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diff --git a/old/61083-0.txt b/old/61083-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bb66211..0000000 --- a/old/61083-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9143 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Assault on Mount Everest, 1922, by -Charles Granville Bruce - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: The Assault on Mount Everest, 1922 - -Author: Charles Granville Bruce - -Release Date: January 2, 2020 [EBook #61083] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ASSAULT ON MOUNT EVEREST, 1922 *** - - - - -Produced by Tim Lindell, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - THE ASSAULT ON - MOUNT EVEREST, - 1922 - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: - - The Second Climbing Party descending from their record climb. - LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD & C^{o.} -] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE ASSAULT ON - MOUNT EVEREST - 1922 - - - By - - Brigadier-General Hon. C. G. BRUCE, C.B., M.V.O. - AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION - - - - - WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS - - - - - NEW YORK - LONGMANS, GREEN & CO. - LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD & CO. - 1923 - - All rights reserved - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Made and Printed in Great Britain by - Butler & Tanner Ltd., Frome and London - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PREFACE - - -The Mount Everest Committee desire to take this opportunity of thanking -General Bruce, Mr. Mallory, Captain Finch, Mr. Somervell and Dr. -Longstaff for having, in addition to their labours in the field, made -the following contributions to the story of an expedition whose chief -result has been to strengthen our confidence that the summit of the -highest mountain in the world can be attained by man. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTION. By SIR FRANCIS 3 - YOUNGHUSBAND, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E. - - - THE NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION - By BRIGADIER-GENERAL HON. C. G. BRUCE, C.B., M.V.O. - - CHAP. - I TO THE BASE CAMP 17 - II THE ASSAULT ON THE MOUNTAIN 50 - III THE RETURN BY KHARTA 77 - - - THE FIRST ATTEMPT - By GEORGE H. LEIGH-MALLORY - - IV THE PROBLEM 121 - V THE HIGHEST CAMP 150 - VI THE HIGHEST POINT 183 - - - THE ATTEMPT WITH OXYGEN - By CAPTAIN GEORGE FINCH - - VII THE SECOND ATTEMPT 227 - VIII CONCLUSIONS 251 - IX NOTES ON EQUIPMENT 262 - - - THE THIRD ATTEMPT - By GEORGE H. LEIGH-MALLORY - - X THE THIRD ATTEMPT 273 - XI CONCLUSIONS 287 - - - NOTES - By T. HOWARD SOMERVELL - - XII ACCLIMATISATION AT HIGH ALTITUDES 299 - XIII COLOUR IN TIBET 309 - XIV TIBETAN CULTURE 313 - - - NATURAL HISTORY - By DR. T. G. LONGSTAFF, M.D. - - XV NATURAL HISTORY 321 - INDEX 338 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - The Second Climbing Party descending Frontispiece - from their Record Climb - - PAGE - - Frozen Waterfall, Chumbi Valley 28 - - Nuns at Tatsang 34 - - Rongbuk Monastery and Mount Everest 44 - - The Expedition at Base Camp 46 - - View at Base Camp 50 - - Camp II at Sunset 54 - - Mount Everest from Camp III 60 - - Watching the Dancers, Rongbuk Monastery 72 - - The Chief Lama, Rongbuk Monastery 78 - - Tibetan Dancing Woman 84 - - Tibetan Dancing Man 84 - - Old Tibetan Woman and Child 90 - - Fording the Bhong Chu 98 - - Panorama at Shekar Dzong 106 - - In Khamba Dzong 110 - - Lingga and the Lhonak Mountains 114 - - Base Camp and Mount Everest in Evening 124 - Light - - Serac, East Rongbuk Glacier 140 - - View from Ice Cavern 146 - - Seracs, East Rongbuk Glacier, above Camp 150 - II - - Party ascending the Chang La 156 - - Peak, 23,180 feet (Kellas’ dark rock 162 - peak), from the Rongbuk Glacier, above - Camp II - - Mallory and Norton approaching their 204 - Highest Point, 26,985 feet - - Summit of Mount Everest from the Highest 210 - Point of the First Climb, 26,985 feet, - May 21, 1922 - - The First Climbing Party 218 - - Frost-bitten Climber being helped down 222 - to Camp II - - Mount Everest from Base Camp 232 - - East Rongbuk Glacier, near Camp II 236 - - Oxygen Apparatus 242 - - Captain Noel kinematographing the Ascent 242 - of Mount Everest from the Chang La - - The British Members of the Second 248 - Climbing Party - - Chang La and North-east Shoulder of 290 - Mount Everest - - Religious Banners in Shekar Monastery 314 - - Romoo, the Lepcha Collector who assisted 322 - Dr. Longstaff and Major Norton - - Karma Paul, the Expedition’s Interpreter 322 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - MAPS - - - Sketch Map of Mount Everest and the 366 - Rongbuk Glaciers - - The Route of the Mount Everest 367 - Expedition, 1922 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - INTRODUCTION - - By - SIR FRANCIS YOUNGHUSBAND, - K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - INTRODUCTION - - -Colonel Howard-Bury and the members of the Expedition of 1921 had -effected the object with which they had been despatched. They were not -sent out to climb Mount Everest. It would be impossible to reach the -summit in a single effort. They were sent to reconnoitre the mountain -from every direction and discover what was for certain the easiest way -up. For it was quite certain that only by the easiest way possible—and -only if there were an easy way—would the summit ever be reached. In the -Alps, nowadays, men look about for the most difficult way up a mountain. -Hundreds every year ascend even the Matterhorn by the easiest ways up. -So men with any turn for adventure have to look about for the difficult -ways. With Mount Everest it is very different. The exhaustion produced -from the difficulty of breathing in enough oxygen at the great heights -is so fearful that only by a way that entails the least possible -exertion can the summit be reached. Hence the necessity for spending the -first season in thoroughly prospecting the mountain. And this was all -the more necessary because no European so far had been within sixty -miles of Mount Everest, so that not even the approaches to the mountain -were known. - -During 1921, under the leadership of Colonel Howard-Bury, this -reconnaissance was most thoroughly carried out. Mr. Mallory found what -was quite certainly the easiest—indeed the only practicable—way up the -mountain, and Major Morshead and Captain Wheeler mapped the mountain -itself and the country round. They brought back also much valuable -experience of the conditions under which a definite “all-out” attempt to -reach the summit might be made. Ample data were therefore now at the -disposal of the Mount Everest Committee for organising an expedition to -make this attempt. - -And first the question of leadership had to be decided. This was a -definitely climbing expedition, and a climbing expert would be needed to -lead it—and a climbing expert who had experience of Himalayan -conditions, which are in so many ways different from Alpine conditions. -The one obvious man for this position of leader was Brigadier-General -Hon. C. G. Bruce. He could not be expected at his age to take part in -the actual climbing. But for the command of the whole Expedition no -better could be found. For thirty years he had devoted himself to -climbing both in the Himalaya and in the Alps. He was an expert climber, -and he knew the Himalayan conditions as no other man. And, what was of -scarcely less importance, he knew the Himalayan peoples, and knew how to -handle them. Any climbing party would be dependent upon the native -porters to carry stores and equipment up the mountain. But climbers from -England would know nothing about these men or how to treat them. It was -essential, therefore, that there should be with the Expedition some one -who could humour and get the best out of them. - -This was the more necessary as one of the chief features of these -expeditions to Mount Everest was the organisation of a corps of porters -specially enlisted from among the hardiest men on that frontier for the -particular purpose of carrying camps to high altitudes. This idea -originated with General Bruce himself. So far Himalayan climbing -expeditions had been dependent upon coolies collected at the highest -villages and taken on for a few days while the climb lasted. But this -was never very satisfactory, and coolies so collected would be of no use -on Mount Everest. General Bruce’s plan was very different. It was, -months beforehand, to select thirty or forty of the very best men who -could be found in the higher mountains, to enlist them for some months, -pay them well, feed them well and equip them well, and above all to put -into them a real _esprit de corps_, make them take a pride in the task -that was before them. But to do all this there was needed a man who knew -and understood them and who had this capacity for infusing them with a -keen spirit. And for this no one could be better than General Bruce -himself. He had served in a Gurkha regiment for thirty years. He loved -his Gurkhas, and was beloved by them. He spoke their language; knew all -their customs and traditions, and had had them climbing with him in the -Alps as well as the Himalaya. And Gurkhas come from Nepal, on the -borders of which Mount Everest lies. - -For organising this corps of porters, for dealing with the Tibetans, -and, lastly, for keeping together the climbers from England, who were -mostly quite unknown to each other, but who all knew of General Bruce -and his mountaineering achievements in the Himalaya, General Bruce was -an ideal chief. - -This being settled, the next question was the selection of the climbing -party. General Bruce would not be able to go on to the mountain itself, -and he would have plenty to do at the main base camp, seeing after -supplies and organising transport service from the main base to the high -mountain base. As chief at the mountain base, and as second-in-command -of the Expedition to take General Bruce’s place in case of any -misadventure to him, Lieutenant-Colonel E. L. Strutt was selected. He -was an Alpine climber of great experience and knowledge of ice and snow -conditions. But for the actual effort to reach the summit two men were -specially marked out. One, of course, was Mr. George Leigh-Mallory, who -had done such valuable service on the reconnaissance of the previous -year; and the other was Captain George Finch, who had been selected for -the first Expedition, but who had, through temporary indisposition, not -been able to go with it. Both of these were first-rate men and well -known for their skill in mountaineering. These two had been selected in -the previous year. Of new men, Major E. F. Norton was an experienced and -very reliable and thorough mountaineer. He is an officer in the -Artillery, and well known in India for his skill and interest in -pig-sticking. But in between his soldiering and his pig-sticking and a -course at the Staff College he seems to have found time for Alpine -climbing and for bird observation. A man of high spirit, who could be -trusted to keep his head under all circumstances and to help in keeping -a party together, he was a valuable addition to the Expedition. Mr. -Somervell was perhaps even more versatile in his accomplishments. He was -a surgeon in a London hospital, who was also skilled both in music and -painting, and yet found time for mountaineering, and, being younger than -the others, and possessed of exuberant energy and a fine physique, he -could be reckoned on to go with the highest climbers. Another member of -the medical profession who was also a mountaineer was Dr. Wakefield. He -was a Westmorland man, who had performed wonderful climbing feats in the -Lake District in his younger days, and now held a medical practice in -Canada. He was bursting with enthusiasm to join the expedition, and gave -up his practice for the purpose. - -As medical officer and naturalist of the Expedition, Dr. T. G. Longstaff -was chosen. He was a veteran Himalayan climber, and if only this -Expedition could have been undertaken some years earlier, he, like -General Bruce, would have made a magnificent leader of a climbing party. -As it was, his great experience would be available for the climbers as -far as the high mountain camp. And this time it was intended to send -with the Expedition a “whole-time” photographer and cinematographer, -both for the purpose of having a photographic record of its progress and -also to provide the means by which the expenses of this and a future -expedition might be met. For this Captain J. B. Noel was selected. He -had made a reconnaissance towards Mount Everest in 1913, and he had -since then made a special study of photography and cinematography, so -that he was eminently suited for the task. - -The above formed the party which would be sent out from England. And -subsequently General Bruce, in India, selected four others to join the -Expedition: Mr. Crawford, of the Indian Civil Service, a keen -mountaineer, who had long wished to join the Expedition; Major Morshead, -who had held charge of the survey party in the 1921 Expedition, and now -wanted to join the present Expedition as a climber; and two officers -from Gurkha regiments, to serve as transport officers, namely, Captain -Geoffrey Bruce and Captain Morris. - -This completed the British personnel of the Expedition. It had been my -hope that a first-rate artist might have accompanied it to paint the -greatest peaks of the Himalaya, but the artists whom we chose were -unable to pass the medical examination, though the examination was, of -course, not so severe as the examination which the actual climbers had -to pass. - -While these men were being selected, the Equipment Committee, Captain -Farrar and Mr. Meade, were working hard. Taking the advice of Colonel -Howard-Bury and Mr. Mallory, and profiting by the experience gained on -the previous Expedition, they got together and had suitably packed and -despatched to India a splendid outfit comprising every necessity for an -Expedition of this nature. The amount of work that Farrar put into this -was enormous; for as a mountaineer he knew well how the success of the -Expedition depended on each detail of the equipment being looked into, -and he spared himself no trouble and overlooked nothing. The stores were -of the most varied description, in order to meet the varying tastes of -the different members. The tents were improved in accordance with the -experience gained. Most particular attention was paid to the boots. -Clothing and bedding, light in weight but warm to wear, were specially -designed. Ice-axes, crampons, ropes, lanterns, cooking-stoves, and also -warm clothing for the porters, were all provided, and much else besides. - -But about one point in the equipment of the party there was much -diversity of opinion. Should the climbers be provided with oxygen, or -should they not? If it were at all feasible to provide climbers with -oxygen without adding appreciably to the weight they had to carry, the -summit of Mount Everest could be reached to a certainty. For the purely -mountaineering difficulties are not great. On the way to the summit -there are no physical obstacles which a trained mountaineer could not -readily overcome. The one factor which renders the ascent so difficult -is the want of oxygen in the air. Provide the oxygen and the ascent -could be made at once. But to provide the oxygen heavy apparatus would -have to be carried—and carried by the climbers themselves. It became a -question whether the disadvantage of having to carry a weight of at -least thirty pounds would or would not outweigh the advantages to be -gained by the use of the oxygen. - -And the Mount Everest Committee were warned of another feature in the -case. They were told that if by any misfortune the oxygen were to run -out when the climbers were at a considerable height—say 27,000 feet—and -they suddenly found themselves without any preparation in this -attenuated atmosphere, they might collapse straight away. It was a -disagreeable prospect to anticipate. But Captain Finch, who was himself -a lecturer on chemistry at the Imperial College of Science, Mr. -Somervell, and Captain Farrar, pressed so strongly for the use of -oxygen, and Mr. Unna was so convinced he could construct a reasonably -portable apparatus, that the Committee decided that the experiment -should be made. The value of using oxygen could thus be tested, and we -should know what were the prospects of reaching the summit of the -mountain either with or without its aid. Captain Farrar, Captain Finch, -and Mr. Unna therefore set about constructing an apparatus which would -hold the lightest procurable oxygen cylinders, and which could be -carried on the back by the climbers. - -This final question having been settled, all the stores and equipment -having been purchased, packed, and despatched, the members of the -Expedition left England in March. But before I leave General Bruce to -take up the tale of their adventures, I must say yet one word more about -“the good” of climbing Mount Everest. These repeated efforts to reach -the summit of the world’s highest mountain have already cost human life. -They have also cost much physical pain, fatigue, and discomfort to the -climbers. They have been very expensive. And there is not the slightest -sign of any material gain whatever being obtained—not an ounce of gold, -or iron, or coal, or a single precious stone, or any land upon which -food or material could be grown. What, then, is the good of it all? Who -will benefit in the least even if the climbers do eventually get to the -top? These are questions which are still being continually asked me, so -I had better still go on trying to make as plain as I can what is the -good of climbing Mount Everest. - -The most obvious good is an increased knowledge of our own capacities. -By trying with all our might and with all our mind to climb the highest -point on the earth, we are getting to know better what we really can do. -No one can say for certain yet whether we can or cannot reach the -summit. We cannot know till we try. But if—as seems much more probable -now than it did ten years ago—we can reach the summit, we shall know -that we are capable of more than we had supposed. And this knowledge of -our capacities will be very valuable. In my own lifetime I have seen -men’s knowledge of their capacity for climbing mountains greatly -increased. Men’s standard of climbing has been raised. They now know -that they can do what forty years ago they did not deem in the least -possible. And if they reach the summit of Mount Everest, the standard of -achievement will be still further raised; and men who had, so far, never -thought of attempting the lesser peaks of the Himalaya, will be climbing -them as freely as they now climb peaks in Switzerland. - -And what then? What is the good of that? The good of that is that a -whole new enjoyment in life will be opened up. And enjoyment of life is, -after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat -and make money to be able to enjoy life. And some of us know from actual -experience that by climbing a mountain we can get some of the finest -enjoyment there is to be had. We like bracing ourselves against a -mountain, pitting our mettle, our nerve, our skill, against the physical -difficulties the mountain presents, and feeling that we are forcing the -spirit within us to prevail against the material. That is a glorious -feeling in itself and a real tonic to the spirit—even when it does not -always conquer. - -But that is not all. The wrestling with the mountain makes us love the -mountain. For the moment we may be utterly exhausted and only too -thankful to be able to hurry back to more congenial regions. Yet, all -the same, we shall eventually get to love the mountain for the very fact -that she has forced the utmost out of us, lifted us just for one -precious moment high above our ordinary life, and shown us beauty of an -austerity, power, and purity we should have never known if we had not -faced the mountain squarely and battled strongly with her. - -This, then, is the good to be obtained from climbing Mount Everest. Most -men will have to take on trust that there is this good. But most of the -best things in life we have to take on trust at first till we have -proved them for ourselves. So I would beg readers of this book first -trustfully to accept it from the Everest climbers that there is good in -climbing great mountains (for the risks they have run and the hardships -they have endured are ample enough proof of the faith that is in them), -and then to go and test it for themselves—in the Himalaya, if possible, -or if not, in the Alps, the Rockies, the Andes, wherever high mountains -make the call. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE NARRATIVE OF THE - EXPEDITION - - By - BRIGADIER-GENERAL HON. C. G. BRUCE, - C.B., M.V.O. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER I - - TO THE BASE CAMP - - -The precursor of the present volume, _The Reconnaissance of Mount -Everest in 1921_, sets forth fully the successful and strenuous work -which was accomplished in that year and which has rendered possible the -Expedition of the present year. The whole of our work lying in country -which had never previously been explored by Europeans, it was rendered -absolutely necessary for a full examination of the whole country to be -made before an attempt to climb Mount Everest could possibly be carried -out. We have to thank Colonel Howard-Bury and his companions, especially -his survey officers, for their important work, which rendered our task -in arriving at our base comparatively simple. - -The object of the Expedition of 1922, of course, was the actual attack -on the mountain in an attempt to climb it; but no great mountain has -ever succumbed to the first attempt on it, and therefore it is almost -inconceivable that so tremendous a problem as the ascent of Mount -Everest should succeed at the very first effort. In fact, I myself am -more than satisfied, almost astounded, at the extraordinary success -attained by my companions in this endeavour. The problem that lay in -front of us, I think, should be first explained. - -Mount Everest, as all know, lies on that part of the Himalaya which is -narrowest. It is, therefore, exposed very rapidly to the first assaults -of the South-west monsoon, and this monsoon advances up the Bay of -Bengal at an earlier period in the year than that of its Western branch, -the Gulf current. It is this fact which supplies the greatest difficulty -to be faced in an attack on any of the great peaks which lie in this -region, giving one an unusually short season. However, to a certain -extent this is counteracted by the fact that the winter climate in this -portion of the Himalaya is far drier than it is in the West. There is -less deposit of snow on the mountains in this section of the Himalaya -than there would be, for instance, in the Kashmir mountains, and this, -to some extent, makes up for the early advance of the monsoon, and -consequent bad weather, which renders any exploration of the great -heights during the time that the monsoon blows an impossibility. - -Towards the end of May the monsoon arrives in Darjeeling, and then, -according to the strength of the current, quickly approaches the -Southern faces of the Himalaya, and, as the current strengthens, drifts -across their summits and through the gorges and over the lower ridges. -The problem, therefore, of any party exploring in these mountains -resolves itself into the rapidity with which they can establish their -base of operations in a suitable locality to explore the mountains and -to climb them. During the period of the very great cold, naturally, the -upper heights are impossible, and camping on the upper glaciers is in -itself also almost impossible. Travelling across Tibet in March, -crossing high passes of over 17,000 feet is such that, although it might -be perfectly possible to do, it would be a great strain on the stamina -of the party, and likely to detract from their condition. We had, -therefore, to adapt our advance into Tibet so as to make it at the -latest possible moment, in order to avoid the very worst of the weather, -and yet at the earliest possible moment, so that we could arrive at the -foot of our mountains with sufficient time to attack them before the -weather broke up and rendered mountaineering an impossibility at a great -height. It resolves itself, then, almost into a race against the -monsoon. - -This was our problem, and it is my special province in these opening -chapters to show how we tackled it. - -During the winter of 1921–2, the Mount Everest Committee, owing to the -lateness with which the party had returned after the reconnaissance, had -to work at very top speed. They had to collect all the necessary stores -for the party, and not only that, but also to select a suitable -mountaineering team; this was a considerable difficulty. Finally the -party was made up as follows: myself as leader, Colonel E. L. Strutt as -Second-in-Command, and Dr. Longstaff the official doctor and naturalist -of the Expedition. The climbing party pure consisted of Mr. Mallory (of -last year’s Expedition), Dr. Somervell, Dr. Wakefield, and Major Norton. -We had three transport officers, one of whom belonged to the Alpine -Club, and was considered an assistant of the climbing party, Mr. C. G. -Crawford, of the Indian Civil Service. The official photographer was -Captain Noel. Two officers in the Indian Army were attached to the -Expedition as transport officers—Captain J. G. Bruce and Captain C. G. -Morris. Later, on our arrival in Darjeeling, the party was further -reinforced by Major Morshead, who had been one of the survey party of -the previous year, and whose general knowledge of Tibet and of Tibetans -was of great service to us; and last, but not least, Captain George -Finch, who came not only as a most important member of the climbing -party, but also as the scientific expert in charge of the entire oxygen -outfit. - -This large party was collected in Darjeeling by the last week in March, -and in a few days we were all ready to make a start. I myself preceded -the party by about a month, arriving in Delhi to interview the Indian -authorities about the 25th of February. Through the kindness of the -Commander-in-Chief, Lord Rawlinson, we were supplied with four young -non-commissioned officers of Captain Bruce’s regiment, the 2nd Battalion -6th Gurkha Rifles, and an orderly of the 1st Battalion 6th Gurkha -Rifles, and right well all these five Gurkhas carried out their duties. -As will be seen later, one of them, Lance-naik Tejbir Bura, very highly -distinguished himself. - -I arrived in Darjeeling with Captain Bruce on March 1, and there I found -that our agent in India, Mr. Weatherall, had carried out the -instructions which he had received from England in the most efficient -manner. The large quantity of stores which we had ordered previously -were all beautifully packed and ready for transportation; the tents of -the previous year all mended and in good order; the stores of different -kinds, such as there were, which had been left also from the previous -year, had been put into order; and last and most important, 150 porters -had been collected for our inspection and from whom to make a selection. -He had also for us a large number of cooks to choose from, a most -excellent individual to look after the tents, Chongay, who proved quite -invaluable to us, and a local cobbler who had expressed his willingness -to come with the Expedition. - -Owing to the tremendous hurry in which all arrangements had to be made -in England, the stores were forwarded in different batches. On our -arrival in Calcutta, we interviewed Mr. Brown, of the Army and Navy -Stores, whose work, both for the Expeditions of 1921 and of 1922, has -been quite beyond praise. He told us that only one instalment of stores -had yet arrived, but that the ships containing the remainder were -expected shortly. Luckily for us, we had at the Army and Navy Stores, -and acting in the interests of the Expedition, a most capable agent. As -the ships containing the stores arrived, the latter were unloaded, -rapidly passed through the Customs, and forwarded on to Kalimpong Road, -which is the terminus of the Darjeeling Railway and the Teesta Valley. -On arrival there they were met by our representative in no less a person -than Captain Morris, handed over to the contractors who were moving our -stores, and forwarded on to Tibet in advance of the Expedition. This -naturally required a great deal of arranging. - -I must mention that, shortly after our arrival in Darjeeling, we were -joined by Captain Morris, who immediately left for Kalimpong, two stages -on our journey, to which place the whole of the outfit of the Expedition -was sent. We could not spare the time to wait for the arrival of the -oxygen, and therefore, when the party finally left Darjeeling, Captain -Finch, the scientist in whose charge the whole of the oxygen and -scientific apparatus had been put, remained behind with Mr. Crawford to -bring it up. Luckily, the ship arrived in Calcutta just as we were -leaving, and therefore the delay was less than we had anticipated. - -The people of Darjeeling, both the British and the native -inhabitants—whether Tibetans or Hillmen—were all immensely interested in -our Expedition, and Mr. Laden La, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, -was, if anything, the most enthusiastic of them all. Mr. Laden La has -himself rendered excellent service to Government, and has travelled -greatly in Tibet. He is himself a Tibetan, and, I believe, is an -Honorary General in the Tibetan Army. His influence in Darjeeling and -the district is great, and his help to the Expedition was invaluable. He -arranged in Darjeeling, both as head of the Buddhist Association of -Darjeeling, and in conjunction with the Committee of the Hillmen’s -Association, that the whole of the party should be entertained by these -two Associations, and that the chief Lamas and Brahmins of the district -should bless and offer up prayers for the well-being and success of the -party. The entertainment went off most excellently, and it was -altogether a most interesting function. The Nepalese members of the -party were blessed by the Brahmins, but also, in order to confirm this -blessing, further received the blessings of the Lamas. I think there is -every reason for supposing that this small function assisted in bringing -home to all our porters and followers what was expected of them by their -own people, and it was very likely a good deal in consequence of this -that they behaved on the whole so extremely well. For it must be -understood that all these hill people, whether Nepalese or Tibetan, are -very light-hearted, very irresponsible, very high-spirited, and up to -the present time prohibition as a national measure is not exactly a -popular outlook; in fact, none of them on any occasion, unless well -looked after, lost any opportunity of looking on the wine when it is -red—or any other colour. - -Our cooks had to be chosen with a good deal of care. Captain Bruce and -myself took the most likely candidates out into the hills and gave them -a good trial before we engaged them. One of them, who was a Nepalese, -had been an old servant of my own for many months; he was the only -Gurkha among them. The other three (for we gave ourselves an ample -outfit of four cooks) were Bhotias (Tibetans). They were the greatest -success, mostly because they are hard-working and ready to do any amount -of work; but they were good cooks too. Captain Noel also engaged an -excellent servant (also a cook), and Major Norton’s private servant -(another Tibetan) was very capable in the same way; so that we were -thoroughly well provided with an ample outfit, and wherever we were we -could count on having our meals properly prepared. This is one of the -important points in Tibetan travel, from the want of which I believe a -certain amount of the illness that was experienced in the previous year -was due. - -We also engaged almost the most important subordinate member of the -Expedition—the interpreter, Karma Paul. He was quite young, and had been -a schoolmaster in Darjeeling. He had also worked, I believe, for a time -in an office in Calcutta. He was quite new to the kind of work that he -would have to do. But he was a great acquisition to the Expedition, -always good company and always cheerful, full of a quaint little vanity -of his own and delighted when he was praised. He served us very well -indeed from one end of the Expedition to the other, and it was a great -deal owing to his cheerfulness and to his excellent manners and way with -the Tibetans that we never had the smallest possible misunderstanding -with any officials, even of the lowest grades, to disturb our good -relations with the Tibetans of any kind or class. He also was bilingual, -for he had been born in Lhasa, and still had relations living there. - -On March 26 the whole Expedition started off for Kalimpong by rail, with -the exception of Captain Finch and Mr. Crawford, who remained to bring -on the oxygen. Owing to the kindness of the Himalayan Railway Company, -we were all taken round by rail to Kalimpong Road free, the whole -Expedition travelling up the Teesta Valley in the normal manner, with -the exception of Captain Noel, who elected to ride on the roof of the -carriages in order to take pictures with his cinema camera of the Teesta -Valley. The junction at Siliguri, where the Teesta railway branches off -from the main line, is only 300 feet above the sea, the terminus at -Kalimpong Road about 700 feet above the sea, and therefore as one dives -down from the hills one enters into tropical conditions and passes -through the most magnificent tropical jungle and the steepest gorges and -ravines. It is a wonderful journey. Even the long spell of hot and dry -weather and the heat haze at this time of year were unable to spoil the -scenery. And though we saw it almost at its worst time, it remained -gorgeous. - -At Kalimpong the Expedition broke up into two parties, but before we -left we had a very pleasant function to attend. I had been charged by -Sir Robert Baden-Powell to deliver a message to the scouts of Dr. -Graham’s Homes for European Children at Kalimpong. Not only that, but -incorporated with these scouts was the first small body of Nepalese -boy-scouts. It was a very interesting function indeed, and a most -enthusiastic one. - -From there we pushed on stage by stage over the Jelep La into the Chumbi -Valley. Of course, journeys through Sikkim have often been described. -Again we were disappointed. On my first arrival in Darjeeling, the cold -weather had hardly finished, but now (March 28) we were well into the -hot weather of Bengal, and in consequence we were also in the -hot-weather haze. During the whole of our journey we never got a single -view of the gorgeous Southern faces of the Himalaya, of Kanchenjanga and -of its supporters, and especially of the wonderful Siniolchum peak. This -was a very great disappointment, as from several points on our road a -view of the Southern face can be obtained. Nevertheless, a journey -through Sikkim is always a wonderful experience. The steep and deeply -cut valleys, the wonderful clear mountain streams, and the inhabitants -and their means of cultivation, are all full of interest. The depth of -the valleys is always striking, and can never be anything else. When one -thinks that from Rongli Chu, situated only at 2,700 feet above the sea, -one rises in one continuous pull to close on 13,000 feet on the ridge -which looks down on the Gnatong bungalow, and travels through -cultivation and forest the whole way, passing through every phase of -Eastern Himalayan landscape, one cannot cease to be continually -impressed by the scale of the country. We were too early for the -rhododendrons on the way to Gnatong, but there were just sufficient in -flower to give us a mental vision of what these wonderful rhododendron -forests would be like in another three weeks. - -On the way to Gnatong, at a height of 11,500 feet, we came to the little -village of Lungtung. Here there was a tea-house kept by some Nepalese. -It was spotlessly clean, or at least all the cooking arrangements were, -and here, as we came up, we all indulged in tea and the local cakes, and -found them both excellent. Not only that, but the little lady who kept -the shop was full of talk and full of chaff, and we all sat down and -enjoyed ourselves for more than an hour, keeping up a continuous flow of -conversation. All the men joined us as they came up, and I am afraid we -made rather a noise. As a matter of fact, all through Sikkim these -little tea-shops are to be found, and the tea is generally quite -drinkable. This little lady’s shop, though, was particularly well run -and attractive. When we left we promised to call and see her again on -our return, which promise we were able to fulfil. - -The higher portions of the road from Gnatong over the Jelep are a very -great contrast. It is almost like a march through the Highlands of -Scotland, and hardly represents or brings to one’s mind the fact that -one is among great mountains. The Jelep, which is 14,300 feet above the -sea, is a perfectly easy pass, crossed by a horrid pavé road, very much -out of repair, the descent into the Chumbi Valley being, for animals, -the last word in discomfort. We employed altogether in our two parties -about eighty mules from the Chumbi Valley, and we were all immensely -struck by this wonderful transport. There is a considerable trade -carried on between Tibet and Chumbi in particular for seven or eight -months in the year, as on this road quantities of Tibetan wool are -brought down for sale at Kalimpong, very nearly all of it being brought -by the Chumbi muleteers, and most efficient they are. They thoroughly -understand the loading and care of mules, and the pace they travel at is -something to see. It is only understood if one walks for long distances -with, or often behind, a train of laden mules. No doubt, owing to the -continual changes from cold to warmth and heat, many sore backs are -occasioned, and further, owing to the tremendous stress and continuous -labour involved, many mules are worked that have no business to be -worked. The muleteers themselves, when talked to about it, say that it -distresses them, but they are hard put to it to carry out their work, -and see no method very often of being able to fulfil their contracts and -at the same time lay up their mules. - -After crossing the Jelep La, and leaving Sikkim, it is almost like -diving into Kashmir, so great is the difference in the general -appearance of the country and in its forests. While we were sitting on -the top of the Jelep we had the most splendid view of Chomolhari (23,800 -feet). It showed itself at its very best; the day was quiet and very -warm. Chomolhari stood out clearly, and still with plenty of atmosphere -round it. Snow-streamers were blowing out from its summit. It showed its -full height, and did full justice to its shape and beauty. It is a great -mountain which completely dominates Phari and its plain, and is the -striking feature as one enters Tibet from the Chumbi Valley. We all -admired it enormously, but the enthusiasm of the party was somewhat -damped when I pointed out to them that our high advanced base on -Everest, in fact, the camp that we hoped to establish on the North Col, -called the Chang La, which had been marked out the year before by Mr. -Mallory, was, in fact, only about 600 feet lower than the top of -Chomolhari itself. - -[Illustration: - - FROZEN WATERFALL, CHUMBI VALLEY. -] - -On arrival at Richengong, which is at the foot of the valley which forms -the junction between the Jelep Valley and the valley of the Ammu Chu, -which is the Chumbi Valley, we were met by Mr. Macdonald, the British -Trade Agent, who lives at Chumbi, and his wonderfully dressed -chuprassis, and also by a guard of honour of 90 Panjabis, who supplied a -small guard both at Yatung, in Chumbi, and also at the British post in -Gyantse, on the road to Lhasa. We had a very pleasant ride by the Chumbi -Valley to Yatung. I had previously supplied myself in Darjeeling with a -treasure of a pony, Gyamda by name, who was locally very well known in -Darjeeling. He was only 12½ hands, but had the go and the stamina of a -very much bigger animal. He was attended by a sais who was nearly twice -as big as himself, and was one of the finest-built Tibetans I saw the -whole time. Gyamda himself hailed from the town of Gyamda, which is -about 12 miles South of Lhasa. His enormous sais hailed from Lhasa -itself, and, unfortunately, could hardly speak a word of anything but -Tibetan. However, he improved by degrees, and very soon we got on very -well. He adored the pony Gyamda, but had the habit of giving it, unless -looked after, at least a dozen eggs mixed with its grain. When we -stopped him doing this, he was caught hugging the pony round the neck -and saying to it, “Now they have cut your eggs, you will die, and what -shall I do?” Gyamda carried me right through the Expedition, and could -go over any ground, and came back as well as he left, never sick or -sorry, and always pleased with life. - -We marched from Chumbi on April 5, accompanied by Mr. Macdonald and his -son, who had come to help us make all our transport arrangements when we -should arrive in Phari. Mr. Macdonald helped us on all occasions, and we -cannot thank him enough for all the trouble he took from now on and -during the whole time the Expedition was in Tibet. It was owing very -largely to his help that we were able in Phari to get our Expedition on -so soon, for he warned the two Dzongpens of Phari Dzong beforehand to -obtain adequate transport for us. - -Again, the march from Yatung to Phari has been described on many -occasions, but it is quite impossible to march through it without -mentioning its character. It is, especially at the time of year we went -through, one of the darkest and blackest and most impressive forested -gorges that I have ever seen, and almost equally impressive is the -debouchment on to the Phari Plain at the head of the gorge, dominated as -it is by our old friend Chomolhari. - -We arrived in Phari on April 6, and made our first real acquaintance -with the Tibetan wind. Phari is 14,300 feet, and winter was scarcely -over; the weather also was threatening. Luckily, there is a little -British Government rest-house and bungalow and serai at Phari, and there -we found comfortable quarters. We were joined on the following day by -the rest of the party. This really formed the starting-point of the -Expedition, and, further, it was my birthday, and the bottle of old rum, -120 years old, specially brought out for this occasion, was opened and -the success of the Expedition was drunk to. If we had known what was in -front of us, we should have put off the drinking of this peculiarly -comforting fluid until the evening of the day of our first march from -Phari. The two Phari Dzongpens, probably owing to the fact that Phari is -on the main route between Lhasa and India, were far and away the most -grasping and difficult of any officials that we met, but no doubt their -difficulties were pretty considerable. Although there is a great -quantity of transport to be obtained in Phari, at this time of the year -it is in very poor condition. Grazing exists, but one would never know -that it existed unless one was told, and also unless one saw herds of -yaks on the hillsides apparently eating frozen earth. Everything was -frozen hard. We had difficulty, therefore, in obtaining the transport -required. We found here collected the whole of our stores, with the -exception of the oxygen. Our excellent tindel,[1] Chongay, who had gone -on ahead, had got it all marshalled; the tents were also pitched and in -good order. - -Footnote 1: - - Tent-mender. - -On April 8 we set out from Phari, but had been obliged to reinforce the -local transport by re-engaging fifty of the Chumbi mules. We had been -obliged to do this because we were unable to get a sufficiency of -transport that was capable of carrying loads in Phari itself. But these -fifty mules were our salvation; without them, as it turned out, we -should have been in a bad way. - -There are two roads that lead from Phari to Khamba Dzong, our next -objective; the short road passing over the Tang La and the Donka La, and -a long road which starts first on the road to Lhasa and turns finally -after two marches to the West. On account of the short time at our -disposal, and having regard to the fact that we had now in earnest begun -our race with the weather, we chose the shorter route. Owing to the -condition of the animals, all had agreed that the yaks could not -possibly, even by the short road, get to Khamba Dzong under six days. We -therefore divided our party again into two. The advance party, with -fifty Chumbi mules and a large collection of donkeys and particularly -active bullocks, and even some cows, were to march to Khamba Dzong in -four days, and were to be followed by 200 yaks in charge of our sardar, -Gyaljen, and two of the Gurkha non-commissioned officers, to wit, Naik -Hurké Gurung and Lance-naik Lal Sing Gurung, the other two Gurkhas being -in charge of the treasure-chest which accompanied the first party; -Lance-naik Tejbir Bura and Lance-naik Sarabjit Thapa were to march with -the first party. - -The sardar Gyaljen had accompanied Colonel Howard-Bury’s party on the -first Expedition, and had, apparently, from the accounts given of him in -last year’s volume, not been a very great success. I, however, gave him -a second chance. He was a thoroughly capable man, and I had every hope, -as he knew that I had heard about him and had also seen the report that -had been made of him by Colonel Howard-Bury, that on this occasion he -would pull himself together and do well; in this we were not -disappointed. Of course, as all sophisticated men in his position are -likely to do, he was out to benefit himself; but we were able pretty -successfully to cope with this failing, and, generally speaking, his -services were of great value, especially on certain occasions. -Altogether, I think, he was a success. - -Of course, we were rather well qualified from this point of view—both -Morris and Geoffrey Bruce had an excellent knowledge of Nepal and of the -Nepalese, and Nepalese is the one Eastern language which I may say that -I also have a good knowledge of. All Sherpas are tri-lingual—that is to -say, they talk their own Sherpa dialect of Tibet, Tibetan as a -mother-tongue, and nearly all of them Nepalese as well. Owing to their -being subjects of Nepal, the official language (that is, Nepalese) is -the one they are obliged to employ in dealing with the authorities. Also -nearly every one of the Tibetans we employed and who came with us from -Darjeeling spoke Nepali as their second language. In consequence of -this, nearly the whole of the work usually done by a sardar of coolies -in Darjeeling was carried out by the officers of the Expedition, who -dealt directly both with the men and with the people of the country. - -On April 8 we started out. There was for a good long time a tremendous -scrimmage getting all the different loads packed on to the animals, and -dividing the animals, especially as the Tibetans had no idea of being -punctual, and in consequence the yaks, ponies for riding, mules and -bullocks, all drifted in at different times during the morning. Finally, -however, our two large mixed convoys were got off. It was really a great -piece of luck being able to keep the fifty Chumbi mules. These were -laden in the early morning with what was necessary for our camp and -despatched well before the rest of the luggage. The great convoy of 200 -yaks was finally marshalled and sent off under the charge of the Gurkhas -and the sardar, but the advance party’s luggage was spread over miles of -country. In consequence of this, Geoffrey, Morris, and myself were -delayed until quite late in the morning. - -[Illustration: - - NUNS AT TA-TSANG. -] - -Our first march was about 16 miles, and the day was very threatening. We -pushed along on ponies at a good pace and crossed the Tang La, which is -a little over 15,000 feet, in rough, but not actually wet, weather. -Luckily, the country is very open, over plains of more or less frozen -grass. Over the main chain of the Himalaya the clouds had settled, and -it was evident that the weather was breaking. A little after noon it -broke with a vengeance. The clouds settled down, it began to snow -heavily, and the wind increased to half a hurricane. Luckily, however, -most of our local men knew the road well, otherwise in this great open -and undulating country one could very easily get lost. The track, which -was fairly well marked otherwise, was completely and rapidly obliterated -in places. It was certainly a rather disheartening start. Morris was -delayed for a time to look after some luggage; Geoffrey and myself -pushed on. Going pretty quickly, we were able to pick up different -parties, and were lucky enough to pass one small encampment of Tibetans. -It was curious to see yaks contentedly chewing the cud, the whole of -their weather-side being a mass of frozen snow. They seemed to be quite -as happy lying out in a blizzard as though they had been ordinary -civilised cows in a barn. - -About what is usually known as tea-time we sighted the camp. Our -excellent followers had got a few tents up, and I was fortunate enough -myself to find that the porter who was carrying my big coat had already -arrived. Nearly all Indian camp servants who are accustomed to -travelling in the Himalaya are good in a crisis, and, when things get -bad, come to the fore; but on this occasion they surpassed themselves. -It must be understood that, in Tibet, very, very seldom can anything but -dried yak-dung be found to make a fire with. On this occasion the snow -had obliterated everything, and in consequence a fire had to be -otherwise improvised. Some tents had been pitched, a fire had been got -going, and very soon a hot meal and hot tea were forthcoming. The rest -of the party gradually collected, but it was not until well after -nightfall that the whole of the advance transport had managed to arrive. -As a first march it certainly gave the party a very good idea of what -they might have to put up with in Tibet; it was a real good entry into -Tibetan travel. However, nobody was much the worse, and, the weather -having cleared during the night, we had a brilliant sight the following -morning. - -On April 9, we made what I think was the hardest march undertaken on the -Expedition. Our path led us over the ridge in its three bifurcations -which runs North from Pawhunri and rapidly rises from our last camp, -each of these ridges being just 17,000 feet, slightly more or less, and -most of the path being at about 16,000 feet of elevation. At any time -early in April great cold would be expected at such a height, but on -this day the wind was blowing right over the Himalaya direct from the -snows across these passes, and howling down the gorges between them. It -was painfully cold, and the wind never abated from morning to night. We -left about seven o’clock in the morning, and it was well after nightfall -again before our transport was collected at our next camp at -Hung-Zung-trak. Longstaff and myself pushed on in search of the camp for -most of the day together, arriving before any of the animals at about -4.30 to five o’clock in the evening, and made our camp at the -above-named place under some overhanging cliffs with fairly good -grazing—such as grazing is in April—and with a stream beneath the camp -from which water could be obtained. We were very shortly followed by our -magnificent Chumbi transport, which had been pushing along at a -tremendous pace the whole day long. I do not know what we should have -done without it. - -What was very much brought home to us was the absolute necessity of -windproof material to keep out the tremendous cold of these winds. -Fortunately, I had a very efficient mackintosh which covered everything, -but even then I suffered very considerably from the cold. It simply blew -through and through wool, and riding without windproof clothing would -have been very painful. It was also very fortunate for us that the -weather was really fine and the sun shone all day. I think we should -have been in a very bad way indeed if the blizzard had occurred on the -second day out from Phari, and not on the first. - -However, by night we were all comfortably settled down, although the -whole of our advance stores did not arrive until after ten o’clock at -night again. Unfortunately, three of our porters who had stayed behind -with the slowest of the bullocks lost their way after dark. They stayed -out the whole night without bedding or covering, and in the morning -continued to the nunnery of Tatsang, which was about 4 or 5 miles -further down the valley and rather off our direct route. We here heard -of them and retrieved them. These men had not yet been issued with their -full clothes, and how they managed to sit out the night clothed as they -were and without any damage of any kind passes one’s comprehension. So -low was the temperature that night that the quickly flowing stream -outside our camp was frozen solid. - -We halted the next day, as the transport was overdone, and the following -day (April 11) made another long, but very interesting, march direct to -Khamba Dzong, leaving the monastery of Tatsang on our right and crossing -high plains on which were grazing large herds of kyang and gazelle. The -mounted men had great fun trying to round up and get as close as -possible to the herds of kyang; they were trusting up to a point, but -never let us go close enough to get a good snap photograph of them. -Finally, the road led from the high plateau down to Khamba Dzong, -through what to several of us immediately became astonishingly familiar -country; for the whole surroundings of the Khamba Dzong Valley reminds -one very much of the scenery on the North-west frontier of India. But -what a difference in climate! - -We camped at Khamba Dzong where last year’s Expedition had camped, and -were very well received by the same Dzongpen. We were gratified to find -Dr. Kellas’ grave in good order, and we further added to it a collection -of great stones. The inscription on the grave in English and Tibetan was -clear and clean. We were delayed in Khamba Dzong for three whole days, -partly because of the difficulty in collecting animals; also two days to -allow our main convoy of 200 yaks to catch us up, and we had the good -luck to be joined by Finch and Crawford, who had pushed on at a great -pace with the oxygen apparatus. They showed evident signs of wear and -tear, being badly knocked about by the weather. The storm had caught -them on the Jelep La, and as this is more South, there had been a very -much greater fall of snow, so much so that the Chumbi Valley was inches -deep in it. They spoke very highly indeed of all their followers, cooks -and Tibetans, and especially of a capital boy, Lhakpa Tsering, who had -come along with them as their special attendant. He was quite a young -boy, but had made the march in two days with them to Tatsang, where they -stayed for the night, without showing any particular signs of fatigue, -running along beside their ponies. I make a considerable point of the -following: I think great exertions and long marches at these high -altitudes before acclimatisation is complete would have tended to -exhaust, and not to improve, the training of the party, whereas to have -a pony with one and be able to walk or ride when one felt tired or -blown, gradually allowed the body to adjust itself. At any rate, I am -perfectly certain that if every one had been obliged to walk instead of -being able to ride, even on the terribly inadequate ponies that were -supplied to them in Tibet, but which, at any rate, gave them the -much-needed rest, they would not have arrived at the Rongbuk Glacier fit -to do the work which they afterwards successfully tackled. - -Our march from Khamba Dzong to Tinki and from Tinki to Shekar was -exactly by the route followed by Colonel Howard-Bury in the previous -year, and calls for no particular comment on my part, with the exception -that two small parties of Finch and Wakefield and Mallory and Somervell -made a good attempt at Gyangka-nangpa to climb a 20,000-foot peak, -Sangkar Ri, on the way. This they were not quite able to do. - -We had no difficulty in crossing the great sand-dunes where the Yaru -River joins the Arun, as we were able to cross it in the early morning -before the wind had arisen. But on that morning, when we came to the -junction of the valley of the Arun, we had a most wonderful and clear -view of Mount Everest to the South. Although it was over 50 miles -distant in a straight line, it did not look more than twenty. The whole -of the face that was visible to us was smothered in snow. The entire -setting of the piece was very strange; the country was almost bare -enough to remind one of a crumpled Egyptian desert, and the strangeness -and wonder was hugely increased by the South of the valley being filled -with this wonderful mountain mass. - -At Shekar, where we arrived on April 24, we were again delayed for three -days getting transport. We found the Dzong filled with Lamas. There is a -great monastery in Shekar itself, and one of less account a little -further beyond. The great Lama of Shekar is an extremely cunning old -person and a first-class trader. In his quarters at the monastery he had -immense collections of Tibetan and Chinese curios, and he knew the price -of these as well as any professional dealer. We saw a great deal, in -fact, a great deal too much, of the Lamas of Shekar. They were the most -inconceivably dirty crowd that we had met in Tibet; the dirt was quite -indescribable. Although the people in Lhasa in good positions are -reported to be generally cleanish, here in the more out-of-the-way parts -of Tibet washing appears to be entirely unknown, except to the -Dzongpens, and I believe that the ordinary Dzongpen only has a -ceremonial bath on New Year’s Eve as a preparatory to the new year, and -I should not be at all surprised if Mrs. Dzongpen did too. At any rate, -the Dzongpens’ families were always infinitely better cared for in this -respect than anyone else. These people, however, have the most terribly -dirty cooks it is possible for the human imagination to conceive. For -this reason I never was very happy as a guest, and although the food -provided for one’s entertainment was often quite pleasant to eat, it was -absolutely necessary not to allow one’s imagination to get to work. - -The three days’ delay at Shekar was greatly due to the movement of -officials and troops marching by the same route from Tingri to Shigatse, -and as they had commissioned every available animal, they interfered -considerably with our movements. Shekar was not comfortable during these -days; the wind was not continuous, but came in tremendous gusts, and -dust-devils were continually tearing through the camp and upsetting -everything. Shekar, as Colonel Howard-Bury has described it, is -wonderfully situated. The pointed mass of rock rises direct from the -plains, and the white monasteries and white town are built on its sides. -The illustration will describe it much better than I can. Shekar means -“Shining glass.” All the towns and houses on the sides of the mountain -are brilliantly white and show up very clearly against the dark browns -and reds of the hillside. It is no doubt this appearance which gives it -its name. - -The Dzongpen at Shekar was a most important official. The whole of the -country South of Shekar and the Rongbuk Valley where we were going were -in his jurisdiction. We hoped that if we could only gain his own -goodwill as well as his official goodwill, it would be of very great -advantage to us. We entertained each other freely, and he was very -pleased with the lengths of kin kob[2] which I gave to himself and his -wife, and also with the photographs of the Dalai and Tashi Lamas which I -gave to him. By showing him pictures and taking his own picture, we were -able to make great friends with him, to our great advantage. He sent -with us his agent, Chongay La, who served us well during the whole of -our time in the Rongbuk Glacier; in fact, without him we should have had -great difficulty in obtaining the large amount of stores, grain, and -Tibetan coolies which were necessary for us in order to keep our very -large party properly provisioned when we were high up on the -mountain-side. - -Footnote 2: - - Brocade. - -Among our other presents was the inevitable Homburg hat. Wherever we -went we presented a Homburg hat. I had provided myself with a large -number of these hats from Whiteaway and Laidlaw before leaving -Darjeeling. These were a cheap present, but very much valued. Any high -man of a village known as a Gembo La would do anything for a Homburg -hat; it was ceremoniously placed on his head and was invariably well -received. In fact, all recipients visibly preened themselves for some -time afterwards. - -From Shekar our route differed slightly from Colonel Howard-Bury’s. He -had taken the direct road to Tingri, but our objective was the Rongbuk. -Therefore we crossed the Arun for the first time, and, crossing by the -Pang La, descended into the Dzakar Chu. This was one of the pleasantest -marches that we had made. The country was new—even Mallory had only been -over part of it. The Pang La (meaning “the Grass Pass”) was altogether -very interesting, and from its summit, where we all collected and -lunched, we had again a fine view of Everest, and on this occasion the -mountain was almost clear of snow and gave one a very different -impression. We here recognised the fact that Everest, on its North face, -is essentially a rock peak. Unfortunately for us, it did not remain -clear of snow for long, rough weather again coming up; the next time we -saw it we found it again clothed from head to foot in snow. - -Four marches from Shekar found us at Rongbuk, the final march from -Chodzong to the Rongbuk Monastery being extremely interesting. There is -only one word for it: the valleys of Tibet leading up to the Rongbuk -Monastery are hideous. The hills are formless humps, dull in colour; of -vegetation there is next to none. At our camp at Chodzong, however, on -the hillside opposite our camp, there was quite a large grove of -thorn-trees. We had visions of a wood fire very quickly damped when we -were told that this grove was inhabited by the most active and most -malicious of demons, and that he would promptly get to work if we -interfered and carried away any sticks from his grove. - -The Upper Rongbuk Valley is an extremely sacred valley; no animals are -allowed to be killed in it. In fact, the great Mani at the mouth of the -valley opposite the village of Chobu marks the limit beyond which -animals are not allowed to be killed. We were told that if we wanted any -fresh meat it was all to be killed lower down the valley and carried up -to us. The Tibetans themselves live very largely on dried meats, both -yak meat and mutton. I have never tried it myself, and its appearance -was enough to put off anyone but a hungry dog, but I am told that when -cooked it is by no means bad. Most Tibetans, however, eat it raw in its -dried state. I bought quantities of both sorts for the porters. They -cooked it as they would cook fresh meat, and it seemed to suit them very -well. For the sake of their health, however, I gave them, whenever -possible, fresh meat, and with the very finest results. - -[Illustration: - - RONGBUK MONASTERY AND MOUNT EVEREST. -] - -Rongbuk means “the valley of precipices or steep ravines.” The Lepchas -of Sikkim are occasionally called “Rong Pa,” i.e., the people of steep -ravines. It is also used for Upper Nepal, or rather for the people on -the Southern faces of the Himalayan heights, as they are people of the -steep ravines. I have also heard it used to mean Nepal itself. Some five -miles up the valley one comes out on to a plateau and is suddenly almost -brought up against the walls of the Rongbuk Monastery. Here also, as we -came out to the Rongbuk Monastery, we found the whole Southern end of -the valley filled with Mount Everest and quite close to us—apparently. -In any European climate one would have said that it was a short march to -its base, and one would have been terribly wrong. The air is -astonishingly clear; the scale is enormous. The mountain was 16 miles -off. - -We pitched our camp just below the monastery with considerable -difficulty, as the wind was howling rather more than usual. Then we went -up to pay our respects to the Rongbuk Lama. This particular Lama was -beyond question a remarkable individual. He was a large, well-made man -of about sixty, full of dignity, with a most intelligent and wise face -and an extraordinarily attractive smile. He was treated with the utmost -respect by the whole of his people. Curiously enough, considering the -terrible severity of the climate at Rongbuk, all his surroundings were -far cleaner than any monastery we had previously, or indeed -subsequently, visited. This Lama has the distinction of being actually -the incarnation of a god, the god Chongraysay, who is depicted with nine -heads. With his extraordinary mobility of expression, he has also -acquired the reputation of being able to change his countenance. We were -received with full ceremony, and after compliments had been exchanged in -the usual way by the almost grovelling interpreter, Karma Paul (who was -very much of a Buddhist here), the Lama began to ask us questions with -regard to the objects of the Expedition. He was very anxious also that -we should treat his people kindly. His inquiries about the objects of -the Expedition were very intelligent, although at the same time they -were very difficult to answer. Indeed, this is not strange when one -comes to think how many times in England one has been asked—What is the -good of an exploration of Everest? What can you get out of it? And, in -fact, what is the object generally of wandering in the mountains? As a -matter of fact, it was very much easier to answer the Lama than it is to -answer inquiries in England. The Tibetan Lama, especially of the better -class, is certainly not a materialist. I was fortunately inspired to say -that we regarded the whole Expedition, and especially our attempt to -reach the summit of Everest, as a pilgrimage. I am afraid, also, I -rather enlarged on the importance of the vows taken by all members of -the Expedition. At any rate, these gentle “white lies” were very well -received, and even my own less excusable one which I uttered to save -myself from the dreadful imposition of having to drink Tibetan tea was -also sufficiently well received. I told the Lama, through Paul, who, -fortunately enough, was able to repress his smiles (an actual record for -Paul, which must have strained him to his last ounce of strength), that -I had sworn never to touch butter until I had arrived at the summit of -Everest. Even this was well received. After that time I drank tea with -sugar or milk which was made specially for me. - -[Illustration: - - THE EXPEDITION AT BASE CAMP. - _Left to Right, Back Row_: MAJOR MORSHEAD, CAPTAIN GEOFFREY BRUCE, - CAPTAIN NOEL, DR. WAKEFIELD, MR. SOMERVELL, CAPTAIN NORRIS, MAJOR - NORTON. - _Front Row_: MR. MALLORY, CAPTAIN FINCH, DR. LONGSTAFF, GENERAL BRUCE, - COLONEL STRUTT, MR. CRAWFORD. -] - -A word about Tibetan tea: the actual tea from which it is originally -made is probably quite sufficiently good, but it is churned up in a -great churn with many other ingredients, including salt, nitre, and -butter, and the butter is nearly invariably rancid, that is, as commonly -made in Tibet. I believe a superior quality is drunk by the upper -classes, but at any rate, to the ordinary European taste, castor-oil is -pleasant in comparison. One of the party, however, had managed to -acquire a taste for it, but then some people enjoy castor-oil! - -The Lama finally blessed us and blessed our men, and gave us his best -wishes for success. He was very anxious that no animals of any sort -should be interfered with, which we promised, for we had already given -our word not to shoot during our Expedition in Tibet. He did not seem to -have the least fear that our exploring the mountain would upset the -demons who live there, but he told me that it was perfectly true that -the Upper Rongbuk and its glaciers held no less than five wild men. -There is, at any rate, a local tradition of the existence of such -beings, just as there is a tradition of the wild men existing right -through the Himalaya. - -As a matter of fact, I really think that the Rongbuk Lama had a friendly -feeling for me personally, as he told the interpreter, Karma Paul, that -he had discovered that in a previous incarnation I had been a Tibetan -Lama. I do not know exactly how to take this. According to the life you -lead during any particular incarnation, so are you ranked for the next -incarnation; that is to say, if your life has been terrible, down you go -to the lowest depths, and as you acquire merit in any particular -existence, so in the next birth you get one step nearer to Nirvana. I am -perfectly certain that he would consider a Tibetan Lama a good bit -nearer the right thing than a Britisher could ever be, and so possibly -he may have meant that I had not degenerated so very far anyhow. I -should have liked to know, however, what the previous incarnations of -the rest of the party had been! - -I think in my present incarnation the passion that I have for taking -Turkish baths may be some slight reaction from my life in the previous -and superior conditions as a Tibetan Lama. - -The following morning, in cold weather, as usual, we left to try and -push our camp as high up as possible. Our march now became very -interesting, and we passed on our road, which was fairly rough, six or -seven of the hermits’ dwellings. These men are fed fairly regularly from -the monasteries and nunneries, and do not necessarily take their vows of -isolation for ever all at once. They try a year of it and see how they -get on before they take the complete vows, but how it is possible for -human beings to stand what they stand, even for a year, without either -dying or going mad, passes comprehension. Their cells are very small, -and they spend the whole of their time in a kind of contemplation of the -ōm, the god-head, and apparently of nothing else. They are supposed to -be able to live on one handful of grain per diem, but this we were able -successfully to prove was not the case; they appear, as far as we could -make out, to have a sufficiency of food always brought to them. However, -there they are in little cells, without firing or warm drinks, all the -year round, and many of them last for a great number of years. - -Our march took us right up to the snout of the main Rongbuk Glacier, and -on arrival there we vainly endeavoured to get our yak-men to push up the -trough between the glacier and the mountain-side. There was promptly a -strike among the local transport workers, but the employers of labour -were wise enough to give in to their demands. If we had pushed further -up, we must have injured a great number of animals, and finally have -been obliged to return. So we found a fairly good site, protected to a -small extent from the prevailing West wind, and there we collected the -whole of our outfit and pitched our camp. I do not think such an -enormous cavalcade could possibly have mounted the Rongbuk Glacier -before. There were over 300 baggage animals, about twenty ponies, fifty -or sixty men in our own employ, and the best part of 100 Tibetans, -either looking after us or coming up as representatives of the Shekar -Dzongpen. Finally, all were paid off, and the Expedition was left alone -in its glory. The date was the 1st of May. