as transparent, secure, and inspiring as the stories we share. In the modern digital landscape, trust is a currency no less valuable than a safety rope on a mountain slope. We understand that data privacy and understanding how a website functions are critical for our users—from students and researchers to mountaineering veterans and business representatives.
This Cookie Policy is designed to provide you with complete, detailed, and understandable information about how and why we use tracking technologies. This document is an integral part of our overall data protection strategy and works in tandem with our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
What Are Cookies and Why Are They Important?
Cookies are small text fragments of data—essentially digital tags—that a website sends to your device when you browse pages. These files are saved by your web browser on the hard drive of your computer, tablet, or mobile device. You can think of them as a website’s “digital memory.” Without cookies, websites would be completely “forgetful”: every time you navigated to a new page, the site would think you were a brand-new visitor.
Technically, a cookie contains a string of text that transfers information between the server and your browser. This information can vary widely: from a unique session identifier that allows you to stay logged in while moving between articles, to complex analytical data that helps us understand which navigation routes through the site are most popular.
The use of cookies is standard practice for the vast majority of professional websites in the United States and globally. They play a fundamental role in the functioning of the modern internet. At teameverest03.org, we utilize these technologies not to invade your privacy, but to ensure the stable operation of the platform, improve content loading performance (such as historical photos and video footage of the 2003 expedition), and adapt our materials to the needs of our audience.
We divide cookies into two main categories based on their lifespan:
- Session Cookies: These are temporary files that exist only while your browser is open. They are automatically deleted as soon as you close your browser window or turn off your device. They are critically important for ensuring the security of your visit and the correct display of pages.
- Persistent Cookies: These files remain on your device after the browser is closed until they expire or until you manually delete them. They are used to remember your preferences (such as language settings or privacy consent) for future visits, making return visits to the site more convenient.
Categories of Cookies We Use
We classify the cookies we use based on their function and purpose. Understanding these categories will help you make an informed choice when managing your browser settings. It is important to note that refusing certain types of cookies may affect the availability of specific functions on our site, such as the ability to download checklists or view embedded media materials.
Below is a detailed list of cookie categories that may be employed on teameverest03.org:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: These files are vital for the operation of the website. Without them, you would not be able to navigate pages or use key services, such as accessing secure areas or contact forms. They do not collect information about you for marketing purposes and do not remember where you have been on the internet. Typically, they are set only in response to your actions, such as requesting services, setting privacy preferences, or filling out forms. Disabling these files in your browser may result in the complete inoperability of the site.
- Performance & Analytics Cookies: These files collect information about how visitors use the website, such as which pages they visit most often and if they receive error messages. These files do not collect information that identifies a visitor personally. All information collected by these files is aggregated and, therefore, anonymous. We use this data exclusively to improve the performance of our website, optimize content structure, and understand which articles about Team Everest ’03 generate the most interest among the audience.
- Functional Cookies: These files allow the website to remember choices you have made (such as your username, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personalized features. For example, a functional cookie might remember that you have already downloaded a specific gear checklist so that we do not annoyingly offer it to you again. The information these files collect may be anonymized, and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
- Targeting or Advertising Cookies: While our primary goal is education rather than advertising, we may use specific technologies to evaluate the effectiveness of our informational campaigns. These cookies are used to deliver content that is more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see the same announcements, as well as to help measure the effectiveness of campaigns. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator’s permission.
Use of Third-Party Cookies and Embedded Content
It is important to understand the difference between “first-party” and “third-party” cookies. First-party cookies are set directly by the teameverest03.org domain. Third-party cookies are set by domains other than the one you are visiting.
Given the historical and multimedia nature of our project, we often integrate content from external providers to enrich your experience. When you visit a page with such content, these third-party services may set their own cookies on your device. We do not control the dissemination of these cookies. You should check the websites of the respective third parties for further information about these files.
The most common examples of third-party technology use on our site include:
Video Services (YouTube, Vimeo): Our site contains an extensive archive of video footage, including interviews with Gary Guller and chronicles of the 2003 expedition. Most of these videos are hosted on YouTube or Vimeo platforms and embedded in our pages. When you click the play button, these providers may set cookies to gather viewing statistics, remember your video stopping point, or customize the player. Google (the owner of YouTube) may also use this data to personalize advertising across its network if you are logged into your Google account.
Social Media: We provide opportunities to share our articles and Team Everest achievements on social media. “Share” buttons or widgets from platforms such as Facebook, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, or Instagram may use cookies to track your actions. This allows social networks to link your visit to our site with your profile on their platform.
