The Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition of 1960/61 remains one of the most ambitious and successful high altitude expeditions ever undertaken. Innovatively thought up by Sir Hilary and Dr Pugh, both well known figures in the field of high altitude research, it comprised of a team of physiologists who themselves would winter over at extreme altitude, a concept borrowed from the Trans-Antarctic Expeditions [1]. Significantly, this was the first attempt to look at the long term physiology behind acclimatisation and the effects of extreme altitude on the human body [2]. After spending the winter at extreme altitude the team, joined by some fresh members, would move to Mt. Makalu for an attempt on the summit. The attempt on Mt. Makalu allowed the scientists to see whether ‘super-acclimatization’ was possible. Observations conclusively showed that the wintering party were not at any advantage, apart from very initially [3]. The Silver Hut succeeded in removing variables commonly encountered on previous mountaineering expeditions to extreme altitude. One of the physiologists; Dr James Milledge has been generous enough to share his personal recollections of the expedition in detailed personal interview which allows a more humane and practical side when discussing the expedition, highlighting the role he played within the expedition. Milledge was responsible for several experiments during the expedition. He looked at ventilation and showed that even after three months of living at 5800m, the primary respiratory drive was still caused by hypoxia [4]. Two important changes in the control of ventilation were confirmed. Firstly, there was an increase in carbon dioxide sensitivity, which took three to five weeks to develop. Importantly, Milledge showed that there was no further increase in carbon dioxide sensitivity after the initial month, this had not been demonstrated before [5]. The second change was a significant reduction in the threshold response to carbon dioxide [6]. Additionally, it had been previously been proposed that the hypoxic sensitivity would decrease when ascending to high altitudes. For the first time, it was shown that there was no change in hypoxic sensitivity when ascending to high altitude [7]. The expedition was extraordinarily successful and the scientific return was extensive. There were many publications emanating from the expedition, twenty of the thirty six articles were published in per reviewed journals. These results portray just what an enormous undertaking the expedition really was. It not only required immense organisation of every aspect of the expedition by the leaders, Pugh and Hillary, but also relied on the dedicated team of physiologists willing to partake in both performing the investigations and also being the subjects for the other team members’ experiments. It was by far the most ambitious high altitude research expedition of its time. Remarkably, the legacy of the Silver Hut expedition is still stimulating further research today. The 2007 Caudwell Xtreme Everest expedition can trace its routes back to the Silver Hut and AMREE expeditions. It is significant that none of the scientific return has been disproven, and only a few findings superseded, much is still very relevant in present research.