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER II - - THE ASSAULT ON THE MOUNTAIN - - -Now began in earnest our race against the monsoon. I have often been -asked since my return, whether we should not have done better if we had -started sooner. I think none of us would have cared to have arrived at -our Upper Rongbuk camp a fortnight earlier in the year, nor, having done -so, would any good purpose have been served. As it was, the temperature -and the coldness of the wind was as much as any of us could keep up with -and still keep our good health. This was to be our Base Camp at a height -of 16,500 feet. We made suitable dumps of stores, pitched our mess -tents, put all our porters in tents at their own particular places, and -made ourselves as comfortable as circumstances allowed, strengthening -the tents in every way to resist the wind. Noel also pitched his -developing tent near the small stream that issues from the Rongbuk -Glacier. On our arrival water was hardly available; all the running -streams were frozen hard, and we drove the whole of our animals over -them. Where the glacier stream flowed fastest in the centre, we got -sufficient water for drinking purposes. - -[Illustration: - - VIEW AT BASE CAMP. -] - -The establishment and support of such a large party (for we were -thirteen Europeans and over sixty of what may be termed other ranks) in -a country as desolate and as bare as Tibet is a difficulty. There is, of -course, no fuel to be found, with the exception of a very little scrubby -root which, burnt in large quantities, would heat an oven, but which was -not good enough or plentiful enough for ordinary cooking purposes. - -Our first work, beyond the establishment of the Base Camp, was -immediately to send out a reconnaissance party. Strutt was put in charge -of this, and chose as his assistants Norton, Longstaff, and Morshead. -The remainder of the party had to work very hard dividing stores and -arranging for the movement up to the different camps we wished to make -on the way up the East Rongbuk Glacier to the North Col. It was pretty -apparent from Major Wheeler’s map that our advance up the East Rongbuk -to the glacier crossed by Mr. Mallory in 1921, which is below the Chang -La, would not be a very difficult road. But it was a very considerable -question how many camps should be established, and how full provision -should be made for each? We were naturally very anxious to save our own -porters for the much more strenuous work of establishing our camp at the -North Col, and perhaps of further camps up the mountain. I had, -therefore, on our march up, made every possible endeavour to collect a -large number of Tibetan coolies in order that they should be employed in -moving all the heavy stuff as far up the glacier as possible; in fact, -until we came to ground which would not be suitable to them, or, rather, -not suitable to their clothing. They were perfectly willing to work on -any ground which was fairly dry, but their form of foot-covering would -certainly not allow of continual work in snow. We had a promise of -ninety men. - -We further had to make full arrangements for a regular supply of -yak-dung, the whole of which, as in fact everything to burn in Tibet, is -called “shing,” which really means wood; all our fuel, therefore, from -now on, will be referred to as “shing.” All tzampa,[3] meat, and grain -for the men had to be procured as far down as Chobu, Tashishong, and -even from other villages still further down the Dzakar Chu; that is to -say, very often our supplies were brought up from at least 40 miles -distant. We required a pretty continuous flow of everything. It is -wonderful how much even seventy men can get through. - -Footnote 3: - - Flour. - -The preliminary reconnaissance had fixed an excellent camp as our first -stage out. Geoffrey Bruce and Morris, with our own porters went up, and, -so as to save tents, built a number of stone shelters and roofed them -with spare parts of tents. This camp was immediately provisioned and -filled with every kind of supply in large amounts in order to form again -a little base from which to move up further. Strutt returned with his -reconnaissance on May 9, having made a complete plan for our advance and -having fixed all our camps up to the flat glacier under the North Col. -During this period Finch had also been very active with his oxygen -apparatus, not only in getting it all together, but continuing the -training of the personnel and in making experiments with the Leonard -Hill apparatus as well. He also gave lectures and demonstrations on the -use of our Primus stove, with which everybody practised. Primus stoves -are excellent when they are carefully treated, but are kittle cattle -unless everything goes quite as it should, and are apt to blow up. - -Longstaff suffered considerably on the reconnaissance, and was brought -down not too fit. We also had a real set-back—our ninety coolies did not -eventuate, only forty-five appearing, and these coolies only worked for -about two days, when they said that their food was exhausted and they -must go down for more. We took the best guarantee we could for their -return by keeping back half their pay. They went for more food, but -found it in their houses and stopped there; we never saw them again. -However, it is not to be wondered at. If ploughing in the upper valleys -is to be done at all, it is to be done in May. They were, therefore, -very anxious to get back to their homes. Ninety men is a big toll for -these valleys to supply, but their behaviour left us rather dispirited. -We had to turn every one on to work, and then we had to make every -possible exertion to collect further coolies from the different -villages. The Chongay La who came with us, and who understood our needs, -was frantic, but said he could do nothing. However, we persuaded him to -do something, at any rate, and further offered very high prices to all -the men who had come. He certainly played up and did his very best. Men -came up in driblets, or rather men, women, and children came, as every -one in this country can carry loads, and they seem to be quite -unaffected by sleeping out under rocks at 16,000 or 17,000 feet. - -For the whole time we remained at the Rongbuk Base Camp the equipping -and supply of our first and second camps up the East Rongbuk was mostly -carried out by local coolies, and the supply of these was very difficult -to assure. We never knew whether we should have three or four men -working, or thirty; they came up for different periods, so that we would -often have a dozen men coming down and four or five going up, and in -order to keep their complete confidence, they were received and paid -personally by myself or the transport officers. By degrees their -confidence was restored, and a very fair stream of porters arrived. Not -only that, but many of the men’s own relations came over from -Sola-Khombu, which is a great Sherpa Settlement at the head of the Dudh -Kosi Valley in Nepal. To reach us they had to cross the Ngangba La, -sometimes called the Khombu La, which is 19,000 feet in height. Often -the men’s relations came and were willing to carry a load or two and -then go off again. The mothers often brought their children, even of -less than a year old, who did not apparently suffer. It is evidently a -case of the survival of the fittest. - -[Illustration: - - CAMP II. AT SUNSET. -] - -We had brought also large stores of rice, sugar, tea, and wheat grain, -both for the use of the officers of the Expedition and of the porters, -for fear we should run short of grain, and this proved a great stand-by. -The very rough tzampa of Tibet is often upsetting even to those most -accustomed to it. It was found to be an excellent policy to feed our -porters on the good grain when they came down to the Base Camp, and to -use the tzampa, which is cooked and ready for eating, at the upper -camps. Meat also had to be bought low down, sheep killed low down in the -valleys, and brought up for the use of the officers and men, and often -fresh yak meat for the porters. The Gurkhas got the fresh mutton. Dried -meat was brought up in large quantities for the porters, and proved of -the greatest use. - -On the return, having received a full report from the reconnaissance -party, we tackled in earnest the establishment of the different camps. - -Camp III, which was under the North Col, was first established in full. -This was to be our advance base of operations; and Mallory and Somervell -established themselves there, their business being to make the road to -the North Col while the rest of the Expedition was being pushed up to -join them. On May 13, Mallory, Somervell, and one coolie, together with -a tent, reached the North Col and planted the tent there. - -This must be described as the beginning of the great offensive of May, -1922. Owing to the lack of coolies, all our officers and men had been -working at the highest possible speed, pushing forward the necessary -stores, camp equipage, and fuel to Camps I and II, and from thence -moving on to Camp III, Gurkhas being planted at each stage, whose -business it was to take the convoys to and fro. Finally, Camps I, II, -and III were each provided with an independent cook. - -The duties of the cook at Camp III were the duties of an ordinary cook -in camp; those of the cooks at Camps I and II were to provide all -officers passing through or staying there with meals as they were -required, and right well all these three men carried out their duties. -The distance from the Base Camp to the advance base at Camp III was -fairly evenly divided, Camp I being at about three hours’ journey for a -laden animal at a height of 17,800 feet; Camp II a further four hours up -the glaciers at a height of 19,800 feet, and directly below the lesser -peak which terminates the Northern ridge of Everest; Camp III on moraine -at the edge of the open glacier below the Chang La, at a height of -21,000 feet, about four hours again beyond Camp II. - -As our supply of Tibetan coolies improved, and as the main bulk of the -necessary supplies was put into Camp III, and the oxygen and its -complete outfit had been deposited in this camp, the hard work of -supplying rations and fuel to Camps I and II was entirely in the hands -of the local Tibetans. From Camp II to Camp III one encounters real -mountaineering conditions, as crevassed glaciers have to be crossed, -requiring in places considerable care. The road from the Base Camp to -Camp II, rough enough in all conscience, was such as could very easily -be negotiated by mountain people. - -On May 14, Strutt, Morshead, and Norton left to join the advance party -at Camp III. The weather was even worse than before, the wind blowing a -perfect hurricane during the daytime, and the thermometer sinking to -zero even in the Base Camp. I asked the Chongay La why it should be that -as summer was approaching the weather should be continuously worse. He -accounted for this without any difficulty. He said in the middle of the -month, each month, in fact, at the Rongbuk Monastery there were special -services held. These services invariably irritated the demons on the -mountains, and they attempted to put a stop to them by roaring more than -usually loud. As soon as the services stopped, these winds would stop -too. The services stopped on May 17, and the Chongay La said we could -expect better weather on that date. - -On May 16 the last of the oxygen, with Finch, left for the upper camps, -and it is a curious thing that about that time the weather did slightly -improve. On May 20, I received a letter from Strutt telling me of the -establishment of the camp on the North Col; he himself also accompanied -the party that reached the North Col. Here they made a very considerable -encampment, and put in it such light stores and cooking apparatus as -would be available for parties stopping there and attacking the mountain -from that spot. It is very curious how on this Expedition the standard -of what we expected from all our members went up. It was looked upon as -a foregone conclusion that any member of the party could walk with -comfort to the North Col (23,000 feet). It is quite right, no doubt, -that the standard should have been set so high; but it is a little -amazing, when one comes to think, that only on one occasion before has a -night been spent as high as 23,000 feet, and that on very, very few -occasions has this height been even attained. Strutt was quite by way of -looking upon himself as a worn-out old gentleman because he felt tired -at 23,000 feet. No doubt that is the standard we should set for -ourselves; but even 23,000 feet is a tremendous undertaking, and no one -at any time or at any age of life need be anything but pleased with -himself if he can get there. - -The party established at Camp III made little expeditions to the Lhakpa -La and Ra-piu-la, and obtained a fine view of Makalu and the Northern -face of Everest; but the views so obtained also gave them a sight of the -approaching monsoon, and this made every one very nervous about the -length of time there was left to us for our actual attack on the -mountain. It was this very point, including also the evidence of rough -and uncertain weather which had been experienced round the mountain -itself, that decided Strutt to allow four members to make an attempt on -the mountain without oxygen. Certain defects had been found in the -oxygen apparatus, and Finch was employed in rectifying these -difficulties, and at the same time he was not quite ready to proceed -further. Geoffrey Bruce was also working with him at Camp III, and made -great progress in the use of the oxygen. They also roped in as their -assistant the Gurkha Tejbir, having for him a special rôle. - -It is not for me to describe in detail the great attempt on the mountain -made by the party consisting of Mallory, Somervell, Morshead, and -Norton, but I must point out quite clearly that as a _tour de force_ -alone it stands, in my opinion, by itself. It was the most terrific -exertion, carried out during unfavourable weather and in the face of -that dreadful West wind. Not only did they reach the prodigious height -of 26,985 feet without the assistance of oxygen, but they passed a night -at 25,000 feet. - -I think it is pretty clear from their accounts that any further -expedition must be clothed in windproof suitings, and these of the -lightest, when attacking Everest, or probably any other great mountain -in this particular part of the world. Morshead, who suffered far more -than any of the others from the cold, did not employ his windproof -suiting in the early part of the climb, and I believe by this omission -he very greatly decreased his vitality, and it was probably this -decrease which was the reason of his terrible frostbites. - -It was a tremendous effort, unparalleled in the history of mountain -exploration, but it gave immense confidence to all that the mountain was -not unconquerable. If on the first occasion such a gigantic height could -be reached, we were pretty certain that later, with the experience so -gained, and with the weather in the climbers’ favour instead of the -horrible conditions under which this climb was undertaken, the mountain -would in time yield to assault. - -The following day, notwithstanding their fatigue, they determined to get -down to Camp I. They certainly were a sight on arrival; I have never -seen such a crowd of swollen and blistered and weary mountaineers -before, but they were all naturally tremendously elated with their -performance. Strutt came down with them, and quite rightly too; he had -been a very long time living above 21,000 feet, and this in itself is a -great strain. I thoroughly endorse his judgment in making this great -attempt without oxygen. At first sight it would seem that it was not -wise to send so many of the best climbers at once on to the mountain -before the oxygen apparatus was ready, but he felt (and I consider he -was quite right) that as the weather was so bad and the monsoon was -evidently arriving before its time, and as at the moment the oxygen -apparatus was in such a doubtful condition, it was far better to make an -attempt than possibly to fail in making any attempt at all. - -[Illustration: - - MOUNT EVEREST FROM CAMP III. -] - -During the time that the great attempt on the mountain without oxygen -was being made, Finch was employed in getting the oxygen apparatus into -order. It had suffered in a good many ways, and the method of inhaling -the oxygen appeared to be deficient, the face-masks, in fact, causing a -feeling of suffocation and not allowing a sufficiency of ordinary air to -be inhaled. Finch had a very difficult time getting all this apparatus -into order in this very high camp. It would have been difficult -anywhere, but up here in the great cold and the great height it was -infinitely more troublesome. As soon as the apparatus was in working -order, they made numerous training walks up on to the passes, looking -down into the heart of the Kharta Valley, from where they were able to -see the Southern faces of the Himalaya and to know the way in which the -clouds were pushing up from the South. - -They had also instructed, to a certain extent, the Gurkha Tejbir Bura in -the use of oxygen, as they intended him to help them in their advance on -the mountain. - -About the time the other party left for the Base Camp, Finch and -Geoffrey Bruce set off for the camp on the Chang La, Camp IV, taking -with them twelve laden coolies to carry their outfit. I will not attempt -to describe their subsequent mountaineering operations in detail, as -these must be left to Finch’s narrative in a subsequent chapter, but -there are a great many points to which attention might be drawn. First, -although Geoffrey Bruce is thoroughly accustomed to work on the -hillside, he had never before this big attempt, and before the few -practice walks that he had with Finch, attempted a snow mountain in his -life; the nearest thing he had been to it was following game in Kashmir. -It was, therefore, for him a very great test. The same also applies to -the Gurkha; although he is a born mountain man and has hardly been off -the hillside the whole of his life, up to the time of the climb he knew -nothing about snow and ice as understood by a Swiss mountaineer. -However, they had a first-rate leader, and his trust in them proved -anything but ill-placed. - -Owing to a terrific gale, they had to spend two nights at 25,500 feet. -They were all short of food, and no doubt greatly exhausted, and I think -they would have been perfectly justified, after two nights spent at this -tremendous altitude, if they had given up their attempt and returned, -but they had too much grit for that. Here should have come in the use of -Tejbir if he had been quite himself. He was given extra oxygen to carry, -and their intention was that, after proceeding as far as the ridge, he -should be sent back to their camp to wait their descent. However, Tejbir -was completely played out when he had reached 26,000 feet. - -The party continued until they reached a point which has been found to -work out at 27,235 feet. Here Geoffrey had an accident to his oxygen -apparatus, and, far from becoming immediately unconscious (as we had -been warned would be the case before we left England if climbers were -suddenly deprived of their artificial oxygen supply), he was able to -attach himself to Finch’s instrument while Finch was repairing the -damaged apparatus. Slightly higher than this point they were completely -exhausted, and had to beat a retreat, the whole party finally descending -to the North Col, where food was found ready for them, and by the -evening got down to Camp III itself—a great performance, considering the -altitude and that the descent was over 6,000 feet. I think it is pretty -certain that Tejbir’s breakdown was largely due to his not having a -windproof suit. This biting West wind goes through wool as if it was -paper, and he was exposed to it for a great period of time, and no doubt -it very largely sapped his vitality. - -One result of this last attempt is that it increases our hopes, almost -to the point of certainty, that, with luck and good weather, and when -the oxygen apparatus has been further improved, the summit of Everest -will be attained. - -All the time the porters were working from our Base Camp and up there -was great competition between them, and also considerable betting as to -who would do the hardest work—the true Tibetan-born porters or the -Sherpas from the South. It was rather amusing to see the superior airs -which the Sherpas invariably gave themselves in travelling through -Tibet. They considered Tibetans undoubtedly jăngli,[4] and treated them -very much from the point of view that a clever Londoner does the -simplest form of yokel when he appears in London. At any rate, they -backed themselves heavily to beat the Tibetans. It was a pretty good -race, but finally they came out well on top; in fact, I think all but -one who reached 25,000 feet and over were Sherpas. Paul, the -interpreter, and Gyaljen, had a great bet also about the officers, Paul -favouring Finch and Gyaljen Mallory. As a matter of fact, there was -quite a little book made among all the followers with regard to who -would go highest among the officers. I did not even belong to the “also -rans” between them. Oxygen was looked upon as a matter of no particular -importance, and I believe Paul made Gyaljen pay up, as he had won with -Finch against Mallory. - -Footnote 4: - - Wild. - -On May 27 we welcomed the arrival of John Macdonald with a further -supply of money, as, owing to the large calls of our enormous transport, -we had been afraid of running short. This was very cheering to us -indeed, and also a very great help, for, besides the money, Mr. -Macdonald brought with him two or three servants very well accustomed to -travel in Tibet and knowing all the people of the country. These we were -able to use as special messengers, and we sent off immediately by them -an account of the climbs that had occurred. The second of them was -unfortunately delayed by illness, and this accounted for the slight -delay in letting the world know of our great second “oxygen” climb. The -first messenger rode through in ten days from Rongbuk to Phari, and by -so doing almost caught up the previous letters which had been despatched -through the Dzongpens. Arrangements are, after all, not so bad in Tibet. -When one considers that Tibetans themselves have no understanding or -care for time, the promptness with which the different communications -were sent through was rather wonderful. There were, on occasions, no -doubt, hitches, but, generally speaking, the postal arrangements worked -very well. - -The weather had become more and more threatening, but we could not bring -ourselves absolutely to give up for this year the attempts on Everest; -at the same time, the casualties were heavy. Our medical members had all -got to work and had tested thoroughly each member of the Expedition that -had been employed. It was evidently absolutely necessary that Morshead -should return as quickly as possible into hospital in India, and there -were also several other members who were suffering from their hard work. -Longstaff had “shot his bolt” as far as this year’s work was concerned, -and it was also most important that Morshead should have a doctor with -him. Strutt, too, was very much overdone, and it was time for him to -return. Norton was strained and tired, and Geoffrey’s toes, though not -so bad as Morshead’s, required that he should quickly go down to a -warmer climate. We therefore made up two convoys, which were to start -together from the Base Camp. Longstaff, Strutt, and Morshead to go with -the sardar Gyaljen direct to Darjeeling, travelling viâ Khamba Dzong, -and from Khamba Dzong directly South to Lachen and Gangtok and -Darjeeling by the shorter and quicker route. This would bring them quite -a week sooner to Darjeeling than the route by which we entered Tibet. It -was most important that Morshead should be got back as quickly as -possible; in fact, we were all very nervous about his condition, and we -were afraid that it might be necessary for some operation to be carried -out actually on the march. - -It had always been our idea that as soon as we had finished with our -summer attack on Everest, the whole Expedition should go into the Kharta -Valley, where Colonel Howard-Bury in 1921 made his camps, and there -recover from our labours. The Kharta Valley is far lower than any other -district in this part of Tibet, lying between 11,000 and 12,000 feet -above sea-level; there are also many comforts which do not exist in -other parts. There is good cultivation, trees and grass to a certain -extent, and even some vegetables are obtainable. It is altogether a -charming spot—very charming compared with any other country we were -likely to see. The road was very high for sick men, as it led over the -Doya La, which is only 3 feet under 17,000 feet, but having once got -there, they would be in comfort compared with the Rongbuk Glacier. - -Having decided on sending off this large convoy of invalids and -semi-invalids, we then began to organise our third attempt on Everest, -but so doubtful was the weather that the party was organised for two -complete purposes. It was fully provided with porters, far more than -would in the ordinary way be necessary for an attempt on the mountain -itself, considering that the camps were all fully provisioned. We had -brought every single man off the glacier after the last attempt in order -to give them all a complete rest. Every one had now had a long rest, -with the exception of Finch, who had only had five days. He, however, -was very keen to join the party. - -The second rôle of this party was to evacuate as many camps as possible, -according to the condition of the weather, and it was carefully -explained to them that if in their opinion the weather was such as to -preclude an attempt on the mountain, they were to use the greatest -possible care and run no undue risks. It was organised as follows: The -climbing party to consist of Finch, Mallory, and Somervell; the -backing-up party, Crawford and Wakefield, to remain at Camp III; and -Morris, in whose charge the whole of the transport arrangements were, -was to take charge of the evacuation of camps either after the attempt -had been made, or if no attempt was made, immediately. Such was the -condition of the weather that I had no very great hope that even the -Chang La camp could be evacuated, but it was most necessary to recover -all stores left at the great depôt at Camp III. This was of the utmost -importance, as not only was the oxygen apparatus there, but also a great -number of surplus stores—stores which we should be in need of. We had, -of course, rationed these camps with a view to staying there probably a -fortnight longer, but this year the monsoon had evidently advanced at -least ten days earlier than usual. That, however, we could not foresee, -nor could we foresee the very great severity of the 1922 monsoon of the -Eastern Himalaya. This we only heard about on our return to India later -on. It was a curious thing that the Rongbuk Lama had sent up to -congratulate the porters, and ourselves also, on having come back safely -from the earlier attempts, but he warned the porters to leave the -mountain alone, as he had had a vision of an accident. - -On June 3 the great convoy set off and spent the night at Camp I. On -June 4 we were rather overwhelmed to see Finch staggering into camp. He -was very much overdone, and had by no means recovered from his terrific -exertions on the mountain. It was quite evident that he was finished for -this year, and he was lucky to be just in time to join the detachment -returning to India direct. It was a very great loss to the party. Not -only would he have been of special assistance as the oxygen expert, but -his experience and knowledge of snow and ice under the conditions then -prevailing would have been of the greatest advantage to the party. - -The weather now had completely broken. It was snowing hard; even at our -Base Camp we had 2 inches of snow; the whole of the mountains were a -complete smother of snow. Notwithstanding this, and, under the -conditions, quite rightly, the convoy pushed on to Camp III. On arrival -at Camp III the weather cleared. The wind temporarily went round to the -West, and one perfect day of rest and sunshine was enjoyed. - -Morris all this time was on the line of communication. He had the whole -of the service of evacuation to arrange, and was laying out his convoys -of Tibetan coolies and others with that point of view in his mind. It -was lucky he did so. The great foe, generally speaking, on Everest -during the dry period is the horrible West wind, but now the monsoon had -to all intents and purposes arrived. The West wind now was our one and -only friend. If it would again blow for a short period, the mountain -would probably return temporarily to a fairly safe condition. The South -wind is a warm and wet, though fairly strong, current, but the result of -even a short visit from it absolutely ruins the mountain-side. However, -at Camp III they enjoyed one full day of sunshine, followed by a very -low temperature (12° below zero) the following night, and it was -considered, owing both to the strength of the sun and to the fact that -the West wind had temporarily got the better of the South wind, that the -mountain would in all probability be safely solidified so as to render -an attempt justifiable. Therefore on the morning of June 7 a start was -made to reach the North Col, with the object of spending a night there -and making an assault on the mountain the following day. It was also -proposed to carry up as much oxygen as possible to the greatest height -they could get the porters to go, and from that point only to use the -remaining oxygen to make a push over the summit. I think this was a -thoroughly sound proposition. They were all acclimatised, and it seems -to me that it is probably better, especially if there is any chance of a -shortage of oxygen, to use one’s acclimatisation to go as high as one -can without undue fatigue, and from thence on to use the oxygen. No -doubt it would be possible and of advantage, if the oxygen apparatus -should ever be improved, to use it for the whole of an ascent, say, from -20,000 feet or so, but against that comes the chance that, in case of -any cessation of the oxygen supply, the danger would be very much -greater. - -The caravan consisted of Mallory, Somervell, and Crawford, who was going -with them as far as the North Col to assist them and to relieve them of -the hard labour of remaking the path up to that point. Mallory will -relate further on how at about one o’clock, when about half the journey -had been completed, the snow suddenly cracked across and gave way, and -the whole caravan was swept down the hillside, and seven porters killed. - -On return to Camp III, a porter was despatched to take the news down to -the Base Camp, and arrived that same night at about nine o’clock, having -travelled at full speed—really a wonderful performance. There was -nothing to be done—that was quite evident—and all I could do was to -await the return of the party for a full account, sending news at the -same time to Morris to evacuate the camps at the greatest possible -speed. Mallory arrived by himself, very tired, and naturally very upset, -on Thursday, the 8th. Again was shown what a terrible enemy the great -Himalaya is. Risks and conditions which would appear justifiable in the -Alps can never be taken in the Himalaya. So great is the scale that far -greater time must be allowed for the restoration of safe conditions. -When once the condition of a mountain is spoiled, the greater size -requires more time for its readjustment. The odds against one are much -greater in the Himalaya than in the smaller ranges. Its sun is hotter; -its storms are worse; the distances are greater; everything is on an -exaggerated scale. - -Mallory was followed next morning by Wakefield, Crawford, and Somervell, -who brought down with them a certain amount of the lighter equipment. -Morris was all this time working to salvage as much as he possibly could -from the different camps. We had a large number of Tibetans pushed up as -far as Camp II, and as many of our own porters as were available (not -very many, I am sorry to say, by now) working with Morris in the -evacuation of Camp III. In this work the cooks and orderlies also -joined. - -It was perfectly evident by now that the monsoon had set in in full -force. On his return, Morris gave me a very vivid description of how, -even during the one day that he stayed up after the others had left at -Camp III, although the weather was fairly fine, the whole face of the -mountain sides began to change; how under the influence of the soft -South wind the mountains seemed to melt and disintegrate. Not only that, -but even the great teeth formed by the pressure of the collateral -glaciers, probably great séracs that spring out like the teeth of a huge -saw on the glacier, and which seemed solid enough to last for all time, -were visibly crumbling up, and some of them were even toppling over. The -great trough of black ice up the centre of the glacier which Strutt has -described had turned into a rushing torrent—and all this in an -incredibly short period of time. Snow also fell at intervals, and it was -quite apparent that when the monsoon settled down the whole of Camp III -would be under a great blanket of fresh snow. Under these conditions a -good deal of stuff, especially the supplies of grain, tzampa, and so on, -for our porters, had to be abandoned. As for Camps IV, V, and VI, there -was naturally no chance of rescuing anything from them. Thus was -occasioned a fairly large loss of outfit; nor was there any possibility -that any of it could have stood under any conditions more than a month’s -exposure to the weather. There was a considerable loss in the oxygen -apparatus, but Morris managed to bring down three full outfits in more -or less dilapidated condition. - -On Morris’s return to the Base Camp, the party was completed. One of the -difficulties in having so large an outfit as ours was the difficulty of -obtaining transport when necessary. Therefore, as soon as we saw signs -of the monsoon, it was necessary to make arrangements for our return, as -at least fifteen days were required to collect the still large number of -animals required for our moving. These animals have to be searched for -all down the Dzakar Chu, collected, and brought up; nor when once -collected could they be kept waiting for very long, as the supply of -fodder in the upper valley was absolutely nil—fodder did not exist. When -we sent off the previous party they travelled as lightly as possible, -but even then the small number of animals which was required for their -transport had not been obtained with any great ease. Fortunately, John -Macdonald was with us and was free, and it was owing to his help (for he -speaks Tibetan as well as Nepali, and is thoroughly accustomed to deal -with the people) that the two parties of Strutt and Norton were able to -proceed with such little delay. It had required a full fifteen days to -collect enough animals to move the main body. I had arranged for a -latitude of one or two days, which meant that they should have spare -food up to that extent, but beyond that it would be quite impossible, -naturally, to make provision. Of course, as one of our secondary objects -we had hoped, if our party had not been exhausted, to have explored the -West Rongbuk and the great glens on the Western faces of Everest. And -besides this most interesting piece of exploration, of which really not -very much more than glimpses were obtained during 1921, there is the -prodigious and fascinating group of Cho Uyo and Gyachang Kang to be -explored. - -[Illustration: - - WATCHING THE DANCERS, RONGBUK MONASTERY. -] - -As I before pointed out, of course, not only was our major work and the -whole object of the Expedition the tackling of the great mountain, but -also it was a race against the weather, so we could let nothing -interfere with our main object. It was quite clear now, as we were -situated, that an exploration of the West Rongbuk was entirely beyond -consideration. Not only was the whole party fairly played out, but to -get up enthusiasm in a new direction after what we had gone through was -pretty nearly out of the question. Somervell, the absolutely untireable, -had very strong yearnings in that direction, but it would have been -nothing more than a scramble in the dark if he had gone. The weather was -broken and was getting worse and worse every day. Snow fell occasionally -even at our camp. Further up everything was getting smothered. Everest, -when we had glimpses of it, was a smother of snow from head to foot, and -no one who saw it in these days could ever imagine that it was a rock -peak. - -I am afraid also that most of us had only one real idea at the time, and -that was to get out of the Rongbuk Valley. However, during our wait for -the transport the annual fête of the Rongbuk Monastery occurred. There -was a great pilgrimage to the monastery to receive the blessing of the -Lama and to witness the annual dances. Most of our party went down to -see dances, and Noel especially to cinematograph the whole ceremony, -dances as well as religious ceremonies. I have not done justice up to -this point to Noel’s work. He was quite indefatigable from the start, -and had lost no opportunity during our march up, not only of taking many -pictures of the country and Expedition, both with his ordinary camera -and with his cinema camera, but of studying Tibetan life as well. He had -in the Rongbuk Valley pitched his developing tents near the only -available clear water at the moment, and had there been untiring in -developing his cinema photographs. He had made two expeditions to the -head of the East Rongbuk Glacier, and had even taken his cameras and his -cinema outfit on to the North Col itself where he remained for no less -than four days—a most remarkable _tour de force_. On the last occasion -he had accompanied the evacuation party, and had been actually taking -pictures of the start of the last attempt to get to the North Col and to -climb Everest. Of course, his performances with the camera are entirely -unprecedented. The amount of work he carried out was prodigious, and the -enthusiasm he displayed under the most trying conditions of wind and -weather was quite wonderful. We now feel that we can produce a real -representation of our life and of life in Tibet in a manner in which it -has never hitherto been brought before people’s eyes, and this gives a -reality to the whole Expedition which I hope will make all those who are -interested in mountain exploration understand the wonderful performances -and the great difficulties under which the climbing members of this -Expedition and the transport officers laboured. - -After the news of the accident had been received, we immediately got in -touch with the great Lama of Rongbuk, who was intensely sympathetic and -kind over the whole matter. It is very strange to have to deal with -these curious people; they are an extraordinary mixture of superstition -and nice feelings. Buddhist services were held in the monasteries for -the men who had been lost and for the families; and all the porters, and -especially the relations of the men who were killed, were received and -specially blessed by the Rongbuk Lama himself. All the Nepalese tribes -who live high up in the mountains, and also the Sherpa Bhotias, have a -belief that when a man slips on the mountains and is killed, or when he -slips on a cliff above a river and falls into it and is drowned, that -this is a sacrifice to God, and especially to the god of the actual -mountain or river. They further believe that anyone whosoever who -happens to be on the same cliff or on the same mountain at the same -place, exactly at the same time of year, on the same date and at the -same hour, will also immediately slip and be killed. - -I also received during our return a very kind letter from the Maharajah -of Nepal condoling with us on the loss of our porters. He writes as -follows:— - -“Personally, and as a member of the Royal Geographical Society, I share -with you the grief that must have resulted from the frustration of the -keen hope entertained by you and the party. My heartiest sympathies go -to you and to the families of the seven men who lost their lives in the -attempt. This puts in my mind the curious belief that persistently -prevails with the people here, and which I came to learn so long ago in -the time of our mutual friend, Colonel Manners Smith, when the question -of giving permission for the project of climbing the King of Heights -through Nepal was brought by you and discussed in a council of -Bharadars. It is to the effect that the height is the abode of the god -and goddess Shiva and Parvati, and any attempt to invade the privacy of -it would be a sacrilege fraught with disastrous consequences to this -Hindu country and its people, and this belief or superstition, as one -may choose to call it, is so firm and strong that people attribute the -present tragic occurrence to the divine wrath which on no occasion they -would draw on their heads by their actions.” - -This, I must point out, is, of course, the Southern and Hindu people’s -tradition, and did not in the same way affect all the porters whom we -employed, as they were Buddhists by faith. The whole of our people, -however, took the view common to both and dismissed their troubles very -rapidly and very lightly, holding simply that the men’s time had come, -and so there was no more to be said about it. If their time had not -come, they would not have died. It had come, and they had died and that -was all. What need to say any more? As a matter of fact, this -philosophic way of looking on everything also allowed them to say that -they were perfectly ready to come back for the next attempt, because if -it was written that they should die on Everest, they should die on -Everest; if it was written that they would not die on Everest, they -would not, and that was all there was to be said in the matter. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER III - - THE RETURN BY KHARTA - - -On June 14 we were cheered with the news that our transport was -approaching, and I think a good many sighs of relief were uttered. We -had quite made up our minds to cross over into the Kharta Valley, and, -having had a sufficiency of rest, to explore the Kama Chu more -completely than had been done in 1921, and, if possible, to examine the -whole gorge of the Arun where it breaks through the great Himalayan -range; but our first idea was to get down to a decent elevation where -some rest could be obtained, where we could get adequate bathing and -washing for our clothes and get everybody into a fairly respectable -condition again. Living continuously for many weeks at elevations never -below, and generally far above, 16,500 feet, does not tend to general -cleanliness, and it also, after a time, I think, tends to general -degeneration. At the same time, we were by no means convinced that at -medium elevations there is any particular loss of physical powers or -that acclimatisation takes long to complete. I found, personally, that I -was getting better and better when exerting myself at the medium heights -to which I went. I found, during the march that was in front of us, that -I could walk at elevations of over 16,000 feet very much more easily -than when I first arrived at the Rongbuk Glacier, and this certainly -does not show that one had been degenerating physically. I think, -really, that the strain was more a mental one; and this remark probably -also applies to every member of our party. At the same time, it was most -exhilarating to think that one was descending to a low altitude. - -We made our first march back to the Rongbuk Glacier, and that evening we -were left in peace—by the Lamas, that is to say, but not by the wind, -which howled consistently, bringing with it thin driving sleet. - -[Illustration: - - THE CHIEF LAMA, RONGBUK MONASTERY. -] - -On the following morning we arranged that we should all meet the Rongbuk -Lama; and so, having got our kit packed, we left it to be loaded by the -Tibetans, and the whole party, including all our followers, porters, all -the Gurkhas who were with us (with the exception of Tejbir, who had gone -on in advance with Geoffrey Bruce and Norton), went up to the monastery. -There we waited in the courtyard until the Lama himself descended from -his inner sanctuary in state. Tea was first served in the usual way, -ordinary tea being provided, I am glad to say, for the others and myself -by special arrangement of the interpreter. I think Noel, however, a man -of infinite pluck, took down a bowl or two of true Tibetan tea. The Lama -made special inquiries after the Expedition, and then began the -blessing. He offered us his very best wishes, and presented me, through -Paul, with a special mark of his goodwill, a little image of one of the -Taras, or queens, of Tibetan mythology. My special one was the Green -Tara, who takes precedence among all ladies. This was a mark of very -great favour. Paul was also presented with another little mark and many -little packets of medicine, which were to preserve him from all and -every description of the illnesses which afflict and worry humanity. The -Buddhistic side of Paul came up on this occasion, and he received his -blessings and the medicines in the most humble and reverent spirit. The -Gurkhas all went up too, and were suitably blessed, being even more -humble in their aspect than the very much overcome and reverent porters -themselves; they could hardly be induced to approach his Holiness. -However, we all parted on the most friendly terms, and left our own good -wishes, for what they were worth, with the old gentleman. - -By three o’clock in the afternoon we arrived at Chodzong. But what a -difference there was in our march! The few days of the monsoon and the -small amount of rain which had fallen, even this little way back from -the mountains, had changed the whole aspect of the valley. Flowers had -begun to show, and in places there was even a little green grass. At -Chodzong there was quite a considerable amount of grass, and we enjoyed -here what was more pleasant than anything we had experienced for a long -time—a shower of rain. We had almost forgotten the existence of rain, -and the relief from the very trying dryness of the Tibetan atmosphere, -which parches one’s skin as if one was in the Sahara, was immense. -Still, at Chodzong it was cold at night and the temperature below -freezing-point. Here we found all our ponies and their saises returned -from taking Norton and Geoffrey Bruce over to the Kharta Valley. Also -the gigantic D(r)ubla and his small Gyamda very fit and well. - -This camp at Chodzong was a place particularly impressed on our minds on -our way up, as we had there the very coldest breakfast that we anywhere -indulged in. The wind was blowing half a hurricane, and the temperature -nearly at zero, while our breakfast was actually being brought to us in -the morning, and the misery and discomfort of that particular -temperature was in great contrast to the delightful weather we were now -experiencing. From this place we diverted a large convoy of our spare -baggage to Shekar, to await our return after we had finished our further -wanderings in Kharta. The following day took us up the Rebu Valley. It -was a fairly long and very windy march, but the climate was so greatly -improved that, generally speaking, it was very enjoyable, and again we -camped in a very pleasant spot in grassy fields—such a change from our -late life. Not only that, but in the evening, as the people up here had -no prejudices, we caught a sufficient number of snow-trout, really a -barbel, to make a dish. My own servant, Kehar Sing, the cook, always had -a reputation for being, and always was, a first-rate poacher. At any -form of netting or tickling trout he was a great hand. However, he was -completely eclipsed later on by one of Macdonald’s servants, to whom I -am quite certain no fish-poacher that ever was could have given a -wrinkle. He was also quite a good hand at catching fish with -rod-and-line. The Gurkhas, as usual, took a hand; they are immensely -fond of fish, and their methods are primitive. Tejbir, who came along -with us, was nearly recovered from his exertions with Finch and -Geoffrey; he had lost a good deal of skin from seven or eight fingers -and a large patch off his foot, but though his frostbites were many, -they were slight. He was really suffering from being rather overdone, -and took at least a fortnight to recover. - -The next day’s was an interesting march, though very long, and tiring -for the animals. Our way led over the high ridge which divides the -Dzakar Chu country from the Kharta district. Although the rise was not -very great from our camp at approximately 13,500 feet, still the pass -itself was just 17,000 feet, or rather, to be absolutely accurate, just -3 feet under. The way led for several miles, hardly rising at all, up a -grassy valley, and then over the strangest and wildest and most -completely barren of hillsides. From here, no doubt, we should have a -fine view of the great supporters of Everest, but clouds completely -obliterated the mountains. We had the ordinary balmy Tibetan breezes -through the snows, but modified to what they would have been quite a -short time before. - -The descent from the Doya La was very fine indeed; the colour wonderful, -and very soon giving promise of a greener land. The first 300 feet on -the Kharta side is down a very steep rocky track, and I was told -afterwards by Geoffrey Bruce that he never dismounted, and that the -wonderful Gyamda had carried him down without making a mistake. On that -day we all of us well overtopped 17,000 feet. There was a little joke -about Crawford, who was not very tall, but who certainly did not deserve -his nickname of the “Two-and-a-half-footer” given him by the porters. It -was a joke among them afterwards, when told the height of the pass, that -he had just missed the 17,000 feet by 6 inches. - -It was a very long descent, but into a valley rapidly changing from bare -hillsides to grassy banks. Never was there a more welcome change, and -here we came into a real profusion of Alpine flowers. It was a full -20-mile march to our halting-place at Trateza, and as we got down where -the valley narrowed we passed the very picturesquely situated village of -Teng. Everybody was delighted with the change. Our camp was pitched near -the village on quite thick and beautiful green grass, and the hillsides -were green and covered with bushes. We were absolutely happy and -intensely relieved, and pleased with our surroundings. The ponies and -animals simply pounced on the green grass, and were even more happy than -their masters. - -The following morning we all started off in wonderful spirits, shared in -by the yaks, several of whom took it into their heads to run amuck, and -we had a first-class scene of confusion in the rather tight camp before -we could get matters straightened out. One yak especially was peculiarly -gay here, and took to the hillside after throwing his load on three or -four occasions. We had, in fact, a real hunt after him; everybody joined -in the fun, and I am afraid on one or two occasions some of the more -light-hearted of the porters kept him going on purpose. This march, -however, was even pleasanter than the one before. The part we were -travelling down grew richer and richer; the hillsides were thickly -clothed in cedar trees and in shrubs of many kinds; the valley itself, -wherever possible, was cultivated. We passed on our way two or three -small villages extremely well situated, and finally debouched into an -open valley full of fields and cultivation, where we joined the main -Arun Valley and the district of Kharta proper. Kharta is a fairly large -district, and not a village. The largest settlement is called Kharta -Shika, and it is there that the Dzongpen has his abode. The whole of -this district, also, is under the Dzongpen of Shekar Dzong, and the -Dzongpen of Shika apparently has not as full powers by any means as the -Dzongpen at Shekar Dzong. However, for all that, he appears to be quite -a little autocrat. - -It was quite delightful riding out into the main valley, and there also -we were cheered by meeting Geoffrey Bruce and John Macdonald, who had -come out some miles from where our camp had been established at the -small village of Teng. We passed, also, the old gentleman, known, I -think, in the last year’s Expedition as “the Havildar,” but whom -Geoffrey and Norton had promptly christened Father William. He was a -rather officious, but at the same time most helpful, old man, and on our -way back he asked us to come in for a meal into his very attractive -garden; but as it was only a mile or so from Teng, where our camp was -pitched, we did not think it was worth while then, knowing we should see -a good deal more of the old gentleman. He brought us plenty of what we -were yearning for—fresh green vegetables, the very greatest boon. - -We found our invalids very nearly recovered; Norton’s feet, however, -were tender, and Geoffrey’s toes still in a distinctly unpleasant -condition. It was wonderful, nevertheless, how well both were able to -get about with the help of plenty of socks. Our camp was pitched in -fields at a height of about 10,800 feet, and below us, at about the -distance of 3 miles, we could see the entrance to the great Arun Gorge -where it cuts through the Himalaya. On the opposite side of the Arun the -two mountains, old friends of ours that we had noticed on our way up, -looked down on the camp. On the whole of my way down I was struck with -the resemblance between these valleys and parts of Lahoul and Kailang. -They were less rich, however, and the forests of pencil cedar not so -fine, but still the whole character of the country and of the hillsides -was very much the same. - -[Illustration: - - TIBETAN DANCING MAN. -] - -[Illustration: - - TIBETAN DANCING WOMAN. -] - -Above the camp at Teng was a very well situated monastery, which Noel -afterwards photographed. Soon after our arrival during the afternoon, -the Dzongpen from Kharta Shika arrived to meet us. He was reported at -first to be very suspicious of the party, and such, indeed, appeared to -be the case. However, after a long conversation, and having presented -him with pictures of the Dalai Lama and of the Tashilumpo Lama, as well -as with the ubiquitous Homburg hat, he became much more confidential, -and we finished up very good friends. He also told us that on the -following day he would bring down some Tibetan dancers and acrobats to -give us a performance. - -The rapidity with which the whole party seemed to recover at Kharta was -perfectly wonderful. Everybody was in first-class health and spirits, -especially all our porters, and that night their high spirits were not -only due to the atmospheric conditions, but were taken into them in a -manner they thoroughly approved of and of which they had been deprived -for some time. However, after all their very hard work and the wonderful -way in which they had played up, it is not altogether to be wondered at -if they did occasionally “go on the spree” on their way back. - -So attractive was the whole country, and so strong was the call of the -Kama Valley, that we were all very soon anxious to get a move on again. -Tejbir was still not quite recovered, and would be all the better for -further rest, so he was detailed with one of the other Gurkhas, -Sarabjit, to stay behind and take charge of our camp and spare -equipment. The rest of us all set to work and planned an advance into -the Kama Valley, and, we hoped also, an exploration of it, both towards -the snows up and to the Popti La, which is the main road into the valley -of the Arun, and, if possible, up the great Arun Gorge itself. But this -year’s monsoon never gave us a chance of carrying out more than a small -portion of that programme. We were now living in an entirely different -climate. We had many showers of rain, which were hailed with delight by -the people of the country, as their crops were now fairly well advanced. -The crops at Kharta consist chiefly of peas and barley, as usual, but -there is a certain amount of other grain and vegetables to be obtained -from the gardens. - -Having arranged the transport, we started our caravan off to Kharta -Shika. Norton had issued a large-hearted invitation for us to lunch with -him at the mouth of the Arun Gorge. Previously Norton and Geoffrey had -explored, while they were waiting, the country round as far as they -could go on horseback, and Norton had discovered at the mouth of a gorge -an alp like those on the Kashmir Mountains, surrounded with a forest -which he described as equal to a Southern Himalayan forest, and we -positively must go and see it, and climb up the hillsides and look down -into the gorge itself. - -We all accepted his invitation with the greatest alacrity. On the -afternoon of the day before starting, the Dzongpen, as he had promised, -produced us his acrobats and dancers, and we had a very hilarious -afternoon. They were not particularly good either as actors or as -acrobats, but they danced with prodigious vigour, and it was altogether -great fun. Before all the dances and the little plays they covered their -faces with masks of an extremely primitive kind. They failed at most of -their tricks once or twice before accomplishment, and these failures -were invariably greeted both by the spectators and by the actors with -shrieks of laughter. - -On the following day (June 19) we all set off, the luggage proceeding -direct to Kharta Shika under the charge of the interpreter and the -Gurkhas, while we switched off to Norton’s alp. It really was -delightful, and though the forest was rather a dwarfed forest, it -contained several kinds of fir trees, birch, and rhododendron scrub, -and, after Tibet, was in every way quite charming. We climbed up the -hillsides and suddenly came round the corner on to great cliffs diving -straight down into the Arun Valley, and we could see further down how -enormously the scale of the mountains increased. It was a most -attractive gorge, but on our side it appeared to be almost impossible to -have got along, so steep were the hillsides. On the far bank, that is, -the true left bank, the East bank, there was a well-marked track, and it -appears that lower down it crosses to the right bank and then continues -on the right bank to the junction with the Kama Chu. Later on Noel and -Morris were able to explore and photograph the greater part of the -gorge. We all sat on the top of the cliffs and indulged in the very -pleasant amusement of rolling great rocks into the river a thousand feet -below us—always a fascinating pursuit, especially when one is quite -certain that there is no one in the neighbourhood. The lunch did not -turn up for some time, when an exploring party discovered that our -porters, who had been detailed to carry it, had dropped in at a village -and visited the Barley Mow, and could hardly get along at all in -consequence; finally, however, the lunch was rescued and an extremely -pleasant time passed. It was absolutely epicurean: Gruyère cheese, -sardines, truffled yaks, and, finally, almost our last three bottles of -champagne. It was intended to be an epicurean feast—and it was so. - -By the evening we arrived in Shika, and found our camp pitched in -beautiful grassy fields high above the village of Shika. The Dzongpen -was very anxious to entertain the whole party, but we were rather lazy -and did not want to go down to his village, which was some way off, but -promised him that we would pay him a visit on our return from Kama. The -Dzongpen, however, imported his cooks and full outfit and gave us a -dinner in our own tent, himself sitting down with us and joining in. He -was a plump and very well dressed little man, and by now had completely -recovered his confidence in us. He was, however, very anxious that we -should do no shooting, and this anxiety of his was no doubt very largely -occasioned by the fact that he had only arrived from Lhasa about a -fortnight before our arrival. We were to reach in two marches -Sakiathang, in the Kama Valley, where Colonel Howard-Bury and his party -had encamped the year before. Our first march led us over the Samchang -La to a camp called Chokarbō. It was a steep and rough walk over the -pass, but knowing the wonderful capacity of the Tibetan pony, several of -the party took ponies with them. It was necessary both for Geoffrey and -for Norton to rest their feet as much as possible until completely -cured, and so on arrival at Chokarbō they took their ponies on over our -next pass, the Chog La, which is no less than 16,280 feet, and down into -the Kama Chu. This is a very rough road indeed. - -We had here reached the most perfect land of flowers, and in the low -land which lies between the Samchang La and our camp at Chokarbō we -found every description of Alpine flora, reinforced by rhododendrons—the -very last of the rhododendrons. We also found several kinds of iris. - -The road leading up to the Samchang La was extremely steep and rough, -but the path was well marked, and it was evident there was a -considerable amount of traffic leading into the Kama Chu. The local -people stoutly denied that yaks could cross, but later on we actually -found yaks carrying loads over this road. I can quite understand their -reason for not wishing to send their yaks, as the road from one end to -the other is very bad for animals. At Chokarbō all the riding ponies -were dispensed with, with the exception of Geoffrey’s and Norton’s; -these two ponies they particularly wished to look after, as they had -bought them, knowing that they must assure mounts, probably to the end -of the journey. They had certainly picked up the most useful little -couple. All the same, they had to walk most of the way, as it was quite -out of the question for anyone to have ridden at all, except over short -pieces of open ground, and it was perfectly wonderful the way in which -these two ponies got over the most shocking collection of rocks, big and -little, and how they negotiated the extremely slippery and rocky path -which led down from the Chog La. The ascent to the Chog La was easy, and -the latter half of it still under winter snow, as also was the first -thousand feet of the descent. The mountains were interesting on each -side, so much so that Somervell and Crawford went off for a little climb -on the way. The descent was delightful, although the road was, as I have -said, very stony indeed. One passes through every description of Eastern -Himalayan forest and wonderful banks of rhododendrons of many kinds. We -were, unfortunately, much too late for their full bloom, but a month -earlier this descent must be perfectly gorgeous, the whole hillsides -being covered with flowering rhododendrons. - -[Illustration: - - OLD TIBETAN WOMAN AND CHILD. -] - -The descent to Sakiathang is at least 5,000 feet, and may be a little -more. Thang means “a flat bench,” and such was Sakiathang, set in -gorgeous forest, and deep in grass and flowers. But the weather was -breaking fast, and by evening the clouds had descended and wiped out the -whole of the valley. Before it was quite obliterated we got glimpses of -what it must be like in fine weather. - -In the early morning of the following day (Thursday, June 22), when I -woke up and looked out of my tent, the mouth of which looked straight up -the valley between the big mountains, the clouds had lifted somewhat, -and the whole end of the valley was filled with the gorgeous Chomolönzo -peak, and for an hour or so I was able to watch it with the clouds -drifting round its flanks, and then, just as the sun lit up the valley -for a moment, the great monsoon clouds coming up from the valley of the -Arun, driven by the wind up the Kama Chu, completely wiped it out again. -It was a glorious glimpse, and the only one we obtained during our stay -of more than a week in Sakiathang. - -We found encamped in the neighbouring woods Nepalese shepherds, with -their flocks of sheep, and saw for the first time the very fine type of -sheep which these men own—a far bigger and better breed of sheep than -exists in Tibet, and also carrying a very much finer coat of wool. They -were rather strange to look at at first, as the whole fore-part of their -body was black and the hind-part white. We also found that the Nepalese -shepherds thoroughly understood the value of their own sheep. They keep -them all to make butter from their milk, which they collect and sell in -the bazaars in Nepal. All these shepherds were Gurkhas belonging either -to the Gurung tribe or Kirantis, and, curiously enough, one of them was -related to my servant Kehar Sing, he having gone through the “mit” -ceremony with his relations, and that is quite sufficient for him to be -also a “mit.” This “mit” ceremony is rather difficult to explain. It is -not exactly blood-brotherhood, it is more of the nature of religious -brotherhood; but it is quite binding, as much so as an ordinary -relationship. This eased the situation for us pretty considerably in the -matter of obtaining milk and butter. As I have before mentioned, I do -not myself eat butter in an uncooked state, but the remainder of the -party reported that this sheep’s butter was of very fine quality, and it -was certainly very clean. These shepherd establishments are known as -gôts. Naturally forgetting that certain terms are unfamiliar, I told -Wakefield that I had bought two sheep from the gôts. He seemed more -confused than usual by the strangeness of the country. - -As we were rather short of provisions, we despatched Noel’s servant and -our excellent Chongay Tindel to obtain supplies for us; the first down -to the junction with the Arun, and the second over the Popti into -Damtang, a large Nepalese settlement. - -The remainder of the party stayed behind, hoping for better weather in -order to explore the upper valley of the snows, and up to the Popti to -get a view of the country into Nepal, if possible. It was no use -attempting to move unless the weather cleared to a certain extent. -Meanwhile we were living in a smother of cloud, mist, and rain. But how -delightful it was to have an ample supply of firewood and to be able to -build, for the first time since we had entered Tibet, a reckless -camp-fire round which we could all sit! It is a real hardship in Tibet -never to have a good roaring fire, and it is a little damping to one’s -spirits having always to go to bed in order to get warm. Whenever it -cleared, we went for short walks through the neighbouring forests and -into the neighbouring valleys, and saw quite enough to fill us with a -desire for much more exploration. The forest of the Kama is unbelievably -rich; the undergrowth, especially the hill bamboo, of a very vivid -green, and the cedar and fir appear very dark, almost black, against it. -But the forest also contains every other kind of tree and shrub proper -to the Eastern Himalaya, and the river-banks were, in places, overhung -with the most glorious Himalayan larch, identical with the European -larch in appearance, but with possibly a greater spread of branch. - -The weather got worse and worse, and our food supplies lower and lower. -There were no signs of the return either of Noel’s servant or of the -Chongay from Nepal, and so, with the greatest reluctance, we gave up -further exploration as a body. We were reduced to only half a day’s -grain-food for our following, and not only that, but the Tibetan porters -whom we were expecting to help us back, and who had been ordered, showed -no signs of arriving. Having searched the country round, we managed to -rope in a few local people, mostly Tibetans, who had come over from -Kharta for wood. There is considerable traffic from the Tibetan side, as -in this well-wooded country they cut most of the timber required for -their houses and carry it over on their own backs, or else on the backs -of unfortunate yaks, when they can bring themselves to risk their yaks’ -legs over this awful road. We carried as much luggage as we possibly -could with us, not knowing how many men we should be able to obtain to -send for the remainder. We had not enough men with us to carry the whole -camp, and so two Gurkhas were left here in charge of what remained. They -were also to meet Chongay and bring him back with them, and it was -considered an absolute certainty that he would be in time to save them -from a shortage of rations; also, they would be able to get enough to -keep themselves alive from the Gurkha gôts, although these gôts -themselves are on a very short ration of grain, living largely on -sheep’s milk. - -Our own porters and a few local people, with the help of a little chaff -to excite them, vied with each other in the size of the loads they could -carry, and they certainly gave us a first-class exhibition of -load-carrying. One girl, about eighteen years of age, actually carried a -160-lb. tent by herself from Sakiathang to Chokarbō, over the top of the -Chog La. Moreover, this tent had been wet for the last ten days, and -although we did our best to dry all our camp as much as possible before -starting, it must have been at least 20 to 30 lb. heavier than it ought -to have been. I am quite certain that not a single man or woman carried -less than 100 lb. that day over the pass, and this they did apparently -without undue fatigue, arriving quite cheerful at Chokarbō. We started -in fairly fine weather—a break, we thought; but before we had gone -half-way up the hill the clouds descended on us, and it was raining hard -when we got to our camp. The day before we left we came to the -conclusion that it would be quite possible for a very small party to get -down to the junction of the Kama Chu over the Arun, and Noel himself was -intensely anxious to photograph the Kama Chu and the gorges of the Arun -itself. He had also a plan, if possible, to get up the gorge and to -cross up over the high cliffs and hillsides, which would bring him down -almost to the alp where we had our picnic with Norton. This was a -magnificent conception, but, considering the weather, we thought that he -would have a very rough time of it. He chose Morris as his assistant; he -took off his own particular porters, reinforced by some Tibetans, and -left on the 27th, we leaving on the 28th. - -While we had been over there, Geoffrey’s feet had completely recovered, -and he was able to walk now as of old. Norton could walk uphill, but his -feet pained him when descending; his ear had by this time completely -recovered. - -On the 29th, Geoffrey and I, leaving the remainder of the party, went -down to see the Dzongpen of Kharta, with a view to making arrangements -for our final return. I had, previous to this, written to the Maharajah -of Nepal with a scheme by which Mallory should be allowed to cross the -upper end of the Wallung and Yallung valleys and to cross into British -territory by the Khang La, returning to Darjeeling by the ordinary route -along the Singalela Ridge. The Maharajah gave his consent to this -expedition, but unfortunately it had to be modified, owing to -difficulties of transport and to the very bad weather; but as Mallory -was rather pressed for time, it was arranged that he, Somervell, and -Crawford, should return direct to Tinki, crossing the Arun by the rope -bridge which was utilised in 1921 for the return of the party, and from -thence descending into Sikkim and travelling viâ Lachen and Gangtok back -to Darjeeling. The remainder of the party, with the heavy luggage, would -have to return viâ Shekar and the way we came in order to square up our -various accounts with the different Dzongpens and with the authorities, -postal and other, in Phari Dzong and the Chumbi Valley. All this -required a certain amount of arrangements. Before going into Kama, we -had given the Dzongpen an outline of our requirements, but everything in -Tibet, as elsewhere, requires a considerable supervision, and so -Geoffrey and I went down before the rest of the party to complete our -arrangements. On our way down we met a large contingent of Tibetan -porters coming over to move our camp. This eased matters off very -considerably. They were sent off into the Kama to bring the remainder of -the camp, and on their return to move the full camp down to Teng. -Meanwhile we descended and had a long and very interesting interview -with the Dzongpen, who by this time had quite lost all suspicion of us. -He entertained us splendidly, and presented us each with a jade cup -before leaving. - -On July 1 we were all assembled in Teng, and packing up and dividing our -luggage preparatory to the return of the party by the different routes. -On July 3 Mallory’s party set off, and we did not see him nor the rest -of the party again until our arrival in Darjeeling, more than a month -later. We were now joined by Noel and Morris, back from their -adventurous journey up the Arun. They gave me a report of their travels. -I think it would be worth while once more to point out what the course -of the Arun is. The Arun is one of the principal tributaries of the Kosi -River (that is evident from the map), and has a very long journey -through Tibet, where it is known as the Bhong Chu. - -It rises near and drains the plains of Tingri and Khamba, and then -turning due South, forces its way through the main chain of the Himalaya -directly between the mountain passes of the Everest group on the one -side, and of the Kanchengjanga group on the other. Between our camp at -Kharta and the village of Kyamathang, which is on the actual Nepal -frontier, a distance of some 20 miles, the river drops a vertical height -of 4,000 feet; and therefore we were particularly interested in the -exploration of this wonderful gorge, and we wished to find out, if we -could, whether this tremendous vertical drop consisted of a series of -great rapids and waterfalls or a steady fall in the bed of the river. It -was also clear, from first glimpses that we had had of the Arun Gorge, -that lower down they must be of the greatest possible grandeur and -interest. I have before described how we looked down from our picnic -into the Arun and hoped we should be able to explore it. - -When we despatched Noel and Morris it was in terribly bad weather, the -whole of the Lower Kama being a smother of mist and the jungle dripping -with moisture. We had most of us been down as far as a place called -Chotromo, where the river is crossed by the road which leads up to the -Popti La, and this is the common road down into Nepal. From there the -road is far less well known, and is not so well marked. - -I will now give Noel’s description of his journey. - -[Illustration: - - FORDING THE BHONG CHU. -] - -“On the evening of the 27th June, at the end of our first day’s march, -we pitched our camp on a little pleasant grassy shelf situated in a -small clearing in the forest near empty shepherd huts, which comprise -the camp at Chotromo. The hot, damp atmosphere of the Ka(r)ma here at -9,000 feet harbours a world of insect life. No sooner had the sun set -that evening than swarms of tiny midges emerged. They annoyed us for -most of the night, except when, in moments of exasperation, we got out -of bed and drove them away by lighting a small fire of juniper-wood at -the mouth of our tent. From Chotromo a little shepherd track leads down -the left bank of the river to Kyamathang. In actual distance Kyamathang -is not far, but the road is scarcely level for more than a few yards. It -zigzags precipitously a thousand feet up and down in order to avoid the -ravines through which the river rushes, thus trebling the marching -distance. The forest here becomes more tropical; bamboos and ferns are -thick in the undergrowth, the trees increase enormously in size, and -leeches make their appearance. The path where it descends to the river -passes through bog and marsh, where the Nepalese shepherds, who mostly -use this road, in order to reach the upper grazing grounds, have cut and -laid tree-trunks along the path. The forest here darkens owing to the -height of the trees, junipers being particularly noticeable; most of the -trees being festooned with thick grey lichen. Here and there on level -spots beside the river-bank one marches from the forest into delightful -glades carpeted with moss and thick with banks of purple irises in full -bloom. - -“Ascending and descending precipitously the hillsides, and covering all -the time horizontal distance at a despairing rate, we came at last, -tired out, to the bridge which leads across the Kyamathang, and there -found that another climb of some 1,500 feet remained before reaching the -village, which is perched on a small plateau overlooking the junction of -the rivers. Kyamathang, though, strictly speaking, in Tibet, is a -typical Nepalese village. The neat little chalets are each surrounded by -well-kept fields of Indian corn, wheat, and barley. The fields are -bounded by stone walls, and each contains a small machan (a small raised -platform), from where a look-out is kept