Analytics (Google Analytics): We use Google Analytics, one of the most widespread and trusted analytics solutions on the web, to help us understand how you use the site and how we can improve your experience. These cookies may track things such as how long you spend on the site and the pages that you visit. We have configured these tools to minimize personal data collection (e.g., via IP masking), however, data is still processed by Google servers in the United States.
Managing Cookies and Opting Out
We respect your right to privacy and provide you with full control over your data. You have the right to decide whether to accept cookies or not. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer.
However, please be aware that if you choose to disable cookies, this may limit your use of certain features or functions on our website and on many other websites that you visit. For example, you may not be able to save reading progress or use interactive elements.
To manage cookies, most browsers allow you to:
- View individual cookies and delete them.
- Block third-party cookies.
- Block cookies from specific sites.
- Block the installation of all cookies.
- Delete all cookies when you close your browser.
Below are instructions for managing cookies for the most popular web browsers used by our US audience:
- Google Chrome: Open the Chrome menu (three dots in the corner) -> Settings -> Privacy and security -> Cookies and other site data. Here you can choose “Block third-party cookies” or set exceptions for specific sites. The “Clear browsing data” option is also available to delete already saved files.
- Mozilla Firefox: Click the menu button and select “Settings”. Go to the “Privacy & Security” panel. Under “Enhanced Tracking Protection,” you can choose “Strict” or “Custom” modes to control which trackers are blocked. The “Cookies and Site Data” section allows for storage management.
- Apple Safari (macOS and iOS): In Safari on Mac, go to Safari menu -> Settings -> Privacy. Select “Prevent cross-site tracking” or “Block all cookies.” On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings -> Safari and use the toggles in the “Privacy & Security” section.
- Microsoft Edge: Go to Settings and more -> Settings -> Cookies and site permissions. Here you can manage cookie data and site data, as well as see which permissions have been granted.
- Opera: Go to Settings -> Advanced -> Privacy & security -> Site settings -> Cookies and site data.
“Do Not Track” Signals and US Legislation
In the United States, there are various approaches to regulating digital tracking. Some state laws, such as in California (CCPA/CPRA) or Virginia (VCDPA), provide users with specific rights. Although teameverest03.org is primarily an informational resource, we strive to adhere to best practices.
Many modern browsers offer an option to send a “Do Not Track” signal to websites you visit. This mechanism is intended to give users a simple way to opt out of tracking by websites and ad networks. Currently, there is no industry-wide standard on how websites should respond to these signals. Like many other websites and online services, we do not currently alter our practices when we receive a “Do Not Track” signal from a visitor’s browser. We are awaiting the development of unified standards in this area and will revise our policy as they emerge.
Instead, we rely on providing you with full information and the tools for manual cookie management described above, which is considered an effective and transparent method of control.
Pixel Tags and Web Beacons
In addition to cookies, we may use other similar technologies such as web beacons (sometimes called “tracking pixels” or “clear GIFs”). These are tiny graphic files that contain a unique identifier enabling us to recognize when someone has visited our website or opened an email that we have sent.
This allows us, for example, to monitor user traffic from one page within our website to another, to deliver or communicate with cookies, to understand whether you have come to our website from an online advertisement displayed on a third-party website, and to improve site performance. Unlike cookies, which are stored on your computer’s hard drive, these technologies are embedded invisibly on web pages or in emails. They frequently depend on cookies to function correctly, so declining cookies will often impair their functioning.
Data Security and Cookies
We want to emphasize that the cookies used on teameverest03.org are safe in themselves. They cannot be used to run program code (execute programs) or deliver viruses to your computer. A cookie cannot read data from your hard drive or read cookie files created by other sites.
However, we understand concerns regarding how data collected via cookies is stored and processed. We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information collected via cookies from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. We regularly audit the tools we use and discard services that do not meet our high standards of data ethics.
Updates to This Policy
The digital world changes as rapidly as the weather in the Himalayas. Technologies evolve, privacy legislation in the US and globally becomes stricter, and our site also grows and adds new features. Consequently, we reserve the right to make changes to this Cookie Policy at any time.
Any changes become effective immediately upon publication of the updated Policy on the website. The “Effective Date” listed at the top of this page will be updated to reflect the date of the most recent revision. We recommend that you periodically review this page to stay informed about how we use cookies. Your continued use of our website following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy.
Contact Us
We understand that technical information can be complex, and you may have remaining questions regarding exactly how we track or do not track data. We adhere to an open-door policy. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this Cookie Policy or our data practices, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Our webmaster is ready to answer your technical questions and assist with privacy settings.
Email: [email protected]
We value your trust and thank you for being part of the Team Everest ’03 community. Your digital safety is our priority as we explore the world’s highest peaks together.