for bears at night. Kyamathang -and the surrounding villages are so inaccessible that the people do not -appear to come under the influence of Tibet or Nepal, leading an -independent life. The village boasts of five Gembus (headmen), all of -whom, so excited at seeing Europeans for the first time, did all they -could to help us, and insisted on accompanying us on our first march up -the gorge. - -“The road from Kyamathang, after passing the fields of Lungdo, plunges -once more into the forest. The path mounts up over cliffs, hiding the -view of the river in the gorge below, but revealing across the valley -the magnificent waterfalls of Tsanga, some thousand feet in height. - -“At our first halting-place we met a fine old Gurkha shepherd, Rai or -Karanti by tribe, a man of some seventy years of age, who many years ago -had been employed by the Survey of India. He was able to tell us much -about our route ahead. This stretch of country, although inhabited by -Tibetans, is yearly visited by Nepalese shepherds, who use the rough -track in order to reach the grazing grounds on the mountain-tops above -the gorge. He told us we should find a track of sorts along the right -bank of the river, which would eventually bring us out at Kharta again. - -“The Arun has no great waterfalls, but passes through three deep gorges, -one at Kyamathang and one near Kharta, where it enters the main chain. -There is another also between these two. For the rest it is a raging -torrent running through a narrow forested defile. - -“In order to pass these gorges, the path ascends and descends many -thousands of feet. Looking down from the ledges of the precipices, one -gets occasional glimpses of the torrent below; the cliffs above -frequently rising as much as 10,000 feet above the river-bed, and ending -in snow-capped peaks. Here and there the promontories of the cliffs -afford a grandiose panorama, which rewards the exertions of the terrific -ascents, but as these alternate ascents and descents are not single -occurrences, but the normal nature of the track, ever climbing up by -crazy ladder-paths and plunging amongst tangled undergrowth, one ceases -to revel in the scenery, and would forego those bird’s-eye views from -the cloud-level for the sake of a few yards of marching on the flat. - -“At the end of our second march, where the track appeared to come to an -end, while pitching our camp in a small clearing, swarms of bees -descended upon us, scattering our porters in all directions; they did no -harm, however. Our third march was a struggle through pathless jungle, -and, mounting over the great central gorge, on the far side of which we -dropped down to the river-bed, we found a narrow strip of sand, just -room enough to pitch our camp. This was one of the most beautiful spots -seen in the valley. Wild flowers grew here in great profusion, the most -conspicuous amongst them being some great white lilies fully 6 feet in -height. That evening the rain, which had been falling most of the day, -cleared, and the rising clouds revealed the luxuriant walls of the -valleys, which seemed to rise almost vertically above us, with black -caverns beneath, where the trees trailed and projected over the water’s -edge. - -“During the fourth march we again struck the track which is apparently -used by Tibetans who come down from the Kharta end of the valley to get -wood. This led us up the side valley, descending from the mountains -round about Chog La. We camped towards the top of the valley, and next -day crossed by a new pass, which we judged to be about 16,000 feet in -height, and then crossed the Sakia Chu, which descends from the Samchang -Pass across the Yulok La, and descended on Kharta.” - -Well, I think that is a very fine description of an intensely -interesting journey. One thing the party was quite certain of, and that -was that they never would have got through had they numbered any more. -It was very difficult to get supplies even for themselves, as the roads -were so very, very bad, and camping grounds so very, very small. They -said all their men had worked like horses, but it was so warm that they -took nearly all their clothes off and worked almost entirely naked. It -is an extraordinary thing how, when one gets far back into the Himalaya -at altitudes at 7,000, 8,000, and 9,000 feet, one is often extremely -warm. This is generally due to the fact that most of these places are -usually between mountains and in confined conditions; such altitudes on -the lower spurs of the Himalaya are by no means so warm. We all envied -Noel and Morris their trip and the gorgeous country which they had seen, -and, further than that, I in particular envied them the occasional -glimpses which they could get right down the Arun Valley into Nepal, -glimpses of country which I believe no European has yet looked on. - -As a matter of fact, I had also written to the Maharajah to find out -whether it would not be possible for me to return to Darjeeling viâ this -same Arun Valley. It was a mere _ballon d’essai_; I had no real hope -that the rules and regulations of the Nepal Durbar would be overridden -in my favour, but it is probably not more than 50 miles from Kyamathang -down the Arun Valley to Dhankuta, which is a large Nepalese town, and -only some five or six days’ travel from Darjeeling itself. What a -wonderful experience it would have been! The Maharajah was extremely -kind about it, but quite firm. - -At the same time as Noel and Morris arrived, our Chongay also came from -the Popti route, and he brought with him quite a number of chickens and -vegetables and excellent potatoes. He had been delayed at Damtang by the -weather. There was quite a change in Chongay on his arrival. We were -filled with admiration. He wore a Seaforth Highlander’s bonnet and a -Seaforth Highlander’s tunic, both of which he had obtained from some -demobilised Gurkha who had sold his effects in the Upper Arun Valley. We -joined hands and danced round him with cheers; Chongay bridled from head -to foot. - -Soon after Mallory’s party left, a note arrived from Crawford to say -that his pony and his pony-man had run away during the night, and asking -us to find out about it, as he had been paid for the full journey. This -was reported immediately to the Dzongpen. He knew exactly what to do. -Without a moment’s hesitation he seized the man’s elder brother, down -with his clothes, and gave him a first-class flogging, and nearly -flogged old Father William himself, so angry was he, as this man was one -of Father William’s underlings. Father William was humbler than ever -after this, and produced more and more green vegetables. - -On July 4 the main body set off, even now very considerable. We were to -march direct by a road up to the present date untravelled, our first -march being to Lumeh, which was also on the road used by Mallory and by -last year’s Expedition. From there we marched up the Dzakar Chu instead -of turning to our right and crossing the Arun. We had been largely in -summer in Kharta, but on our way to Lumeh we came in, for a time, to -some of the very strongest winds we had met since leaving the Rongbuk -Glacier. Crossing a little gully, I was nearly blown off my pony. Our -camp at Lumeh has been described by Colonel Howard-Bury, and is a very -charming spot. - -The following march to Dzakar Chu was quite new ground, not travelled by -any European, and was very interesting indeed, but extremely rough. It -led for part of the way through a steep and deep gorge, extraordinarily -like the gorges in the Hindu Kush in Gilgit and Chambal. The gorge, -owing to its elevation, is of less depth, but the whole colour and form -of the mountains, their bareness and barrenness, and the smell from the -wormwood scrub, brought back to me the Hindu Kush in very vivid -recollection. Those gorges, however, as so often in the West, are -terribly and oppressively hot, but here, at 12,500 to 13,000 feet above -the sea, we were in a fresh and exhilarating air. We camped at a village -called Dra, at the foot of the pass we were to cross, which is called -the Chey La. Our camp was pitched in a very pleasant grove, and here we -had, for the last time until we arrived at the Chumbi Valley, a gorgeous -and glorious camp-fire. Curiously enough, the wood was willingly given -to us by the inhabitants. - -The following morning there was a long march and a continual pull to the -top of the Chey La, about 17,000 feet, the last thousand feet being a -very rapid ascent, but from the top we were almost in sight of Shekar -and the Arun Valley. The camp at which we stopped was a very short -morning’s walk from our old camp at Pangli, and separated from it by a -low ridge. - -The next morning, after crossing the Arun at the Arun Bridge, we reached -Shekar, where we had a great reception. The Dzongpen played up, and he -had no less than 160 mules all collected and ready for us the following -morning; and not only that, but every one turned out the evening, and we -had a little race meeting of our own and a great tea with exchange of -cakes and compliments with the Dzongpen himself. Altogether we were -evidently in very good favour both with the Dzongpen and with the great -Lama of Shekar. Noel and others paid a very interesting visit to the -great Lama, and were shown by him his collections of curios of all -kinds. They thought at first that the old gentleman prized and guarded -these as Gömpa property, but they were rather surprised to discover that -he was perfectly ready to sell at a price—and that his own. He was by -far the shrewdest trader that we had come across in Tibet. Most of the -things that he was ready to part with, however, were beyond the pockets -of our party. - -John Macdonald, who has a very good eye for a pony, took out a likely -mount in the horse-races and himself won no less than three races that -day. He bargained for it, as he was looking forward to the Darjeeling -pony-races in the autumn, and before we left Macdonald, to his great -joy, had concluded a very respectable bargain. - -[Illustration: - - PANORAMA AT SHEKAR DZONG. -] - -The following morning we got off not quite as well as we should. We had -difficulty in loading and some difficulties on the march. Shekar had -proved altogether too much for the porters and the following morning -they were not of much use; in fact, it was with the greatest difficulty -that many of them were produced at the next camp. The place was called -Kyishong. It had not been a very promising little camp, so we thought of -stopping down by the river on a very pleasant plot of grass, but on -arrival there we found a dead Tibetan in a basket moored to the bank in -the water about a hundred yards above our camp, so that was no place for -us. Instead of marching back exactly the same way we had come, viâ our -camp at Gyangka-Nangpa, we determined to follow up a smaller branch of -the Arun which would bring us finally down on to Tinki itself. By so -doing we avoided wading the Yaru in two places, and also the rather high -and steep Tinki Pass. On our way across the plains of Teng, before one -arrives at the great sand dunes of Shiling, we passed a Sokpo, a true -Mongolian, whose home was in Northern Mongolia, near Urga, a religious -devotee. He was travelling from Lhasa to Nepal, that is, to Khatmandu, -on a pilgrimage, by the time-honoured method of measuring his length on -the ground for every advance. He was a young man and apparently well -fed, trusting to the kindness of the villages through which he passed -for his food. He told us that he had been continually travelling and -that it had taken him one year to reach the place where we found him -from Lhasa, and that he hoped to get to Khatmandu in another year, if he -was lucky and able to cross the mountains. We encouraged him the best -way we could and left him to his work. - -Our halt that night was in a very pleasant camp surrounded by low cliffs -at a place called Jykhiop. Our march up this valley was a great contrast -to our march into Tibet. A warm sun and a pleasant cool breeze blowing; -the clouds drifted across us and we had some rain, which only added to -our comfort. We camped one night at a place called Chiu, where we all -bathed, and bathed the ponies into the bargain. - -Our last march before reaching Tinki was over an interesting pass, which -suffers under the terrible name of the Pharmogoddra La, down to a -pleasant little camping ground with a very dirty village near it. Here -we caught an enormous number of fish, the inhabitants proving quite -ready to help us do so. Every one fed freely on fresh fish that night. - -An easy pleasant pass the following morning led us down in 2½ hours to -Tinki. Here we met the Dzongpen of Tinki for the first time. He was an -extremely pleasant individual, and the most friendly and intelligent -official we met in Tibet. He helped us in every way, and had previously -helped Strutt’s party on their journey through. We heard excellent -reports also of him afterwards from the advance parties. When we had -gone through in the spring this Dzongpen had been away collecting his -dues for the Tibetan Government. Tinki was a very different place, very -green, and altogether very lovely. Before travelling in Tibet we had -heard so much of the wonderful colour of Tibetan scenery. It was only on -our return journey when there was a considerable amount of moisture in -the air, when clouds rolled up from the South, that one obtained a real -notion of what Tibet could be like when at its best, and Tinki, which -had been an absolute sandy waste when we marched up, was now covered -with beautiful green grass and flowers. Nor was the air of that horrible -and rather irritating dryness, but was almost balmy, considering the -height of the country. - -Two days later we reached Khamba Dzong. The Dzongpen was absent, but his -two head men helped us in his place. We had pouring rain the whole of -the following night. There must have been from 1½ to 2 inches of rain, a -most surprising experience in Tibet and one for which we were hardly -prepared. The men had been breaking out a little again, and one -sportsman had broken out considerably more than anybody else. For -purposes of letting the porters down easily we never considered a man -was inebriated as long as he could lie on the ground without holding on, -but this man for three days in succession had been hopeless, giving no -reaction whatever to the smartest smacks with our sticks, and finally -having to be brought into camp and giving a great deal of trouble. So we -determined on an exemplary punishment. The other men who had broken out -badly had all been given loads to carry for a march, but the next day -this man was condemned to carry an enormous load from Khamba Dzong to -Phari. Considering what his condition had been we were absolutely -astounded when the following day he carried the whole of well over 100 -lb. for a 20-mile march to Tătsăng, over a pass of 17,000 feet, grinning -and smiling the whole way as if it was the finest joke he had heard of. -Everybody “pulled his leg” on the way, but nothing could possibly -interfere with his good temper. He was condemned to carry this load -right into Phari Dzong, crossing the three high ridges of the Donka La, -and never for a moment did he lose his temper or bear any ill-will. This -is characteristic of the people: as long as your treatment of them is -understood by them to be just they bear no ill-will whatever, nor does -it interfere in any way with one’s friendly relations; but still, for -all that, it seems to me that they are unkillable. After his behaviour -and the condition he was in for so long, to do such terrific hard labour -as we condemned him to do without the smallest sign of fatigue was -pretty remarkable. But, after all, my own particular Angturke had only -complained of being a little dazed after falling 60 feet on to his head -at the time of the accident. - -We camped at Tătsăng, and here we parted with Noel, who carried off his -own people and left us for Gyantse; he was very much afraid of bringing -his cinema films down into the warmth and damp of Sikkim until they were -properly developed, but not only this: it was now the season of the -great meetings and dances of Gyantse, and he hoped to get first-rate -studies of Tibetan life generally. The climate and accommodation also at -Gyantse would just suit him, and he would be able there to put in a full -month’s work completing his films and adding immensely to his collection -of pictures of Tibetan life. He accompanied us for 5 miles, almost up to -the camp we had occupied on our arrival in the spring, and we left him -with great regret. - -[Illustration: - - IN KAMPA DZONG. -] - -We had a long march that day from Tătsăng, and again crossing the ridges -of the Donka La a very cold wind and sleet and rain overtook us. It was -the last shot at us the typical Tibetan weather had, and considering the -time of year it did its very best for us, but we camped that night under -the Donka La at a great height, not far from 17,000 feet. While we were -waiting for our luggage we took refuge in a Tibetan encampment. The -Tibetans were out with their herds of yaks, grazing them over the -hillsides. We were rather amused to find that they had guns in their -encampment, which they evidently used for sporting purposes, and we -thought regretfully of the limitations which had been put on our -expedition. - -Next morning we had a delightful march crossing the last and highest -ridge of the Donka La and camped half-way to Phari, finally reaching -Phari Dzong after a very pleasant morning’s ride over delightful green -turf and passing immense flocks of sheep grazing on the hillsides. - -Here, on July 20, we found a welcome post and spent the day in great -comfort in the Phari Dzong bungalow. Two days later we reached Chumbi -and met the Macdonalds again, and were, as usual, sumptuously -entertained by them. Here our transport had to be reorganized to take -our still rather large convoy down to India. Geoffrey and I climbed the -neighbouring hills and really revelled in the whole journey down, which -had been very reminiscent of the Western Himalaya in summer. Chumbi is -wonderful; even in the rains the climate is delightful. It cannot have -more than one-third of the rainfall which falls only 20 miles away on -the other side of the Jelep: in fact, when two days later we crossed the -Jelep, we were immediately involved again in the mists and rains and -sleets, and were again in a completely and absolutely different type of -country. - -We arrived at Gnatong on July 27 in pouring rain, but next morning it -had cleared, and on the way down as we started the clouds showed signs -of really lifting. On arrival at the ridge over which the road crosses -before beginning the long descent to Rongli Chu, about 400 feet above -Gnatong, we were lucky enough to come in for one of those sudden breaks -which occasionally occur during the monsoon, and if one is at the moment -in a position to profit by them one obtains one of the most glorious -sights to be found in this world. Such was our luck this morning. -Standing on the ridge we were able to see the plains of India stretched -out beneath us to the South, the plains of Kuch Behar with the Mahanadi -River running through them quite clear, while on our right Kanchengjanga -rose through the clouds—a perfectly marvellous vision of ice and snow, -looking immeasurably high. The clouds were drifting and continually -changing across the hillsides and the deep valleys. The extremely deep -and, in places, sombre colour, the astonishingly brilliant colour where -the sun lit up the mountains, and the prodigious heights, made a -mountain vision which must be entirely unsurpassed in any other portion -of the globe. It was a moment to live for; but the moment was all too -short. In half an hour the vision of the plains and the mountains was -completely blotted out. - -At Lungtung we visited the little tea-shop where we had all collected, -as we had promised the patroness on our way up. There she was again, -full of smiles, with her family round her, and we all stayed there and -drank hot tea, which we thoroughly enjoyed after the cold and driving -mist, and the flow of chaff I think even surpassed that of our first -visit. So exhilarated were we that Geoffrey and I ran at top speed down -to Sedongchen, which is only 6,000 feet, tearing down the hillsides, and -by so doing, although we occasionally took short cuts over grassy banks -and through forest where it was not too thick, we arrived at Sedongchen, -having entirely baffled the leeches which swarm in this part of the -forest. Not so, however, Wakefield; he also had been exhilarated and had -taken a short cut down, but he had been too trusting, and he arrived -with his legs simply crawling with leeches. - -The rest of our journey through Sikkim requires no particular comment, -except that the weather behaved itself in a wonderful way, and we -escaped any real heavy duckings. The heat, although considerable in the -lower valleys and moist, was not at all oppressive. So much so that we -were able to travel at a great pace down to Rongli bridge, which is only -700 feet above the sea. - -We arrived in Darjeeling on August 2, every one by now in thoroughly -good health. Here we were to await the arrival of Crawford and -Somervell, who were making tremendous attempts, considering that it was -the height of the monsoon, to see something of the South face of -Kanchen, and even, if possible, to do a little climbing—a rather -ambitious programme under the circumstances. Five or six days later they -arrived, quite pleased with themselves and having had a very strenuous -time, but naturally having seen a minimum of the country they travelled -over. At Darjeeling the party rapidly broke up, although the Staff of -the Expedition had about a fortnight’s work clearing up business -matters, which included the proper provision for the families of the -unfortunate porters who had been lost in the avalanche. - -[Illustration: - - LINGGA AND THE LHONAK MOUNTAINS. -] - -Thus ended the first attempt to climb Mount Everest. I think on the -whole we may be quite satisfied with the results. It would have been -almost unthinkable if a great mountain like Everest—the highest in the -world, almost the greatest in scale as well—had yielded to the very -first assault. After all, it took a very long time, many years in fact, -to climb the easier of the great mountains of the Alps. It took many -years to find the way, even, up the North face of the Matterhorn, a -problem which would now only be considered one of the second class. How, -then, could we expect on the very first occasion to solve all the -different problems which are included in an assault on Everest? It is -not merely a case of mountaineering, or of mountaineering skill, nor -even of having a most highly-trained party; there are many other -problems which we also have to consider. Our methods had almost to be -those of an Arctic expedition; at the same time our clothing and outfit -in many ways had to be suitable for mountain climbing. Our climbing -season was extraordinarily short, far shorter than it would have been in -any mountains in the West. - -Not only that, but all the warnings of the scientists tended to show -that no very great height could probably be reached without oxygen, and -that even with an oxygen apparatus there were a great many dangers to be -faced. Among other things we were told that having once put on the -oxygen apparatus, and having once for any continuous period worked on an -artificial supply of oxygen, the sudden cessation of that supply would -certainly cause unconsciousness, and probably would cause death. Luckily -for us this was proved not to be in accordance with actual practical -experience, as the height reached by our climbing party which had not -used oxygen was more than 2,000 feet higher than any point yet reached. -For the Duke of Abruzzi, in his great attempt on the Bride Peak on the -Baltoro Glacier in Baltistan, did not quite reach 24,600 feet. While -Mallory, Somervell, and Norton reached 26,985 feet. - -In the whole range of the mountains of the world there are only four -peaks that top this great height, namely, Mount Everest itself, K^2 in -the Karakorum in Baltistan; Broad Peak on the Baltoro Glacier, and -Makalu in the Everest group. Therefore this climb stands actually as the -fifth of the great altitudes of the world. It is a perfectly prodigious -performance, and taken simply as a _tour de force_ stands in the front -rank in no matter what department of sport or human endeavour. The men -who took part in this climb have every reason to be proud of themselves. - -As I have pointed out, Finch and Geoffrey Bruce, using oxygen, took a -route traversing the face of the mountain to the West, and before they -were completely played out and conditions were such that they had to -return, reached a height of 27,235 feet. If they had directly mounted up -the ridge they would undoubtedly have reached the point on the main -Everest crest which is marked at 27,390 and have progressed along it to -a greater altitude. There is no doubt in my mind whatever of this: not -only would their route have been far more direct, but the actual ground -over which they would have to climb would have been easier. It is quite -certain that with the same exertions on the same day they could have -reached a higher point than they did. That does not, however, in the -least detract from their performance. Their experiences, as has been -pointed out by Finch, ease the oxygen question immensely. It was shown -that it was quite possible to remove the oxygen apparatus altogether, -having used it fully and having reached a height of 25,500 feet, nor was -the accident to Geoffrey’s apparatus attended with any of the terrible -consequences which we were led to expect. These conclusions are all very -satisfactory from the point of view of our final success in climbing -Everest. There is no doubt that the height will be attained provided the -very best men, the best apparatus, and an outfit of porters equally as -good as our own, attempt it. And there are plenty of men to draw from -for porters. We could probably obtain without difficulty a team as good, -or better. Of that I am quite certain. - -It was pretty evident that one of the secrets of living with immunity -high up is that the actual clothes on the men’s backs should be as light -as possible and as windproof as possible. Proper protection should be -taken against the wind for the head also, and the greatest care must be -taken and the necessity for care be understood by everybody in the -protection of their hands and feet. It is quite possible that with a -little more care we might have escaped this year without any serious -consequences from that point of view. - -These remarks apply equally to the outfit for the porters. Men who -worked with so little experience, and took camps for us to a height of -25,500 feet, would, if correctly outfitted, take the camp 500 to 1,000 -feet higher: of that I am quite convinced. An improved and lighter -oxygen apparatus is under construction; when this has been completed I -have every reason to believe that an oxygen depôt could be well -established at 26,000 feet, thus allowing a full time for the attempt on -the greater heights. This year there was always at the back of the -oxygen-carriers’ minds a slight doubt that their oxygen might give out -and that the consequences to them would be most unpleasant. - -Another problem that must always be borne in mind when one’s object is -the assault of a great mountain in the Himalaya, is to bring one’s whole -party there in first-class health and training. This sounds an -unnecessary remark to have to make, but as a matter of fact the task is -not as easy as it appears. The great danger lies in fatiguing and -exhausting one’s party before the real test comes. This year there was -great danger of our working the porters out, and this question gave me a -good deal of anxiety. But they were all absolute gluttons for work, and -I never would have believed that men could have carried out such -tremendous hard labour in establishing our high camps and apparently -continuing fit and well, showing no signs of staleness and quite ready -to continue up the mountain. - -Before we left Darjeeling I forwarded to the Dalai Lama, on behalf of -the Mount Everest Committee, a letter of thanks for all the assistance -which he had given to our Expedition, and sent with it, for him and for -the Tashilumpo Lama also, a silk banner on which was printed a coloured -picture of the Potālā, the great palace of the Dalai Lamas in Lhasa. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE FIRST ATTEMPT - - By - - GEORGE LEIGH-MALLORY - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - THE PROBLEM - - I - - -It is very natural that mountaineers, particularly if they are members -of the Alpine Club, should wish success to the Everest Expedition; for -in a sense it is their own adventure. And yet their sympathies must -often wobble. It is not always an undiluted pleasure to hear of new -ascents in the Alps, or even in Great Britain; for half the charm of -climbing mountains is born in visions preceding this experience—visions -of what is mysterious, remote, inaccessible. - -By experience we learn that we may pass to another world and come back; -we rediscover the accessibility of summits appearing impregnable; and so -long as we cannot without a tremor imagine ourselves upon a mountain’s -side, that mountain holds its mystery for us. But when we often hear -about mountaineering expeditions on one or another of the most famous -peaks in the world, are told of conquests among the most remote and -difficult ranges or others continually repeated in well-known centres, -we come to know too well how accessible mountains are to skilful and -even to unskilful climbers. The imagination falters, and it may happen -that we find ourselves one day thinking of the most surprising mountain -of all with no more reverence than the practised golfer has for an -artificial bunker. It was so, I was once informed by a friend, that he -caught himself thinking of the Matterhorn, and he wondered whether he -shouldn’t give up climbing mountains until he had recovered his -reverence for them. A shorter way, I thought, was to wait until the -weather broke and then climb the Matterhorn every day till it should be -calm and fine again, and when he pondered this suggestion he had no need -to test its power, for he very soon began to think again of the -Matterhorn as he ought to think. But from the anguish of discovering his -heresy he cherished a lesson and afterwards would never consent to read -or hear accounts of mountaineering, nor even to speak of his own -exploits. This was a commendable attitude in him; and I can feel no -doubt, thinking of his case, that however valuable a function it may -have been of the Alpine Club in its infancy to propagate not only the -gospel, but the knowledge of mountains, the time has come when it should -be the principal aim of any such body not only to suppress the -propagation of a gospel already too popular, but also to shelter its -members against that superabundance of knowledge which must needs result -from accumulating records. Hereafter, of contemporary exploits the less -we know the better; our heritage of discovery among mountains is rich -enough; too little remains to be discovered. The story of a new ascent -should now be regarded as a corrupting communication calculated to -promote the glory of Man, or perhaps only of individual men, at the -expense of the mountains themselves. - -It may well be asked how, holding such opinions, I can set myself to the -task of describing an attempt to reach the highest summit of all. Surely -Chomolungmo should remain inviolate, or if attempted, the deed should -not be named. With this point of view I have every sympathy, and lest it -should be thought that in order to justify myself I must bring in a -different order of reasons from some other plane, and involve myself in -a digression even longer than the present, I will say nothing about -justification for this story beyond remarking that it glorifies Mount -Everest, since this mountain has not yet been climbed. And when I say -that sympathy in a mountaineer may wobble, the mountaineer I more -particularly mean is the present writer. It is true that I did what I -could to reach the summit, but now as I look back and see all those -wonderful preparations, the great array of boxes collected at Phari -Dzong and filling up the courtyard of the bungalow, the train of animals -and coolies carrying our baggage across Tibet, the thirteen selected -Europeans so snugly wrapt in their woollen waistcoats and Jaeger pants, -their armour of windproof materials, their splendid overcoats, the -furred finneskoes or felt-sided boots or fleece-lined moccasins devised -to keep warm their feet, and the sixty strong porters with them -delighting in underwear from England and leathern jerkins and puttees -from Kashmir; and then, unforgettable scene, the scatter of our stores -at the Base Camp, the innumerable neatly-made wooden boxes concealing -the rows and rows of tins—of Harris’s sausages, Hunter’s hams, Heinz’s -spaghetti, herrings soi-disant fresh, sardines, sliced bacon, peas, -beans, and a whole forgotten host besides, sauce-bottles for the Mess -tables, and the rare bottles more precious than these, the gay tins of -sweet biscuits, Ginger Nuts and Rich Mixed, and all the carefully chosen -delicacies; and besides all these for our sustenance or pleasure, the -fuel supply, uncovered in the centre of the camp, green and blue -two-gallon-cans of paraffin and petrol, and an impressive heap of -yak-dung; and the climbing equipment—the gay little tents with crimson -flies or yellow, pitched here only to be seen and admired, the bundles -of soft sleeping-bags, soft as eiderdown quilt can be, the ferocious -crampons and other devices, steel-pointed and terrible, for boots’ -armament, the business-like coils of rope, the little army of steel -cylinders containing oxygen under high pressure, and, not least, the -warlike sets of apparatus for using the life-giving gas; and lastly, -when I call to mind the whole begoggled crowd moving with slow -determination over the snow and up the mountain slopes and with such -remarkable persistence bearing up the formidable loads, when after the -lapse of months I envisage the whole prodigious evidences of this vast -intention, how can I help rejoicing in the yet undimmed splendour, the -undiminished glory, the unconquered supremacy of Mount Everest? - -[Illustration: - - BASE CAMP AND MOUNT EVEREST IN EVENING LIGHT. -] - -It is conceivable that this great mountain, though still unsubdued, may -nevertheless have suffered some loss of reputation. It is the business -of a mountain to be ferocious first, charming and smiling afterwards if -it will. But it has been said already of this mountain that the way to -the summit is not very terrible, it will present no technical -difficulties of climbing. Has it not then, after all, a character -unsuitably mild? Is it not a great cow among mountains? It cannot be -denied that the projected route to the summit presents no slopes of -terrible steepness. But we may easily underrate the difficulties even -here. Though some of us have gazed earnestly at the final ridge and -discussed at length the possibility of turning or of climbing direct -certain prominent obstacles, no one has certainly determined that he may -proceed there without being obliged to climb difficult places; and the -snow slope which guards the very citadel will prove, one cannot doubt, -as steep as one would wish to find the final slope of any great -mountain. Again, the way to the North Col, that snow-saddle by which -alone we may gain access to the North Ridge, has not always been simple; -we know little enough still about its changing conditions, but evidently -on too many days the snow will be dangerous there, and perhaps on many -others the presence of bare ice may involve more labour than was -required of us this year. But granted this one breach in the defence of -Mount Everest, shall we only for that think of it as a mild mountain? -How many mountains can be named in the Alps of which so small a part -presents the hope of finding a way to the summit? Nowhere on the whole -immense face of ice and rocks from the North-east ridge to Lhotse and -the South-east ridge is the smallest chance for the mountaineer, and, -leaving out all count of size, Mont Blanc even above the Brenva Glacier -has no face so formidable as this; of the Southern side, which we know -only from a few photographs and sketches, one thing is certain—that -whoever reaches it will find there a terrific precipice of bare rock -probably unequalled for steepness by any great mountain face in the Alps -and immeasurably greater; the single glimpse obtained last year of the -Western glacier and the slopes above it revealed one of the most awful -and utterly forbidding scenes ever observed by men; how much more -encouraging, and yet how utterly hopeless, is the familiar view from the -Rongbuk Valley! Mount Everest, therefore, apart from its pre-eminence in -bulk and height, is great and beautiful, marvellously built, majestic, -terrible, a mountain made for reverence; and beneath its shining sides -one must stand in awe and wonder. - - - II - -When we think of a party of climbers struggling along the final ridge of -Mount Everest, we are perhaps inclined to reject an obvious comparison -of their endeavour with that of athletes in a long distance race. The -climbers are not of course competing to reach the goal one before -another; the aim is for all to reach it. But the climbers’ performance, -like the runners’, will depend on two factors, endurance and pace; and -the two have to be considered together. A climber must not only keep on -moving upwards if he is to succeed, he must move at a certain minimum -pace: a pace that will allow him, having started from a given point, to -reach the top and come down in a given time. Further, at a great height -it is true for the climber even more than for the runner on a track in -England that to acquire pace is the chief difficulty, and still more -true that it is the pace which kills. Consequently it is pace more than -anything else which becomes the test of fitness on Mount Everest. - -Every man has his own standard, determined as a result of his -experience. He knows perhaps that in the Alps with favourable conditions -he is capable of ascending 1,500 feet an hour without unduly exerting -himself and without fatigue; if he were to bring into action the whole -of his reserves he might be able to double this figure. He will -assuredly find when he comes up into Tibet and lives at a mean height of -15,000 feet that he is capable of very much less. And then he begins to -call in question his power, to measure himself against his European -standard. Every member of both Everest Expeditions was more or less of a -valetudinarian. He had his eye on his physical fitness. He wondered each -day, Am I getting fitter? Am I as fit as I should expect to be in the -Alps? And the ultimate test was pace uphill. - -The simpler phenomena of acclimatisation have frequently been referred -to in connection with Mount Everest. But still it may be asked why -improvement should be expected during a sojourn at 15,000 feet. It is -expected because as a matter of experience it happens: though why the -red corpuscles in the blood whose function is to absorb and give up -oxygen should multiply in the ratio of 8:5, I leave it to physiologists -to explain. Whatever explanation they may give I shall not cease to -regard this amazing change as the best of miracles. And this change in -the hæmoglobin content of the blood evidently proceeds a long way above -15,000 feet. Nevertheless the advantage thereby obtained by no means -altogether compensates at very high altitudes the effects of reduced -atmospheric pressure. It enables a man to live in very thin air (11½ -inches barometric pressure, at 27,000 feet), but not to exert himself -with anything like his normal power at sea-level. His pace suffers. If -at 23,000 feet he were able to exercise no less power than at 10,000 -feet after a few well-spent days in the Alps, he would probably be able -to ascend the remaining 6,000 feet to the summit in a single day. But if -you cut off the supply of fuel you cannot expect your engine to maintain -its pace of working; the power exercised by the climber in the more -rarefied atmosphere at these high altitudes must be less; a rise of -6,000 feet in a day will be beyond his capacity. Therefore he must have -camps higher on the mountain, and ultimately he must have one so high -that in nine or ten hours even his snail’s pace will bring him to the -summit. - -We must remember too that not only will his pace have suffered, his mind -will be in a deplorable state. The experiments conducted in pressure -chambers have a bearing on this point. I treasure the story of Prof. -Haldane who, while in such a chamber, wanted to observe the colour of -his lips and for some minutes gazed into his mirror before discovering -that he held the back towards his face. Mountaineers have often observed -a lack of clarity in their mental state at high altitudes; it is -difficult for the stupid mind to observe how stupid it is, but it is by -no means improbable that the climbers of Mount Everest will try to drink -their food or proceed crabwise, or do some quite ridiculous thing. And -not only is it difficult to think straight in thin air, it is difficult -to retain the desire to do anything at all. Perhaps of all that tells -against him the mere weakness of a man’s will when he is starved of -oxygen is beyond everything likely to prevent his success. - -Since the problem of climbing Mount Everest presented itself -physiologically, it was only natural in us on the Expedition continually -to be watching acclimatisation. We watched it in connection with the -whole idea of being trained for the event. Probably each of us had a -different notion as to how he should be trained, and some thought more -about training than others. On this point I must confess a weakness when -I foresee an event in which my physical strength and condition are to -count for so much; I am one of those who think more about training. I -consider how I may add a cubit to my stature and all the time I am half -aware that I might spare myself the trouble of such futile meditations. -Experience seems only to show that, provided I habitually eat well and -sleep well and take a moderate amount of exercise, I can do nothing to -improve my endurance on a mountain. Probably some men may do more to -this end. The week we spent in Darjeeling sufficed for all of us to -brace ourselves after the enervating effects of our journey from -England. Norton, who had come out rather earlier and prepared himself in -the most strenuous fashion for the immense exertions of the Khadir Cup, -was already finely trained—too well, I thought, for so lean a man. He -and Geoffrey Bruce, my companion in the first party, together with -General Bruce, Longstaff, and Noel, elected to walk a great deal in -Sikkim, and so I believe did Somervell, Wakefield, and Morshead in the -second party. The General, very frankly expressing the probable -advantage to his figure of profuse perspiration in those warm valleys, -also walked a great deal. For an exactly contrary reason—I hate the -inconvenience that must arise on the march from wet clothes—I walked -less than any of these; probably Longstaff and I rode more than the rest -up to Phari Dzong. But when I heard how wonderfully fit were the two -most energetic walkers of our party, and learned from Geoffrey Bruce of -Norton’s amazing pace uphill, I could not refrain from testing my own -condition on the first occasion that we approached a comparatively high -altitude: coming up to Gnatong, where the bungalow is situated above -12,000 feet, I walked for all I was worth, and was well satisfied. Next -day I felt far from well with indigestion and headache. General Bruce -and Longstaff were also unwell, and it was a cheerless afternoon and -evening in the two little rooms at Kupup, with hailstorms outside and -too little light within. Norton and Bruce elected to sleep on the -verandah, and these two, with me, if I were fit enough, intended -starting early next morning so as to climb a small mountain, diverging -thus from our path over the Jelep La (14,500 feet) for the sake of the -view. We set off not much later than we had intended; but it was now -Norton’s turn to be unwell, and he was properly mountain-sick 1,000 feet -below the pass. However, we were not inclined to pay much attention to -these little troubles; with a day’s rest at a lower elevation (9,000 -feet), and the pleasures of feasting with the Macdonalds in Yatung, we -were quickly restored. - -The continuous process of acclimatisation was due to begin at Phari -Dzong. There we should stay three days above 14,000 feet, and after that -our marches would keep us between that level and 17,000 feet, so that a -man would surely find out how he was affected by living at high -altitudes. At Phari the whole party seemed remarkably fit, and any -amount of energy was available for sorting out and checking our vast -mass of stores. But the conditions of travel on these high plains became -evident so soon as we were on the march again. Those who gaily started -to walk, not troubling to provide themselves with a pony, found after a -time that they were glad enough to ride; but then it became so bitterly -cold that riding was more disagreeable than walking, and most of us, as -we pushed along in the teeth of a blizzard, preferred to walk, and were -surprisingly fatigued. Two of the party were ill when we reached camp, -but more perhaps from chill than mountain-sickness. On the following day -a system of sharing ponies to allow alternate walking and riding was -more carefully organised. Even so, most of us must have walked -two-thirds of that long rough march (about 25 miles), and while crossing -the “Concertina pass,” as we called it, a name which explains itself, we -had ample opportunities of testing our powers of walking uphill between -16,000 and 17,000 feet; it was evident that we were already becoming -acclimatised and able to enjoy those mild competitions in which a man -will test his powers against another as they breast a hill together. -This was encouraging enough; but how far we were from “going” as we -would go at 10,000 feet lower could easily be observed from our puffing -and blowing and the very moderate pace achieved by great efforts. - -It was a week later before we had another opportunity of testing our -acclimatisation as we came up to the Tinki La, a rise of nearly 3,000 -feet up to 17,000 feet. I suppose there may have been some slight -improvement in this week; for my part, I was fairly fit, and after -riding over the comparatively flat approach, walked up about 2,000 feet -without a halt and experienced no sort of fatigue. But the party as a -whole was disappointing, and several members were distinctly affected by -the height. Perhaps this pass was one of those places where some local -circumstance emphasises the altitude, for the ponies stopped and puffed -in a way we had never seen before; but I fancy the reason of their -condition was to be found in the steepness of the ascent. - -The day after crossing the Tinki La, we had a short march to Gyangkar -Nangpa, and, coming across the flat basin, had full in view before us -Sangkar Ri, a prominent rock peak, the most northerly of a remarkable -range above the left bank of the Arun River. The desire to vary the -routine of the daily march by climbing a mountain had already stirred a -number of suggestions among us, and now the opportunity seemed to offer -itself; we were further incited by the prospect of a splendid view of -Mount Everest if we could reach this summit, which lay not so very far -out of our way. No doubt unconscious motives, too, promoted our attempt -on Sangkar Ri. The pleasures of mountaineering must always be restricted -for those who grapple with the highest mountains, if not denied _in -toto_; but the ascent of a little rock peak of 20,000 feet might help to -keep alive in us some appreciation of mountaineering as an enjoyable -pursuit. And then we wanted confidence in ourselves. At present we could -only feel how unequal we were to the prodigious task in front of us; so -were we urged to try conclusions with Sangkar Ri, to put ourselves to -the test. - -The project demanded a high camp, at 17,000 feet, nearly 4,000 feet -above Gyangkar Nangpa. Seeing that it would clearly be undesirable to -employ more than a very small number of porters to carry up tents and -sleeping-bags for the night, Somervell and I at first made a plan for -ourselves alone; but when it was found that two others wanted to come -with us, this plan was amplified to include them, and it was arranged -that the four of us should sleep at close quarters in a Whymper tent. -The porters who carried for us in the evening would take down their -burdens in the early morning, in time to get them loaded on to the -animals at Gyangkar without delaying the main body. The establishment of -our camp did not proceed without some little difficulty; one of the -porters gave out and had to be relieved of his load, and it was not -until we had contoured a hillside for an hour in the dark that we found -a suitable place. So soon as we had lain down in our tent, a bitter wind -sprang up and blew in at the door; the night was one of the coldest I -remember. - -We had ascended not more than 1,000 feet next morning when one of the -party decided that he was too ill to go on; he exhibited the usual -symptoms of mountain-sickness. While the other two suffered the -disappointment of turning back, Somervell and I pushed on towards a snow -col on the North ridge of the mountain. As it was desirable to reach -this point without delay in order to see the view while it was yet -unclouded, and to take photographs, I continued at my own pace, and -eventually found myself looking down on Somervell some distance below me -as he struggled up with frequent halts. I very soon made up my mind that -we should get no higher than this. But after a brief halt and some -refreshment when he had rejoined me, Somervell announced that he was -prepared to go on. We began to make our way along a rock ridge, which -became ever steeper as we mounted. Our progress was slow indeed, and I -kept thinking, as I found myself more and more fatigued, “Surely we must -give up now; a man in his state can’t go on climbing such rocks as -these.” But whenever I asked how he was feeling, he would answer that he -was getting along well enough; and as we gradually won our way up, and I -kept my eye on my watch, I began to see that we had really a chance of -reaching the summit. The rocks were by no means easy, and it is commonly -said that the effort of climbing difficult rocks is just what will prove -most exhausting, if it can be undertaken at all, to men affected by -altitude. The struggle to overcome a steep obstacle must always -interfere with regular breathing. Nevertheless, I am inclined to think -that the advantage in sheer exhilaration of climbing difficult rocks -compensates the greater trouble in breathing, and that so long as I am -still in a state to climb them, I prefer even difficult rocks to snow. -The actual exertion put forth in mounting even the steepest cliff is -often overrated. If there are moments of intense struggle, these are -rare, and though the demand on nervous concentration is great, the -climber proceeds for the most part with balanced movements, requiring, -indeed, the sureness of trained muscles, but no tremendous output of -strength. With such balanced movement the two of us were able to go -slowly upwards, without a rapidly increasing exhaustion, to the foot of -a formidable gendarme. We had hopes in the first instance that he might -be compelled to yield to a frontal attack. But, 30 feet up, we found our -way barred by a slab, which was at once so smooth and so exposed that, -though we felt it might conceivably be climbed, we decided it was not -for us to climb it at the present moment; our allowance of rope was -insufficient for operations which might require an “abseil”[5] on the -descent. We therefore turned to the West side of our ridge. Here, of -course, we were out of the sun, and the rocks were so cold that they -felt sticky to the skin and blistered our finger-tips. However, we -managed to execute a sensational traverse, and afterwards climbed a -steep wall, which brought us out above the slab from which we had turned -back. It was here that we experienced both the difficulty and the danger -of rock-climbing at high altitudes. It was necessary, in a terribly -exposed position, to pull oneself over an edge of rock on to a little -platform. A big effort was required: but the reserve of strength had -been exhausted. Having committed myself to this taxing struggling, the -grim thought arose in my mind that at the critical moment I might be -found wanting and my body refuse to respond when the greatest effort was -required of it. A great effort was required before I arrived panting on -the airy stance. - -Footnote 5: - - A method of coming down on a double rope. - -After these exciting moments, we reached the top of the gendarme without -much trouble. But he had cost us too much time. We had to start from -Gyangkar this same day in pursuit of General Bruce, and ought to cross -the quicksands of the Shiling Plain before dark. We had already -overstepped the time allowed for the ascent according to our intention. -The summit now appeared perhaps 500 feet above us, and the intervening -rocks were evidently going to provide some stiff passages. It was -necessary, therefore, to turn back here and waste no time on the -descent. The descent proved longer than we had expected; we chose a long -traverse over steep snow to avoid the gendarme, and neither of us was in -a condition to cut steps quickly. We observed, in fact, what I had -observed last year with Bullock, that one may go down a considerable -distance at a high altitude, and instead of recovering very quickly, as -may happen in the Alps, one only becomes progressively more fatigued. It -was 4.30 p.m. when we reached Gyankar and found ourselves happily -recovered from our exertions. Sangkar Ri was still unclimbed. But we -looked back on our expedition with some satisfaction. We had been little -short of 20,000 feet when we turned back, and I had been greatly -impressed by Somervell’s endurance. For though very much fatigued before -reaching the col at the foot of our ridge, and further enervated by an -attack of dysentery which had begun on the previous day, his condition -seemed rather to improve than to deteriorate above that point. For my -part, I had come near enough to exhaustion, considering the difficulties -of the climb, and had suffered from a severe headache, but certainly -felt no worse than I expected at this stage of our training. - -I entered upon this tale with the object of illustrating the course of -acclimatisation among us; but the return to Gyangkar was not for us the -end of the story. It was now clear that we could not hope to cross the -quicksands before night. However, we might hope to reach the ford by -which we must cross the river Yaru with still enough light to recognise -the spot, and thereafter we could rest in a sheltered place I knew of -until the late rising moon should show us the tracks of the main body. -We set off accordingly in high haste on the ponies we found waiting for -us. Our instruction had been that these animals should be specially -selected for their fleetness of foot—for Tibetan ponies can, some of -them, travel at a fair speed, while others no amount of flogging will -urge beyond 3 miles an hour. The beast I rode very quickly showed that -he was one of these last. I had entrusted my ice-axe to a porter who -accompanied us, and now told him to ride behind me and use it if -necessary. For 5 miles he used it with a dexterity and energy beyond -praise. Then I abandoned the pony, and, walking ahead of the party, -easily outstripped the rest encumbered with this beast. Night fell when -we were still 2 miles short of the ford. But as Somervell and I -approached the spot and wondered exactly where it might be, we perceived -lights a little way ahead on the further bank of the river, presumably -those of a Tibetan camp, and soon a figure appeared on that side. We -were hailed in Tibetan; our sirdar, coming up, spoke Tibetan in reply; -the figure waded across to us; and it was explained to me that this good -Samaritan was prepared to carry me over on his back. I readily agreed to -so generous a proposition. He was not an easy steed, but I was able to -hang on to him for a hundred yards or so until he deposited me on the -other bank, a light enough burden, apparently, to be picked up and set -down like a child. And 400 yards further we reached the lights. It was -no stranger camp; the tents were ours, and the General and the rest were -sitting in the Mess while dinner was keeping hot in the kitchen against -our return. - -Ten days later we reached our Base Camp at the foot of the Rongbuk -Glacier (16,800 feet) and contemplated the prospect of rising another -12,000 feet and more to the summit of Mount Everest. At all events the -whole party had reached this point remarkably fit, and no one now showed -signs of distress from staying at this elevation. Remembering how -Bullock and I had felt after our first exertions up here last year, I -hoped to spend a few days at the Base Camp before doing very much, and -as General Bruce’s plans worked out nothing was required of me at -present. But much was asked of the reconnaissance party which started -out on May 4. - -It has been recorded in earlier chapters how in three days from the Base -Camp they reached a height of 21,500 feet on the East Rongbuk Glacier. -The cold was great and their hardships were unrelieved by the greater -comfort of established camps enjoyed by those who followed the pioneers. -From their accounts they were evidently affected a good deal by altitude -before turning back with their work accomplished, and in spite of the -cold they experienced the familiar phenomenon of lassitude so painfully -and particularly noticeable on the glaciers when the sun makes itself -felt. But on the whole they had been less affected by the want of air -than was to be expected. They had this advantage—that they proceeded -gradually; the distance to travel was long, but the ascent was never -steep, and they found the upper glacier very lightly covered with snow; -and it is heavy going and a steep ascent that most readily induce the -more distressing symptoms of mountain-sickness. However, from the point -of view of acclimatisation it was highly satisfactory that this party -should have proceeded with so little delay to reach 21,000 feet. - -[Illustration: - - SERAC, EAST RONGBUK GLACIER. -] - -Meanwhile Somervell and I, chafing somewhat at our inactivity and with -the idea that a long day on the mountains would do us good at this -stage, on May 6 climbed a small peak above the left bank of the Rongbuk -Glacier. It was a day of small misfortunes for me. As we were walking on -the stony slopes in the early morning my triconni nails of hard steel -slipped on a granite slab and I contrived to leave there an incredible -amount of skin from the back of my right hand. And higher, as we worked -along a broken ridge, a large boulder poised in unstable equilibrium -slipped as I brushed it with my knee and fell on the big-toe joint so as -to pinion my right foot. It was an awkward moment, for the place was -steep; I just had strength to heave it over and down the mountain-side, -and luckily no bones were broken. But walking was very painful -afterwards, and perhaps this accident had something to do with the -fatigue I felt as we neared the summit. On the lower slopes I had been -going well enough and seemed fitter than Somervell; at 21,000 feet he -was apparently no more fatigued than at 18,000 or 19,000 feet, while I -could scarcely drag one leg after the other. And when we came back to -camp I was surprisingly glad to take a little whisky in my tea. - - - III - -I have said too much already about the early stage of acclimatisation: -my excuse must be that much will depend upon this factor. The issue will -depend no less on organisation and transport; and though this subject is -General Bruce’s province, at all events so far as Camp III, I have a few -words to add to what he has written. - -In the calculation of what will be required at various stages in order -to reach the summit of Mount Everest it is necessary to begin at the -highest; and the climber imagines in the first place where he would like -to have his camps. He may imagine that on the final day he might rise -2,000 feet to the summit; if he is to give himself the best chance of -success he will not wish to start much lower than 27,000 feet, and in -any case he cannot camp much higher, for he is very unlikely to find a -place on the ridge above the North-east shoulder (27,400 feet) or on the -steep rocks within 200 feet of it. We may therefore fix 27,000 feet -approximately as the desirable height for the last camp. And we have -another camping ground fixed for us by circumstances, approximately at -23,000 feet, the broad shelf lying in the shelter of the ice-cliffs on -the North Col—there is no convenient place for a comparatively large -camp for a considerable distance either above or below it. But to carry -up a camp 4,000 feet at these altitudes would be to ask altogether too -much of the porters. We must therefore establish an intermediary camp -between these two, say at 25,000 feet if a place can be found. - -Now what will be required at these three camps? We must ask first with -what number of climbers the assault is to be made. A party of two -appears insufficient, for if one man should become exhausted the other -will probably want help in bringing him down. This difficulty is met by -having three climbers. But since an exhausted man cannot be left alone, -certainly not without the shelter of a tent, nor should one man go on -alone, a party of three must turn back so soon as one man is unable to -go further. Four men would give a better chance of success in this case, -for then two might go on and still leave one to look after the sick man. -Granted, then, that the best hope is for four men to start from a camp -at 27,000 feet, we have firstly to provide them with tents. Two tents -are better than one, for it may be difficult to find a place for four -men to lie side by side, and the greater weight of two smaller tents -above one larger is inconsiderable; and they must have sleeping-bags, -provisions for two days, fuel, and cooking-pots. All these necessities -have been previously carried up to the camp below at 25,000 feet; but -other things besides are required there. We may assume that this camp is -to be used as a stage on the way up only and not on the way down. Even -so, six porters at least will have to sleep there before carrying up the -highest camp, and their requirements will be the same as we have laid -down for the four climbers; we must add another day’s provisions and -fuel for the climbers themselves. - -It will be understood from this method of calculation how we arrive at -the number of loads which must be carried up to any given camp; it is -observable that at each stage downwards the number increases in a -proportion considerably greater than 2:1. Fortunately we are not obliged -to proceed strictly on these lines; to the lower camps we need not carry -up the whole of our stores on one day, and consequently we need not -increase in this alarming ratio the number of our porters. But in any -case when we get down to the North Col we must clearly have a large bulk -of stores; and the fewer porters we employ between one stage and -another, economizing on tents and sleeping-bags, the more time we shall -require. - -It was clear from the start that time was likely to be a formidable -enemy. General Bruce’s problem was not only to move our vast quantity of -stores across an almost barren country, but to move them in a given -time. It was fortunate for this reason that the number of porters who -came with us was not increased, for every man must add something to our -burdens. No one who knows that arid country could fail to be surprised -that we reached our Base Camp below the Rongbuk Glacier so early as the -1st of May. But now the number of Nepalese porters—only forty were -available for carrying—was too small for all our needs. If they alone -were to shoulder all our loads when should we reach the North Col? Some -sort of depôt must be established below it at 21,000 feet for the supply -of all higher camps on the mountain before we could proceed; and the -reconnaissance party determined that two staging camps would be required -between the Base Camp and this depôt. The existence and the solution of -so large a problem of transport have so important a bearing on our later -plans that I must refer to it again in this place. General Bruce has -told how he impressed Tibetans into his service, and by using them up to -Camp II was able to liberate our own porters much earlier than might -have been expected for work further on. But the system of employing -Tibetans did not work without a hitch. It was because the first labour -battalion absconded that General Bruce gave orders for only two of us to -go forward and use the first opportunities for pushing on from Camp III. -With the prospect of an early monsoon and a shortage of transport it was -desirable that, so soon as any porters were available for work above -Camp III, this work should be pushed on without delay, and if necessary -an assault should be made with the minimum of stores required by a party -of two climbers. Without a further supply of transport there was no -question of using the oxygen, for we should have more than enough to -carry up without it. - -On May 10 Somervell and I started from the Base Camp for Camp I. The way -already customary among the porters led us at first over the flat waste -of stones, intersected occasionally by dry stream-beds, which lies below -the black, humpy snout of the Rongbuk Glacier; we then followed the deep -trough below the glacier’s right (west) bank, an obvious line, but rough -with great boulders. It is not before reaching the head of this trough, -where one must turn up towards the East Rongbuk Glacier, that a problem -arises as to how best to proceed; here we found that an adequate path -had already been stamped on the loose moraine, and after ascending -steeply we contoured the hillside at an easy gradient—a little -forethought and energy had devised so good a way that we could walk -comfortably from one camp to the other in two hours and a half. Moreover -we were highly pleased by Camp I. The draught perpetually blowing down -the main glacier was scarcely noticed in this side-valley; the afternoon -sun was shining to cheer the stony scene, and away to the West some -noble peaks were well placed for our delight. But beyond æsthetic -satisfaction we were soon aware of a civilized habitation. We had been -in camp only a few minutes when a cook brought us tea and sweet biscuits -and demanded to know what we would like for dinner; we ordered a good -dinner and proceeded to examine our apartments. Geoffrey Bruce, we knew, -had been busy here with certain constructional works to obviate the -difficulty of carrying up heavy tents which were required in any case at -the Base Camp. We found a little house reserved for Europeans, one of -four solidly built with stones and roofed, with the outer flies of -Whymper tents. I never measured up this chamber; I suppose the floor -must have been 8 feet × 10 feet and the roof 4 feet high. It is true the -tent-poles bridging across from side to side in support of the roof were -in dangerously unstable equilibrium, and there were windy moments when -valetudinously minded persons might have pronounced it a draughty room. -But we were far from hypercritical on this first night, particularly as -no wind blew, and a wonderful and pleasant change it was, after living -in tents, to sit, eat, and sleep in a house once more. - -The greater part of our alpine stores, with which I was especially -concerned, had already reached Camp I, and there I found the various -bundles of tents, ropes, sleeping-bags, crampons, paraffin, petrol, -primus stoves, cooking-sets, etc., which I had carefully labelled for -their respective destinations. The great majority were labelled for -III—no higher destination had yet been assigned, and I speculated, not -altogether optimistically, as to the probable rates of their arrival. As -the general order of transport was interrupted for the present, we had -to decide what we should take on with us both of food and alpine stores. -Somervell, who by now was an expert in the numbers and contents of -food-boxes, vigorously selected all that we preferred, and we went to -bed with very good hopes for the future, at least in one respect. In -consequence of these puzzling problems it took us some little time in -the morning to make up our loads; it was past ten o’clock when we -started on our way to Camp II. - -[Illustration: - - VIEW FROM ICE CAVERN. -] - -I was surprised, after we had proceeded some distance along the stones -on the left bank of the East Rongbuk Glacier, to observe a conspicuous -cairn, evidently intended to mark our way over the glacier itself. But -the glacier in this lower end is so completely covered with stones that -in choosing the easiest way one is only concerned to find the flattest -surfaces, and as we mildly followed where the route had been laid out by -Colonel Strutt and his party we found the glacier far less broken than -was to be expected. Ultimately we walked along a conspicuous medial -moraine, avoiding by that means some complicated ice, and descended it -abruptly, to find ourselves on the flat space where Camp II was -situated. - -By this time we had seen a good deal of the East Rongbuk Glacier. As we -came up the moraine near its left bank we looked northwards on a -remarkable scene. From the stony surface of the glacier fantastic -pinnacles arose, a strange, gigantic company, gleaming white as they -stood in some sort of order, divided by the definite lines of the -moraines. Beyond and above them was a vast mountain of reddish rock -known to us only by the triangulated height of its sharp summit, marked -in Wheeler’s map as 23,180. The pinnacles became more thickly crowded -together as we mounted, until, as we followed the bend southwards, -individuals were lost in the crowd and finally the crowd was merged in -the great tumbled sea of the glacier, now no longer dark with stones, -but exhibiting everywhere the bright surfaces of its steep and angry -waves. At Camp II we were surrounded on three sides by this amazing -world of ice. We lay in the shelter of a vertical cliff not less than 60 -feet high, sombrely cold in the evening shadow, dazzlingly white in the -morning sun, and perfectly set off by the frozen pool at its foot. -Nothing, of course, was to be seen of Mount Everest; the whole bulk of -the North Peak stood in front of it. But by mounting a few steps up some -stony slopes above us we could see to the south-east, over the surface -of the ice, the slopes coming down from the Lhapka La, from which high -pass we had looked down the East Rongbuk Glacier in September, 1921, and -observed the special whiteness of the broken stream, at our own level -now, and puzzled over its curious course. We had yet another sight to -cheer us as we lay in our tents. On the range between us and the main -Rongbuk Glacier stood, in the one direction of uninterrupted vision, a -peak of slender beauty, and as the moon rose its crests were silver -cords. - -Next morning, May 12, according to Colonel Strutt’s directions, we -worked our way along the true left edge of the glacier and the stones of -its left bank. The problem here is to avoid that tumbled sea of ice -where no moraine can be continuously followed. Probably it would be -possible to get through this ice almost anywhere, for it is not an -ice-fall, the gradient is not steep, the pinnacles are not seracs, and -there are few crevasses: but much time and labour would be wasted in -attempting such a course. Further up the surface becomes more even, and -the reconnaissance party had reached this better surface by only a short -and simple crossing of the rougher ice. We easily found the place, -marked by a conspicuous cairn, where they had turned away from the bank. -Their tracks on the glacier, though snow was lying in the hollows, were -not easy to follow, and we quickly lost them; but presently we found -another cairn built upon a single large stone, and here proceeded with -confidence to cross a deep and wide trough of which we had been warned; -and once this obstacle was overcome we knew no difficulty could impede -our progress to Camp III. The laden porters, however, did not get along -very easily. Their nails, for the most part, were worn smooth, and they -found the ice too slippery. As I had never seen in the Alps a -glacier-surface like this one I was greatly surprised by the nature of -the bare ice. In a sense it was often extremely rough, with holes and -minute watercourses having vertical sides 6 inches to 13 inches high; -but the upper surfaces of the little knobs and plateaus intervening were -extraordinarily hard and smooth and the colour was very much bluer than -the usual granular surface of a dry glacier. It was also surprising to -find at most a thin coating of fine snow as high as 20,500 feet; for in -1921 we had found, even before the first heavy snowfall, plenty of snow -on the glaciers above 19,000 feet. For my part, with new nails in my -boots, I was not troubled by the slippery surfaces. But we decided to -supply the porters with crampons, which they subsequently found very -useful on this stage of the journey. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER V - - THE HIGHEST CAMP - - IV - - -The situation of Camp III when we reached it early in the afternoon was -not calculated to encourage me, though I suppose it might be found -congenial by hardier men. We had turned the corner of the North Peak so -that the steep slopes of its Eastern arm rose above us to North and -West. Our tents were to be pitched on the stones that have rolled down -these slopes on to the glacier, and just out of range of a stone fall -from the rocks immediately above us. A shallow trough divided us from -the main plateau of the glacier, and up this trough the wind was -blowing; since the higher current was hurrying the clouds from the -normal direction, North-west, we might presume that this local variation -was habitual. But wind we could hardly expect to escape from one -direction or another. A more important consideration, perhaps, for a -mountain camp is the duration of sunshine. Here we should have the sun -early, for to the East we looked across a wide snowy basin to the -comparatively low mountains round about the Lhakpa La; but we should -lose it early too, and we observed with dismay on this first afternoon -that our camp was in shadow at 3.15 p.m. The water supply was -conveniently near, running in a trough, and we might expect it to be -unfrozen for several hours each day. - -[Illustration: - - SERACS, EAST RONGBUK GLACIER, ABOVE CAMP II. -] - -Whatever we might think of this place it was undoubtedly the best -available. Very little energy remained among the party, most of whom had -now reached 21,000 feet for the first time in their lives. However, a -number soon set to work levelling the ground which we chose for two -tents. It was necessary to do this work thoroughly, for, unlike the -smooth, flat stones at Camp I, these, like those at Camp II, of which we -had obtained sufficient experience during the previous night, were -extremely sharp and uncomfortable to lie on. After it was done we sent -down the main body of the porters, keeping only one man for cook and -each the man specially attached to him as servant by Geoffrey Bruce’s -command long ago in Darjeeling. With these we proceeded to order our -camp. The tents were pitched, some sort of a cookhouse was constructed -from the wealth of building material, and we also began to put up walls -behind which we could lie in shelter to eat our meals. Perhaps the most -important matter was the instruction of Pou, our cook, in the correct -use of the Primus stove; with the purpose of giving him confidence a -fine fountain of blazing paraffin was arranged and at once extinguished -by opening the safety valve; for the conservation of our fuel supply we -carefully showed him how the absolute alcohol must be used to warm the -burner while paraffin and petrol were to be mixed for combustion. -Fortunately his intelligence rose above those disagreeable agitations -which attend the roaring or the failure to roar of Primus stoves, so -that after these first explanations we had never again to begrime our -hands with paraffin and soot. - -In our tent this evening of May 12, Somervell and I discussed what we -should do. There was something to be said for taking a day’s rest at -this altitude before attempting to rise another 2,000 feet. Neither of -us felt at his best. After our first activities in camp I had made -myself comfortable with my legs in a sleeping-bag, Somervell with his -accustomed energy had been exploring at some distance—he had walked as -far as the broad pass on the far side of our snowy basin, the Rápiu La, -at the foot of Everest’s North-east ridge, and had already begun a -sketch of the wonderful view obtained from that point of Makalu. When he -returned to camp about 5.30 p.m. he was suffering from a headache and -made a poor supper. Moreover, we were full of doubts about the way up to -the North Col. After finding so much ice on the glacier we must expect -to find ice on those East-facing slopes below the Col. It was not -unlikely that we should be compelled to cut steps the whole way up, and -several days would be required for so arduous a task. We decided -therefore to lose no time in establishing a track to the North Col. - -It was our intention on the following morning, May 13, to take with us -two available porters, leaving only our cook in camp, and so make a -small beginning towards the supply of our next camp. But Somervell’s man -was sick and could not come with us. We set out in good time with only -my porter, Dasno, and carried with us, besides one small tent, a large -coil of spare rope and some wooden pegs about 18 inches long. As we made -our way up the gently sloping snow it was easy to distinguish the line -followed to the North Col after the monsoon last year—a long slope at a -fairly easy angle bearing away to the right, or North, a traverse to the -left, and a steep slope leading up to the shelf under the ice-cliff on -the skyline. With the sun behind us we saw the first long slope, nearly -1,000 feet, glittering in a way that snow will never glitter; there we -should find only blue ice, bare and hard. Further to the North was no -better, and as we looked at the steep final slope it became plain enough -that there and nowhere else was the necessary key to the whole ascent; -for to the South of an imaginary vertical line drawn below it was a -hopeless series of impassable cliffs. The more we thought about it the -more convinced we became that an alternative way must be found up to -this final slope. We had not merely to reach the North Col once: -whatever way we chose must be used for all the comings and goings to and -from a camp up there. Unless the connection between Camps III and IV -were free from serious obstacles, the whole problem of transport would -increase enormously in difficulty; every party of porters must be -escorted by climbers both up and down, and even so the dangers on a big -ice slope after a fall of snow would hardly be avoided. - -Endeavouring to trace out a satisfactory route from the shelf of the -North Col downwards, we soon determined that we should make use of a -sloping corridor lying some distance to the left of the icy line used -last year and apparently well covered with snow. For 300 or 400 feet -above the flat snowfield it appeared to be cut off by very steep ice -slopes; nevertheless the best hope was to attempt an approach more or -less direct to the foot of this corridor; and first we must reconnoitre -the steepest of these obstacles, which promised the most convenient -access to the desired point could we climb it. Here fortune favoured our -enterprise. We found the surface slightly cleft by a fissure slanting at -first to the right and then directly upwards. In the disintegrated -substance of its edges it was hardly necessary to cut steps, and we -mounted 250 feet of what threatened to be formidable ice with no great -expenditure of time and energy. Two lengths of rope were now fixed for -the security of future parties, the one hanging directly downwards from -a single wooden peg driven in almost to the head, and another on a -series of pegs for the passage of a leftward traverse which brought us -to the edge of a large crevasse. We were now able to let ourselves down -into the snow which choked this crevasse a little distance below its -edges, and by means of some large steps hewn in the walls and another -length of rope a satisfactory crossing was established. Above this -crevasse we mounted easy snow to the corridor. - -So far as the shelf which was our objective we now met no serious -difficulty. The gentle angle steepened for a short space where we were -obliged to cut a score of steps in hard ice; we fixed another length of -rope, and again the final slope was steep, but not so as to trouble us. -However, the condition of the snow was not perfect; we were surprised, -on a face where so much ice appeared, to find any snow that was not -perfectly hard; and yet we were usually breaking a heavy crust and -stamping down the steps in snow deep enough to cover our ankles. It was -a question rather of strength than of skill. An East-facing slope in the -heat and glare of the morning sun favours the enemy mountain-sickness, -and though no one of us three was sick our lassitude increased -continually as we mounted and it required as much energy as we could -muster to keep on stamping slowly upwards. - -We lay down at length on the shelf, not yet shaded by the ice-cliff -above it, in a state of considerable exhaustion. Here presumably was the -end of a day’s work satisfactory in the most important respect, for we -felt that the way we had found was good enough, and with the fixed ropes -was suitable for use under almost any conditions. It occurred to us -after a little interval and some light refreshment that one thing yet -remained to be done. The lowest point of the North Col, from which the -North ridge of Everest springs a little way to the South of our shelf, -is perhaps ten minutes’ walk. We ought to go just so far as that in -order to make quite sure of the way onward. - -In the direction of the North-east shoulder, now slightly East of South -from us, the shelf slopes gradually upwards, a ramp as it were alongside -the battlements almost attaining the level of the crest itself. In the -whirl of snow and wind on that bitter day of September 1921, Bullock, -Wheeler, and I had found it necessary, in order actually to gain this -level, to take a few steps to the right round the head of a large -crevasse slanting across our line to the North Col. Somervell and I soon -found ourselves confronted by this same crevasse, and prepared to evade -it by the same manœuvre. But during those intervening months the crack -had extended itself some distance to the right and prevented the -possibility of getting round at that end. It was also much too wide to -be leapt. The best chance was in the other direction. Here we were able -to work our way down, before the steep slopes plunge over towards the -head of the East Rongbuk Glacier, to a snow bridge within the crevasse -giving access to a fissure in its opposite wall. We carefully examined -the prospects of an ascent at this point. Our idea was to go up in the -acute angle between two vertical walls of ice. A ladder of footsteps and -finger-holds would have to be constructed in the ice, and even so the -issue would be doubtful. When we set against the severe labour our -present state of weakness and considered the consequences of a step into -the gulf of the crevasse while steps were being cut—how poor a chance -only one man could have of pulling out his companion—it was clear that a -performance of this kind must wait for a stronger party. In any case, we -reckoned, this was not a way which could safely be used by laden -porters. If it must be used we should apply to General Bruce for a -15-foot ladder, more permanent than any we could make in the ice, and no -doubt the mechanical ingenuity so much in evidence at the Base Camp -would devise a ladder both portable and strong. Even this thought failed -to inspire us with perfect confidence, and it seemed rather a long way -to have come from England to Mount Everest, to be stopped by an obstacle -like this. - -[Illustration: - - PARTY ASCENDING THE CHANG LA. -] - -But was there no possible alternative? On this side of the crest we had -nothing more to hope; but on the far side, could we reach it, there -might exist some other shelf crowning the West-facing slopes of the Col, -and connecting with the lowest point. We retraced our steps, going now -in the opposite direction with the battlement on our left. Beyond there -was a snow slope ascending towards the formidable ridge of the North -Peak. The crevasse guarding it was filled with snow and presented no -difficulty, and though the slope was steep we were able to make a -staircase up the edge of it and presently found ourselves on the broken -ground of the Northern end of the crest. As we turned back toward -Everest a huge crevasse was in our way. A narrow bridge of ice took us -across it and we found we were just able to leap another crevasse a few -yards further. - -We had now an uninterrupted view of all that lies to the West. Below us -was the head of the main Rongbuk Glacier. On the skyline to the left was -the prodigious North-west ridge of Everest, flanked with snow, hiding -the crest of the West Peak. Past the foot of the North-west ridge we -looked down the immense glacier flowing South-westwards into Nepal and -saw without distinguishing them the distant ranges beyond. Near at hand -a sharp edge of rocks, the buttress of Changtse falling abruptly to the -Rongbuk Glacier, blocked out vision of the two greatest mountains -North-west of Everest, Gyachung Kang (25,990) and Cho Uyo (26,367). But -we could feel no regret for this loss, so enchanted were we by the -spectacle of Pumori; though its summit (23,190) was little higher than -our own level, it was, as it always is, a singularly impressive sight. -The snow-cap of Pumori is supported by splendid architecture; the -pyramidal bulk of the mountain, the steep fall of the ridges and faces -to South and West, and the precipices of rock and ice towards East and -North, are set off by a whole chain of mountains extending -West-north-west along a frail, fantastic ridge unrivalled anywhere in -this district for the elegant beauty of its cornices and towers. No more -striking change of scenery could be imagined than this from all we saw -to the East—the gentle snowy basin; the unemphatic lines of the slopes -below and on either side of the Lhakpa La, dominated as they are by the -dullest of mountains, Khartaphu; the even fall of rocks and snow from -the East ridge of Changtse and from the North-east ridge of Everest. -Pumori itself stood only as a symbol of this new wonderful world before -our eyes as we stayed to look westwards, a world exciting, strange, -unearthly, fantastic as the sky-scrapers in New York City, and at the -same time possessing the dignity of what is enduring and immense, for no -end was visible or even conceivable to this kingdom of adventure. - -However, even Somervell’s passion for using coloured chalks did not -encourage him to stay long inactive in a place designed to be a funnel -for the West wind of Tibet at an elevation of about 23,000 feet. We sped -again over snow-covered monticules thrust up from the chaos of riven -ice, and at last looked down from one more prominent little summit to -the very nape of the Chang La. We saw our conjectured shelf in real -existence and a fair way before us. In a moment all our doubts were -eased. We knew that the foot of the North Ridge, by which alone we could -approach the summit of Mount Everest, was not beyond our reach. - -Dasno meanwhile was stretched in the snow on the sheltered shelf, which -clearly must serve us sooner or later for Camp IV. As we looked down -upon him from the battlements, we noticed that their shadow already -covered the greater part of the shelf. It was four o’clock. We must -delay no longer. The tent which Dasno had carried up was left to be the -symbol of our future intentions, and we hastened down. Since 7 a.m. -Somervell and I had been spending our strength with only one -considerable halt, and latterly at a rapid rate. For some hours now we -had felt the dull height-headache which results from exertion with too -little oxygen, a symptom, I am told, not unlike the effect of poisoning -by carbon monoxide. The unpleasing symptom became so increasingly -disagreeable as we came down that I was very glad to reach our tent -again. As it was only fair that Somervell should share all my -sufferings, it now seemed inconsiderate of him to explain that he had a -good appetite. For my part, I took a little soup and could face no food; -defeated for the first and last time in either expedition before the -sight of supper. I humbly swallowed a dose of aspirin, lay my head on -the pillow and went to sleep. - - - V - -For three days now we made no expedition of any consequence. The -question arises, then, what did we? I have been searching the meagre -entries in my journal for an answer, with no satisfactory result. The -doctrine that men should be held accountable for their days, or even -their hours, is one to which the very young often subscribe as a matter -of course, seeing in front of them such a long way to go and so little -time: the futility of exact accounts in this sort is apparent among -mountains; the span of human life appears so short as hardly to be -capable of the usual subdivisions, and a much longer period than a day -may be neglected as easily as a halfpenny in current expenditure; and -while some hours and days are spent in doing, others pass in simply -being or being evolved, a process in the mind not to be measured in -terms of time. Nevertheless, it is often interesting to draft a -balance-sheet covering a period of twenty-four hours or seven days if -only to see how much must truthfully be set down as “unaccounted.” - -In the present instance my first inclination is to write off in this -bold fashion a full half of the time we spent in Camp III. But I will -try to serve my accounts better cooked. The largest item in a balance of -hours, even the least frank, will always be sleep. Here I prefer to make -the entry under the heading Bed. This will enable me to write off at -once a minimum of fourteen or a maximum of sixteen hours, leaving me -only eight to ten hours to account for. It is also a simplification, -because I am able by this means to avoid a doubtful and perhaps an ugly -heading, Dozing. No one will ask me to describe exactly what goes on in -bed. At Camp III it will be understood that supper is always included, -but not breakfast, for as the breakfasting hour is the most agreeable in -the day, it must be spent out-of-doors in the warm sun. Supper, unlike -most activities, takes less time than in civilised life. Wasted minutes -allow the food to cool and the grease to congeal. The porter serving us -would not want to be standing about longer than necessary, and the whole -performance was expeditious. Perhaps the fashion of eating among -mountaineers is also more wolfish than among civilised men. The -remaining 13½ or 14½ hours were not all spent in sleep. Probably on the -night of May 13–14 I slept at least ten hours after the exertions of our -ascent to the North Col. But though one sleeps well and is refreshed by -sleep in a tent at an altitude to which one is sufficiently -acclimatised, the outside world is not so very far away. However well -accustomed to such scenes, one does not easily lose a certain excitement -from the mere presence beyond the open tent-door of the silent power of -frost suspending even the life of the mountains, and of the black ridges -cutting the space of stars. The slow-spinning web of unconscious thought -is nearer consciousness. One wakes in the early morning with the mind -more definitely gathered about a subject, looks out to find the stars -still bright, or dim in the first flush of dawn, and because the -subject, whatever it be, and however nearly connected with the one -absorbing problem, commands less concentrated attention—for the unwilled -effort of the mind is more dispersed—one may often fall asleep once more -and stay in a light intermittent slumber until the bright sun is up and -the tent begins to be warm again. No sleeper, so far as I know on this -second expedition, could compete either for quantity or quality with the -sleep of Guy Bullock on the first; but all, perhaps with different -habits from either his or mine, but at all events all who spent several -nights at this camp or higher, slept well and were refreshed by sleep, -and I hope they were no less grateful than I for those blessed nights. - -[Illustration: - - PEAK, 23,180 FEET (KELLAS’ DARK ROCK PEAK) FROM THE RONGBUK GLACIER - ABOVE CAMP II. -] - -I often remarked during the Expedition how large a part of a day had -been spent by some of us in conversation. Down at the Base Camp we would -often sit on, those of us who were not expert photographers, or -painters, or naturalists, sit indefinitely not only after dinner, but -after each succeeding meal, talking the hours away. When a man has -learned to deal firmly with an imperious conscience, he will be neither -surprised nor ashamed in such circumstances to enter in his diary, “so -many hours talking and listening.” It is true that conscience has the -right to demand, in the case of such an entry, that the subjects talked -of should also be named. But our company was able to draw upon so wide a -range of experience that a fair proportion of our subjects were worth -talking of. Perhaps in the higher camps there was a tendency to talk, -though from less active brains, for the sake of obliterating the sense -of discomfort. However, I believe that most men, once they have faced -the change from armchairs and spring mattresses, and solid walls and hot -baths, and drawers for their clothes and shelves for their books, do not -experience discomfort in camp life except in the matter of feeding. -However good your food and however well cooked, sooner or later in this -sort of life meals appear messy. The most unsatisfactory circumstance of -our meals at the Base Camp was the tables. In a country where wood is so -difficult to obtain you cannot construct solid tables, still less can -you afford to carry them. Our ingenious “X” tables had thin iron legs -and canvas tops. On the rough ground they were altogether too light, too -easily disturbed, and for this reason too many of our victuals erred on -to these tables; their surfaces appeared under our eyes with constantly -accumulating stains, but half rubbed out by a greasy rag. Efforts truly -were made to control the nightly flow, proceeding from X and Y in their -cups—had they been cups of beer or whisky, we might have minded little -enough, but the sticky soiling mess was soup or cocoa; offenders were -freely cursed; tables were scrubbed; table-cloths were produced. In the -long run, no efforts availed. If the curry were tasty and the plate -clean, who would complain of a dirty table-cloth at the impurification -of which he had himself assisted? But I have little doubt that this -circumstance, more than any gradual drift of the mountaineer back -towards the Stone Age, was to be held accountable for the visible -deterioration of our table manners. With no implication of insult to -General Bruce and Dr. Longstaff, I record my belief that our manners at -Camp III were better than those at the Base Camp. It may suggest a lower -degree of civilisation that men should be seated on the ground at boxes -for eating rather than on boxes at a table. On the contrary, the nice -adjustment of a full plate upon one’s lap, or the finer art of conveying -and forking in the mouthfuls which start so much further from the face, -requires a delicacy, if it is to be accomplished at all, which -continually restrains the grosser impulses. And, though it might be -supposed that as we went higher up the mountain we should come to -feeding entirely _sans façon_, it was my experience that the greater -difficulties at the higher altitudes in satisfying the appetite -continually promoted more civilised habits of feeding. To outward -appearance, perhaps, the sight of four men each with a spoon eating out -of a common saucepan of spaghetti would not be altogether reassuring. -But one must not leave out of the reckoning the gourmet’s peculiar -enjoyment in the steamy aroma from things cooked and eaten before any -wanton hand has served them on a dish, still less the finer politeness -required by several persons sharing the same pots in this manner. - -On the whole, therefore, we suffered, either morally, æsthetically, or -physically, little enough in the matter of meals; still less from any -other cause. The bitter wind, it is true, was constantly disagreeable. -But such wind deadens even the senses that dislike it, and the wind of -Tibet was admirable both as an excuse for and necessary contrast with -luxurious practices. Just as one most enjoys a fire when half aware of -unpleasant things outside, or is most disgusted by a stuffy room after -breathing the soft air of a South-west wind, so in Tibet one may delight -merely in being warm anywhere. Neatly to avoid the disagreeable is in -itself a keen pleasure and heightens the desire for active life. It was -only rarely, very rarely, that one suffered of necessity, and generally, -if a man were cold, he was himself to blame; either he had failed to put -on clothes enough for the occasion, or had failed, having put them on, -to stimulate circulation. In a sleeping-bag such as we had this year, -with soft flannel lining the quilted eiderdown, one need not be chilled -even by the coldest night; and to lie in a tent no bigger than will just -hold two persons, with 20° of frost inside and 40° without, snugly -defying cold and wind, to experience at once in this situation the keen -bite of the air and the warm glow in one’s extremities, gives a -delicious sensation of well-being and true comfort never to be so -acutely provoked even in the armchair at an English fireside. - -But to return to the subject from which I have naughtily digressed, time -passed swiftly enough for Somervell and me at Camp III. We did not keep -the ball rolling so rapidly and continuously to and fro as it was wont -to roll in the united Mess; but we found plenty to say to one another, -more particularly after supper, in the tent. We entered upon a serious -discussion of our future prospects on Mount Everest, and were both -feeling so brave and hardy after a day’s rest that we decided, if -necessary, to meet the transport difficulty half-way and do without a -tent in any camp we should establish above the North Col, and so reduce -the burden to be carried up to Camp IV to three rather light or two -rather heavy loads. Our conversation was further stimulated by two -little volumes which I had brought up with me, the one Robert Bridges’ -anthology, _The Spirit of Man_, and the other one-seventh of the -complete works of William Shakespeare, including _Hamlet_ and _King -Lear_. It was interesting to test the choice made in answer to the old -question, “What book would you take to a desert island?” though in this -case it was a desert glacier, and the situation demanded rather lighter -literature than prolonged edification might require on the island. The -trouble about lighter literature is that it weighs heavier because more -has to be provided. Neither of my books would be to every one’s taste in -a camp at 21,000 feet; but _The Spirit of Man_ read aloud now by one of -us and now by the other, suggested matters undreamt of in the philosophy -of Mount Everest, and enabled us to spend one evening very agreeably. On -another occasion I had the good fortune to open my Shakespeare at the -very place where Hamlet addresses the ghost. “Angels and Ministers of -Grace defend us,” I began, and the theme was so congenial that we -stumbled on enthusiastically reading the parts in turn through half the -play. - -Besides reading and talking, we found a number of things to do. The -ordering of even so small a camp as this may occupy a good deal of -attention. Stores will have to be checked and arranged in some way so as -to be easily found when wanted. One article or another is sure to be -missing, too often to be retrieved when it lies on the stones only after -prolonged search, and even to find a strayed stocking groped for on -hands and knees in the congested tent may take a considerable time. -Again, the difficult and important problem of meals will have to be -considered in connection with the use of available food supplies. We -have one ox tongue. Shall we open it to-day, or ought we to keep it to -take up with us? And so on. But with a number of details to be arranged, -I was impressed not so much by the amount of energy and attention which -they demanded as by the time taken to do any little thing—and most of -all to write. Undoubtedly one is slower in every activity, and in none -so remarkably slower as in writing. The greater part of a morning might -easily be consumed in writing one letter of perhaps half a dozen pages. - -In referring to my own slowness, particularly mental slowness, I must -hasten to exclude my companion. His most important activity when we were -not on the mountain was sketching. His vast supply of energy, the number -of sketches he produced, and oil-paintings besides, was only less -remarkable than the rapidity with which he worked. On May 14 he again -walked over the uncrevassed snowfield by himself to the Rapiu La. Later -on I joined him, and, so far as I could judge, his talent and energy -were no less at 21,000 feet than on the wind-swept plains of Tibet. - - - VI - -On May 16 Somervell and I spent the morning in camp with some hopes of -welcoming sooner or later the arrival of stores, and sure enough about -midday the first detachment of a large convoy reached our camp. With the -porters, somewhat to our surprise, were Strutt, Morshead, and Norton. -The whole party seemed rather tired, though not more than was to be -expected, and when a little later Crawford, the responsible transport -officer, came in, he told us he had been mountain-sick. We were -delighted to learn that General Bruce was now much happier about -transport—hence these reinforcements; twenty-two Tibetan coolies were -now working up to Camp I, more were expected, and the prospects were -definitely brighter. A start had even been made, in spite of Finch’s -continued sickness, with moving up the oxygen cylinders. We at once -proceeded to discuss with Crawford how many porters could remain with us -at Camp III. Taking into consideration the oxygen loads, he suggested a -number below the hopes I had begun to entertain. It was agreed that -eight could be spared without interfering with the work lower down. We -had two before, so we should now have ten in all. - -It was clear that all must carry up loads to Camp IV with the least -delay in reason. But in view of the tremendous efforts that would be -required of these men at a later stage, it was a necessary act of -precautionary wisdom to grant the porters a day’s rest on the 16th; and -in any case an extra day was advisable for the acclimatisation of us all -before sleeping at 23,000 feet. Meanwhile we should be able to formulate -exact plans for climbing the mountain. It had hitherto been assumed that -the first attempt should be made only by Somervell and me, and General -Bruce had not cancelled our orders; but he had now delegated his -authority to Strutt, as second-in-command, to decide on the spot what -had best be done. The first point, therefore, to be settled was the -number of climbers composing the party of attack. Strutt himself took -the modest rôle of assuming that he would not be equal to a considerable -advance above Camp IV, but saw no reason why the other four of us -(Crawford returned on the 15th to a lower camp) should be too many for -one party provided our organisation sufficed. Norton and Morshead were -evidently most anxious to come on, and for my part I had always held, -and still held, the view that four climbers were a sounder party than -two for this sort of mountaineering, and would have a better chance of -success. It remained to determine what could be done for a party of four -by the available porters. To carry the whole of what we should need up -to Camp IV in one journey was clearly impossible. But we reckoned that -twenty loads should be enough to provide for ourselves and for nine -porters, who would have to sleep there and carry up another camp. The -delay in making two journeys to the North Col was not too great; the one -sacrifice involved by this plan was a second camp above the North Col. -In my judgment, the chances of establishing such a camp, even for two -climbers, with so small a number as ten porters, without reckoning -further loss of time, would be small in any case. We were necessarily -doubtful as to how much might be expected of our porters before the -North Ridge had been explored, and before we had any evidence to show -that these men were capable of much more than other porters had -accomplished before. It was right, therefore, for the advantages of the -stronger party, to sacrifice so uncertain a prospect. Nevertheless, we -realised the terrible handicap in this limitation. - -I shall perhaps appear as affirming or repeating what is merely -commonplace if I venture to make some observations about the weather, -but I must here insist upon its importance to mountaineers; and though I -cannot remember that the subject was much discussed among us at Camp -III, it remained but a little way below the surface of consciousness. In -settled weather among mountains one has not a great deal to observe. The -changing colours at sunrise and sunset follow an expected sequence, the -white flocks of fleecy clouds form and drift upwards, or the midday haze -gathers about the peaks, leaving the climber unperturbed. He has sniffed -the keen air before dawn when he came out under the bright stars, and -his optimism is assured for the day. On Mount Everest it had been -supposed that the season preceding the monsoon would be mainly fair; but -we knew that the warm moist wind should be approaching up the Arun -Valley, pushing up towards us during the month of May, and we must -expect to feel something of its influence. Moreover, we did not know -very well how to read the signs in this country. We anxiously watched -and studied them; each of us, I suppose, while he might be engaged upon -one thing or another, or talking of matters infinitely and delightfully -remote from Mount Everest, like a pilot had his weather-eye open. And -what he saw would not all be encouraging. The drift of the upper clouds, -it is true, was fairly consistent; the white wisps of smoke, as it -seemed, were driven in our direction over the North Col, and -occasionally the clear edge of the North Ridge would be dulled with -powdery snow puffed out on the Eastern side. But looking across the -snowfield from near our camp to where the head of Makalu showed over the -Rapiu La, we saw strange things happening. On May 16, our day of rest, a -number of us paid a visit to this pass, and as we stood above the head -of the Kama Valley, the clouds boiling up from that vast and terrible -cauldron were not gleaming white, but sadly grey. A glimpse down the -valley showed under them the sombre blue light that forebodes mischief, -and Makalu, seen through a rift, looked cold and grim. The evidence of -trouble in store for us was not confined to the Kama Valley, for some -clouds away to the North also excited our suspicion, and yet, as we -looked up the edges of the North-east arête to its curving sickle and -the great towers of the North-east shoulder, here was the dividing-line -between the clear air and fair weather to the right, and the white mists -to the left streaming up above the ridge and all the evil omens. The -bitterest even of Tibetan winds poured violently over the pass at our -backs. We wondered as we turned to meet it how long a respite was to be -allowed us. - -Preparation for what we intended to attempt was not to be made without -some thought, or at all events I do not find such preparation a -perfectly simple matter. It requires exact calculation. The first thing -is to make a list—in this case a list of all we should require at Camp -IV, with the approximate weights of each article. But not every article -would be available to be carried up on the first of the two journeys to -the North Col; for instance, we must keep our sleeping-bags for use at -Camp III until we moved up ourselves. It was necessary, therefore, to -mark off certain things to be left for the second journey, and to -ascertain that not more than half of the whole was so reserved. It might -be supposed that the problem could now be solved by adding up the -weights, dividing the total by ten (the number of our porters), and -giving so many pounds, according to this arithmetical answer, to each -man for the first journey. In practice this cannot be done, and we have -to allow for the fallibility of human lists. However carefully you have -gone over in your mind and provided for every contingency, you may be -quite sure you have omitted something, probably some property of the -porters regarded by them as necessary to salvation, and at the last -moment it will turn up. The danger is that one or two men will be -seriously overloaded, and perhaps without your knowing it. To circumvent -it, allowance must be made in your calculations. On this occasion we -took good care to carry up more than half of what was shown on our list -on the first journey. Another difficulty in the mathematical solution is -the nature of the loads. They cannot be all exactly equal, because they -are composed of indivisible objects. A tent cannot be treated like a -vulgar fraction. The best plan, therefore, is to fix a maximum. We -intended our loads to be from 25 to 30 lb. They were all weighed with a -spring balance, and the upper limit was only exceeded by a pound or two -in two cases, to the best of my remembrance. - -On May 17 the fifteen of us, Strutt, Morshead, Norton, Somervell, and I, -with ten porters, set off for Camp IV. The snow was in good condition, -we had our old tracks to tread in, and the only mishap to be feared was -the possible exhaustion of one or more porters. It was necessary that -all the loads should reach their destination to-day; but the five -climbers were comparatively unladen, and constituted a reserve of power. -My recollections of going up to the North Col are all of a performance -rather wearisome and dazed, of a mind incapable of acute perceptions -faintly stirring the drowsy senses to take notice within a circle of -limited radius. The heat and glare of the morning sun as it blazed on -the windless long slopes emphasised the monotony. I was dimly aware of -this puzzling question of light-rays and the harm they might do. I was -glad I wore two felt hats, and that Strutt and Somervell had their solar -topis. Morshead and Norton had no special protection, and the porters -none at all. What did it matter? Seemingly nothing. We plodded on and -slowly upwards; each of us was content to go as slowly as anyone else -might wish to go. The porters were more silent than usual. They were -strung up to the effort required of them. No one was going to give in. -The end was certain. At length our success was duly epitomised. As he -struggled up the final slope, Strutt broke into gasping speech: “I wish -that—cinema were here. If I look anything like what I feel, I ought to -be immortalised for the British public.” We looked at his -grease-smeared, yellow-ashen face, and the reply was: “Well, what in -Heaven’s name _do_ we look like? And what do we do it for, anyway?” - -At all events, we had some reason to feel hopeful on our subsequent -day’s rest, May 18. Somervell more particularly pronounced that his -second journey to Camp IV had been much less fatiguing than the first. I -was able to say the same, though I felt that a sufficient reason was to -be found in the fact that far less labour had been required of me. It -was more remarkable, perhaps, that those who went for the first time to -23,000 feet, and especially the laden men, should have shown so much -endurance. - -On May 19 we carried up the remainder of our loads. And again we seemed -better acclimatised. The ascent to the North Col was generally felt to -be easier on this day; we had strength to spare when we reached the -shelf. With all our loads now gathered about us at Camp IV, the first -stage up from the base of the mountain was accomplished. To-morrow, we -hoped, would complete the second. The five light tents were gradually -pitched, two of them destined for the climbers a few yards apart towards -the North Peak, the remaining three to accommodate each three porters in -the same alignment; in all, a neat little row showing green against the -white. The even surface of the snow was further disturbed by the muddled -tracks, soon to be a trampled space about the tent-doors. For the safety -of sleep-walkers, or any other who might feel disposed to take a walk in -the night, these tent-doors faced inwards, toward the back of the shelf. -There the gigantic blocks of ice were darker than the snow on which -their deep shadow was thrown. Their cleft surfaces suggested cold -colours, and were green and blue as the ocean is on some winter’s day of -swelling seas—a strange impressive rampart impregnable against direct -assault, and equally well placed to be the final defence of the North -Col on this section, and at the same time to protect us amazingly, -entirely, against the unfriendly wind from the West. - -Other activities besides demanded our attention. It had been resolved -that one more rope should be fixed on the steep slope we must follow to -circumvent the ice-cliffs. Morshead and Somervell volunteered for this -good work; Norton and I were left to tend the cooking-pots. As we had -not burdened the porters with a large supply of water, we had now to -make provision both for this evening and for to-morrow morning. The -Primus stoves remained at Camp III, partly because they were heavy and -partly because, however carefully devised, their performance at a high -altitude must always be a little uncertain. They had served us well up -to 21,000 feet, and we had no need to trust them further. With our -aluminium cooking sets we could use either absolute alcohol in the -spirit-burner or “Meta,” a French sort of solidified spirit, especially -prepared in cylindrical shape and extremely efficient; you have only to -put a match to the dry white cylinders and they burn without any -trouble, and smokelessly, even at 23,000 feet, for not less than forty -minutes. The supply of “Meta” was not very large, and it was considered -rather as an emergency fuel. The alcohol was to do most of our heating -at Camp IV, and all too rapidly it seemed to burn away as we kept -filling and refilling our pots with snow. In the end six large thermos -flasks were filled with tea or water for the use of all in the morning, -and we had enough for our present needs besides. - -Morshead and Somervell had not long returned, after duly fixing the -rope, before our meal was ready. As I have already referred to our table -manners, the more delicate-minded among my readers may not relish the -spectacle of us four feasting around our cooking-pots—in which case I -caution them to omit this paragraph, for now, living up to my own -standard of faithful narrative, I must honestly and courageously face -the subject of victuals. As mankind is agreed that the pleasures of the -senses, when it is impossible they should be actually experienced, can -most nearly be tasted by exercising an artistic faculty in choosing the -dishes of imaginary repasts, so it might be supposed that the state of -affairs, when those pleasures were thousands of feet below in other -worlds, might more easily be brought to mind by reconstructing the -associated menus. But such a practice was unfortunately out of the -question, for it would have involved assigning this, that, and the other -to breakfast, lunch, and supper; and when, calling to mind what we ate, -I try to distinguish between one meal and another, I am altogether at a -loss. I can only suppose they were interchangeable. The nature of our -supplies confirms my belief that this was the case. Practically -speaking, we hardly considered by which name our meal should be called, -but only what would seem nice to eat or convenient to produce, when we -next wanted food and drink. Among the supplies I classify some as -“standard pattern”—such things as we knew were always to be had in -abundance, the “pièce,” as it were, of our whole ménage—three solid -foods, two liquid foods, and one stimulant. - -The stimulant, in the first place, as long as we remained at Camp III, -was amazingly satisfactory, both for its kind, its quality, and -especially for its abundance. We took it shamelessly before breakfast, -and at breakfast again; occasionally with or after lunch, and most -usually a little time before supper, when it was known as afternoon tea. -The longer we stayed at this camp, the deeper were our potations. So -good was the tea that I came almost to disregard the objectionable -flavour of tinned milk in it. I had always supposed that General Bruce -would keep a special herd of yaks at the Base Camp for the provision of -fresh milk; but this scheme was hardly practicable, for the only grass -at the Base Camp, grew under canvas, and no one suggested sharing his -tent with a yak. The one trouble about our stimulant was its scarcity as -we proceeded up the mountain. It diminished instead of increasing to the -climax where it was needed most. Fortunately, the lower temperatures at -which water boils as the atmospheric pressure diminishes made no -appreciable difference to the quality, and the difficulty of melting -snow enough to fill our saucepans with water was set off to some extent -by increasing the quantity of tea-leaves. - -The two liquid foods, cocoa and pea-soup, though not imbibed so -plentifully as tea, were considered no less as the natural and fitting -companions of meat on any and every occasion. At Camp III it was not -unusual to begin supper with pea-soup and end it with cocoa, but such a -custom by no means precluded their use at other times. Cocoa tended to -fall in my esteem, though it never lost a certain popularity. Pea-soup, -on the other hand, had a growing reputation, and, from being considered -an accessory, came to be regarded as a principal. However, before I -describe its dominating influence in the whole matter of diet, I must -mention the solid foods. The three of “standard pattern” were ration -biscuits, ham, and cheese. It was no misfortune to find above the Base -Camp that we had left the region of fancy breads; for while the chupatis -and scones, baked by our cooks with such surprising skill and energy, -were usually palatable, they were probably more difficult of digestion -than the biscuits, and our appetite for these hard wholemeal biscuits -increased as we went upwards, possibly to the detriment of teeth, which -became ever more brittle. Ham, of all foods, was the most generally -acceptable. The quality of our “Hunter’s hams” left nothing to be -desired, and the supply, apparently, was inexhaustible. A slice of ham, -or several slices, either cold or fried, was fit food for any and almost -every meal. The cheese supplied for our use at these higher camps, and -for expeditions on the mountains besides, were always delicious and -freely eaten. We had also a considerable variety of other tinned foods. -Harris’s sausages, sardines, herrings, sliced bacon, soups, ox tongues, -green vegetables, both peas and beans, all these I remember in general -use at Camp III. We were never short of jam and chocolate. As luxuries -we had “quails in truffles,” besides various sweet-stuffs, such as mixed -biscuits, acid drops, crystallized ginger, figs and prunes (I feel -greedy again as I name them), and, reserved more or less for use at the -highest camps, Heinz’s spaghetti. More important, perhaps, than any of -these was “Army and Navy Rations,” from the special use we made of it. I -never quite made out what these tins contained; they were designed to -be, when heated up, a rich stew of mutton or beef, or both. They were -used by us to enrich a stew which was the peculiar invention of -Morshead. He called it “hoosch.” Like a trained chef, he was well aware -that “the foundation of good cooking is the stock-pot.” But such a maxim -was decidedly depressing under our circumstances. Instead of accepting -and regretting our want of a “stock-pot,” Morshead, with the true genius -that penetrates to the inward truth, devised a substitute and improved -the motto: “The foundation of every dish must be pea-soup.” Or if these -were not his very words, it was easy to deduce that they contained the -substance of his culinary thoughts. It was a corollary of this axiom -that any and every available solid food might be used to stew with -pea-soup. The process of selection tended to emphasise the merits of -some as compared with other solids until it became almost a custom, -sadly to the limitation of Morshead’s art, to prefer to “sliced bacon,” -or even sausages, for the flotsam and jetsam of “hoosch,” Army and Navy -Rations. It was “hoosch” that we ate at Camp IV, about the hour of an -early afternoon tea on May 19. - -We had hardly finished eating and washing up—it was a point of honour to -wash up, and much may be achieved with snow—when the shadow crept over -our tents and the chill of evening was upon us. We lingered a little -after everything was set in order to look out over the still sunlit -slopes of Mount Everest between us and the Rapiu La, and over the -undulating basin of snow towards the Lhakpa La and Camp IV, and to pass -some cheerful remarks with the porters, already seeking shelter, before -turning in ourselves for the night. It had been, so far as we could -tell, a singularly windless day. Such clouds as we had observed were -seemingly innocent; and now, as darkness deepened, it was a fine night. -The flaps of our two tents were still reefed back so as to admit a free -supply of air, poor and thin in quality but still recognisable as fresh -air; Norton and I and, I believe, Morshead and Somervell also lay with -our heads towards the door, and, peering out from the mouths of our -eiderdown bags, could see the crest above us sharply defined. The signs -were favourable. We had the best omen a mountaineer can look for, the -palpitating fire, to use Mr. Santayana’s words, of many stars in a black -sky. I wonder what the others were thinking of between the intervals of -light slumber. I daresay none of us troubled to inform himself that this -was the vigil of our great adventure, but I remember how my mind kept -wandering over the various details of our preparations without anxiety, -rather like God after the Creation seeing that it was good. It was good. -And the best of it was what we expected to be doing these next two days. -As the mind swung in its dreamy circle it kept passing and repassing the -highest point, always passing through the details to their intention. -The prospects emerging from this mental movement, unwilled and -intermittent and yet continually charged with fresh momentum, were -wonderfully, surprisingly bright, already better than I had dared to -expect. Here were the four of us fit and happy, to all appearances as we -should expect to be in a snug alpine hut after a proper nightcap of -whisky punch. We had confidence in our porters, nine strong men willing -and even keen to do whatever should be asked of them; surely these men -were fit for anything. And we planned to lighten their burdens as far as -possible; only four loads, beyond the warm things which each of us would -carry for himself, were to go on to our next camp—two tents weighing -each 15 lb., two double sleeping-bags, and provisions for a day and a -half besides the minimum of feeding utensils. The loads would not exceed -20 lb. each, and we should have two men to one load, and even so a man -in reserve. To provide a considerable excess of porters had for long -been a favourite scheme of mine. I saw no other way of making sure that -all the loads would reach their destination. As it was, we should start -with the knowledge that so soon as any man at any moment felt the strain -too great he could be relieved of his load, and when he in his turn -required to be relieved the other would presumably be ready to take up -his load again. Proceeding in this way we should be free of all anxiety -lest one of the loads should be left on the mountain-side or else put on -to a climber’s back, with the chance of impairing his strength for the -final assault. _Ceteris paribus_, we were going to succeed at least in -establishing another camp. This was no mere hope wherein judgment was -sacrificed to promote the lesser courage of optimism, but a reasonable -conviction. It remained but to ask, Would the Fates be kind? - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - THE HIGHEST POINT - - -My first recollection of the morning of May 20 is of shivering outside -the porters’ tents. It is not an enviable task at 23,000 feet, this of -rousing men from the snugness of their sleeping-bags between 5 and 6 -a.m. One may listen in vain for a note of alertness in their response; -the heard notes will not echo the smallest zest for any enterprise. On -this occasion the replies made to my tender inquiries and encouragements -were so profoundly disappointing that I decided to untie the fastenings -of the tent, which were as nearly as might be hermetically sealed. In -the degree of somnolence and inertia prevailing I suspected the -abnormal. Soon I began to make out a tale of confused complaints; the -porters were not all well. The cause was not far to look for; they had -starved themselves of air during the night. The best chance of a remedy -was fresh air now and a brew of tea, which could easily be managed. - -Meanwhile Norton had been stirring, and while I retired to “dress” he -began to busy himself with preparations for our own breakfast. Tea of -course was intended for us too, and further two tins of spaghetti had -been reserved to give us the best possible start for the day. But one -small thing had been forgotten. Those precious tins had lain all night -in the snow; they should have been cuddled by human bodies, carefully -nursed in the warmth of sleeping-bags. Now their contents were frozen -stiff and beyond extraction even by an ice-axe. Even so it might be -supposed a little boiling water would put all to rights. Had a little -sufficed I should omit to tell the doleful tale. Only very gradually -were the outer surfaces thawed, permitting the scarlet blocks (tomato -sauce was an ingredient) to be transferred to another saucepan, where -they had still to be thawed to homogeneous softness and afterwards -heated to the point required for doing justice to the genius of Mr. -Heinz. As the expenditure of treasured hot water merely for thawing -spaghetti involved more melting of snow to water and boiling of water -for indispensable tea, the kitchen-maid’s task was disagreeably -protracted; and the one among us, Norton, who most continuously and -stubbornly played the man’s part of kitchen-maid, sitting upon the snow -in the chill early morning became a great deal colder than anyone should -be with a day’s mountaineering in front of him. - -Of our nine porters it was presently discovered that five were -mountain-sick in various degrees; only four were fit to come on and do a -full day’s work carrying up our camp. The whole of our reserve was -already exhausted before we had advanced a single step up the North -Ridge. But pessimism was not in the air this morning. We had won through -our various delays and difficulties, we had eaten and enjoyed our -wonderful breakfast, and after all we were able to make a start about -7.30 a.m. The reserve had already been of use; without it we should have -been obliged to remain in camp, waiting for sick porters to recover, and -counting our stores. Morshead, who by the testimony of good spirits -seemed the fittest of us all, was set to lead the party; I followed with -two porters, while Norton and Somervell shepherded the others on a -separate rope. In a short half-hour we were on the North Col itself, the -true white neck to the South of those strange blocks of ice, and looking -up the North Ridge from its foot. - -The general nature of what lay ahead of us can readily be appreciated -from this point of view. To the right, as you look up, the great -Northern slopes of Mount Everest above the main Rongbuk Glacier are -slightly concave; the North-eastern facet to the left is also concave, -but much more deeply, and especially more deeply in a section of about -1,500 feet above the North Col. Consequently the ground falls away more -suddenly on that side below the ridge. The climber may either follow the -crest itself or find a parallel way on the gently receding face to right -of it. The best way for us, we soon saw, was not to follow the crest of -snow or even the snow-slopes immediately to the right; for these were -merged after a little interval in the vast sweep of broken rocks forming -the North face of the mountain, and at the junction between snow and -rocks was an edge of stones stretching upwards for perhaps 1,500 feet at -a convenient angle. Loose stones that slip as he treads on them are an -abomination to the climber’s feet and only less fatiguing than knee-deep -sticky snow. We presently found those stones agreeably secure; enough -snow lay among them to bind and freeze all to the slope; we were able to -tread on firm, flat surfaces without the trouble of kicking our feet -into snow; no sort of ground could have taken us more easily up the -mountain. The morning, too, was calm and fine. Though it can hardly be -said that we enjoyed the exercise of going up Mount Everest, we were -certainly able to enjoy the sensation so long as our progress was -satisfactory. But the air remained perceptibly colder than we could have -wished; the sun had less than its usual power; and in the breeze which -sprang up on our side, blowing across the ridge from the right, we -recognized an enemy, “the old wind in the old anger,” the devastating -wind of Tibet. The wolf had come in lamb’s clothes. But we were not -deceived. Remembering bitter experiences down in the plains now 10,000 -feet below us, we expected little mercy here, we only hoped for a period -of respite; so long as this gentle mood should last we could proceed -happily enough until we should be obliged to fight our way up. - -We had risen about 1,200 feet when we stopped to put on the spare warm -clothes which we carried against such a contingency as this. For my -part, I added a light shetland “woolly” and a thin silk shirt to what I -was wearing before under my closely woven cotton coat. As this outer -garment, with knickers to match, was practically windproof, and a silk -shirt too is a further protection against wind, with these two extra -layers I feared no cold we were likely to meet. Morshead, if I remember -right, troubled himself no more at this time than to wrap a woollen -scarf round his neck, and he and I were ready and impatient to get off -before the rest. Norton was sitting a little way below with his rucksack -poised on his lap. In gathering up our rope so as to have it free when -we should move on I must have communicated to the other rope some small -jerk—sufficient, at all events, to upset the balance of Norton’s -rucksack. He was unprepared, made a desperate grab, and missed it. -Slowly the round, soft thing gathered momentum from its rotation, the -first little leaps down from one ledge to another grew to excited and -magnificent bounds, and the precious burden vanished from sight. For a -little interval, while we still imagined its fearful progress until it -should rest for who knows how long on the snow at the head of the -Rongbuk Glacier, no one spoke. “My rucksack gone down the kudh!” Norton -exclaimed with simple regret. I made a mental note that my warm -pyjama-legs which he had borrowed were inside it, so if I were to blame -I had a share in the loss. A number of offers in woollen garments for -the night were soon made to Norton; after which we began to explain what -each had brought for comfort’s sake, and I wondered whether my -companions’ system of selection resembled mine;—as I never can resolve -in cold blood to leave anything behind, when each article presents -itself as just the one I may particularly want, I pack them all into a -rucksack and then pull out this and that more or less at random until -the load is not greater than I can conveniently carry; even so I almost -invariably find that I have more clothing in reserve than I actually -use. - -However, we had no time to spare for discussing the dispensation of -absolute justice between the various claims of affection and utility -among a man’s equipment. We were soon plodding upwards again, and had we -been inclined to tarry the bite of the keen air would have hurried us -along. The respite granted us was short enough. The sun disappeared -behind a veil of high clouds; and before long grey tones to match the -sky replaced the varied brightness of snow and rocks, and soon now we -were struggling to keep our breath and leaning our bodies against a -heavy wind. We had not the experience to reckon exactly the dangers -associated with these conditions. We could only look to our senses for -warning, and their warning soon became obvious enough. Fingertips and -toes and ears all began to testify to the cold. By continuing on the -windward flank of the ridge just where we were most exposed we should -incur a heavy risk of frostbite and the whole party might be put out of -action. It was clear that something must be done, and without delay. The -best chance was to change our direction. Very likely we should find less -wind, as is often the case, on the crest itself, and in any case we must -reach shelter on the leeward side at the earliest possible moment. - -While Morshead stopped, at last submitting so far as to put on a -sledging suit, which is reputed to be the best possible protection, I -went ahead, abandoned the rocks, and steered a slanting course over the -snow to the left. Unlike the softer substance we had met in the region -of the North Col, the surface here was hard; on this smooth slope the -blown snow can find no lodgment, cannot stay to be gathered into drifts, -and the little that falls there is swept clean away. The angle soon -became steeper, and we must have steps to tread in. A strong kick was -required to make the smallest impression in the snow. It was just the -place where we could best be served by crampons and be helped up by -their long steel points without troubling ourselves at all about steps. -Crampons of course had been provided among our equipment, and the -question of taking them with us above Camp IV had been considered. We -had decided not to bring them: we sorely needed them now. And yet we had -been right to leave them behind; for with their straps binding tightly -round our boots we should not have had the smallest chance of preserving -our toes from frostbite. The only way was to set to work and cut steps. -The proper manner of cutting one in such a substance as this is to take -but one strong blow, tearing out enough snow to allow the foot to finish -the work as it treads in the hole. Such a practice is not beyond the -strength and skill of an amateur in the Alps. But even if he can muster -the power for this sort of blow at a great altitude, he will soon -discover the inconvenience of repeating it frequently; he will be out of -breath and panting and obliged to wait, so that no time has been gained -after all. The alternative is to apply less force; three gentle strokes, -as a rule, will be required for each step. To cut a staircase in this -humble manner was by no means impossible, as was proved again on the -descent, up to 25,000 feet. But the same rules and limitations determine -this labour as every other up here. The work can be done and the worker -will endure it provided sufficient time is allowed. It is haste that -induces exhaustion. On this occasion we were obliged to hurry; our -object was to reach shelter as soon as possible. In a wind like that on -a bare snow-slope a man must take his axe in both hands to meet the -present need; future contingencies will be left to take care of -themselves. The slope was never steep; the substance was not obdurate; -but when at length we lay on the rocks and out of the wind I computed -our staircase to be 300 feet, and at least one of us was very tired. - -I cannot say precisely how much time passed on this arduous section of -our ascent. It was now 11.30 a.m. The aneroid was showing 25,000 feet -compared with a reading of 23,000 on the North Col; the rise of 2,000 -feet had taken us in all 3½ hours. For some reason Morshead had been -delayed with two or three of the porters, and as the rest of us now sat -waiting for them we began to discuss what should be done about fixing -our camp. It had been our intention to reach 26,000 feet before pitching -the tents. But it was evident that very few places would accommodate -them. We had already seen enough to realise how steeply the rocks of -this mountain dip towards the North, with the consequence that even -where the ground is broken the ledges are likely to prove too steep for -camping. We must pass the night somewhere on this leeward side, and we -had little hopes of finding a place above us. However, at about our -present level, well marked as the point of junction between snow and -rocks, we had previously observed from Camp III some ground which -appeared less uncompromising than the rest. A broken ledge offered a -practicable line towards this same locality. - -Whether the decision we came to at this crisis of our fortunes were -right or wrong, I cannot tell, and I hardly want to know. I have no wish -to excuse our judgment. Who can tell what might have happened had we -decided otherwise? And who can judge? Then why should I be at the pains -to analyse the thoughts which influenced our decision? It is perhaps a -futile inquiry. Nevertheless it is such decisions that determine the -fate of a mountaineering enterprise, and the operative motives or -contending points of view may have an interest of their own. Among us -there was deliberation often enough, but never contention. There never -was a dissentient voice to anything we resolved to do, partly, I -suppose, because we had little choice in the matter, more because we -were that sort of party. We had a single aim in common and regarded it -from common ground. We had no leader within the full meaning of the -word, no one in authority over the rest to command as captain. We all -knew equally what was required to be done from first to last, and when -the occasion arose for doing it one of us did it. Some one, if only to -avoid delay in action, had to arrange the order in which the party or -parties should proceed. I took this responsibility without waiting to be -asked; the rest accepted my initiative, I suppose, because I used to -talk so much about what had been done on the previous Expedition. In -practice it amounted only to this, that I would say to my companions, -“A, will you go first? B, will you go second?” and we roped up in the -order indicated without palaver. Apart from this I never attempted to -inflict my own view on men who were at least as capable as I of judging -what was best. Our proceedings in any crisis of our fortunes were -informally democratic. They were so on the occasion from which I have so -grievously digressed. - -It must not be forgotten that we had just come through a trying ordeal. -Nothing is more demoralising than a severe wind, and it may be that our -_morale_ was affected. But I don’t think we were demoralised, or not in -any degree so as to affect our judgment. The impression I retain from -that remote scene where we sat perched in discussion crowding under a -bluff of rocks is of a party well pleased with their performance, -rejoicing to be sheltered from the wind, and every one of them quite -game to go higher. Perhaps the deciding influence was the weather. A -mountaineer judges of the weather conditions almost by instinct; and -apart from our experience of the wind, which had already been -sufficiently menacing, we knew, so far as such things can be known, that -the weather would get worse before it got better. But we could not -imagine what might be coming without thinking definitely about the -porters. It would be their lot, wherever our new camp was fixed, to -return this same day to Camp IV. It was no part of our design to risk -even the extremities of their limbs, let alone their lives; apart from -any consideration of ethics it would not be sensible; no one supposed -that this attempt on Mount Everest would be the last of the season, even -for ourselves, and if the porters who first completed this stage were to -suffer nothing worse than severe frostbite the moral effect of that -injury alone might be an irreparable disaster. The porters must be sent -down before the weather grew worse, and the less they were exposed to -the cold wind the better. It was 12.30 p.m. before the stragglers who -had joined us had rested sufficiently to go on. To fix a camp 1,000 feet -higher would probably require, granted reasonably good fortune in -finding a site, another three hours; and if snow began to fall or the -ridge were enveloped in mist it would be necessary to provide an escort -for the porters. Had we supposed a place might be found anywhere above -us within range on this lee-side of the ridge, we might conceivably have -accepted these hard conditions and pushed on. Deliberately to choose a -site on the ridge with such a wind blowing and in defiance of every -threat in the sky was a folly not to be contemplated, and our -suppositions as to the lee side above us (they were afterwards proved -correct) were all unfavourable to going higher. The plan of encamping -somewhere near at hand, not lower than 25,000 feet, still left plenty to -hope for this time besides building the best foundation for a second -attempt. In my opinion no other alternative was sanely practicable; and -I believe this conviction was shared by all when at length we left our -niche, having conceded so much already to the mountain. - -As the broken ledges we now followed presented no special difficulties -the party was able to explore more than one level in search of some -place sufficiently flat and sufficiently commodious. The nature of the -ground and the presence of cloud, though we were never thickly -enveloped, prevented any sort of extensive view. Many suggestions were -mooted and rejected; a considerable time elapsed and still we had found -no site that would serve. At about 2 p.m. Somervell and some porters -shouted the news that one tent could be pitched in the place where they -were. On the far side of a defined rib slanting up to the ridge we had -left they had discovered some sort of a platform. It was evident that -work would be required to extend and prepare it for the tent, and they -at once set about building a supporting wall and levelling the ground. -It remained to find a place near at hand for the other tent. We could -see no obvious shelf, but the constructional works undertaken by -Somervell seemed to contain such a promising idea that Norton and I in -separate places each started works of our own. Each of us very soon -reached the same conclusion, that nothing could be done where he was. We -moved away and tried again; but always with the same result; the ground -was everywhere too steep and too insecure. One soon tires of heaving up -big stones when no useful end is served. Eventually coming together, we -resolved to agree on the least unlikely site and make the best of it. We -chose the foot of a long sloping slab—at all events it was part of the -mountain and would not budge—and there built up the ground below it with -some fine stones we found to hand. Our tent was pitched at last with one -side of the floor lying along the foot of the sloping slab and the other -half on the platform we had made. It was not a situation that promised -for either of us a bountiful repose, for one would be obliged to lie -along the slope and the only check to his tendency to slip down would be -the body of the other. However, there it was, a little tent making a -gallant effort to hold itself proudly and well. - -Before we had concluded these operations the porters had been sent down -about 3 p.m. and kitchen had been instituted, and a meal was already -being prepared. Presumably because their single tent would have to -accommodate the four of us (ours was too far away), when we set -ourselves down to eat and be warm, Somervell and Morshead had arranged -the kitchen outside it. Somervell had appointed himself chief in this -department and it remained only for the rest of us to offer menial -service. But so great had been his energy and perseverance, sheltering -the flame from the cold draught and by every device encouraging the snow -to melt, that almost all such offers were rejected. Like a famous -pretender, I would have gladly been a scullion, but I was allowed only -to open one or two tins and fill up a pot with snow. I have no -recollection of what we ate; I remember only a hot and stimulating -drink, Brand’s essence or bovril or something of the sort. We did not -linger long over this meal. We wanted to go to bed still warm. Norton -and I soon left the others in possession of their tent and began to make -our dispositions for the night. - -To the civilised man who gets into bed after the customary routine, -tucks himself in, lays his head on the pillow, and presently goes to -sleep with no further worry, the dispositions in a climber’s tent may -seem to be strangely intricate. In the first place, he has to arrange -about his boots. He looks forward to the time when he will have to start -next morning, if possible with warm feet and in boots not altogether -frozen stiff. He may choose to go to bed in his boots, not altogether -approving the practice, and resolving that the habit shall not be -allowed to grow upon him. If his feet are already warm when he turns in, -it may be that he can do no better; his feet will probably keep warm in -the sleeping-bag if he wears his bed-socks over his boots, and he will -not have to endure the pains of pulling on and wearing frozen boots in -the morning. At this camp I adopted a different plan—to wear moccasins -instead of boots during the night and keep them on until the last moment -before starting. But if one takes his boots off, where is he to keep -them warm? Climbing boots are not good to cuddle, and in any case there -will be no room for them with two now inside a double sleeping-bag. My -boots were happily accommodated in a rucksack and I put them under my -head for a pillow. It is not often that one uses the head for warming -things, and no one would suspect one of a hot head; nevertheless my -boots were kept warm enough and were scarcely frozen in the morning. - -It was all-important besides to make ourselves really comfortable, if we -were to get to sleep, by making experiments in the disposition of limbs, -adjusting the floor if possible and arranging one’s pillow at exactly -the right level—which may be difficult, as the pillow should be high if -one is to breathe easily at a great altitude. I had already found out -exactly how to be comfortable before Norton was ready to share the -accommodation. I remarked that in our double sleeping-bag I found ample -room for myself but not much to spare. Norton’s entrance was a grievous -disturbance. It was doubtful for some time whether he would be able to -enter; considering how long and slim he is, it is astonishing how much -room he requires. We were so tightly pressed together that if either was -to move a corresponding manœuvre was required of the other. I soon -discovered, as the chief item of interest in the place where I lay, a -certain boulder obstinately immovable and excruciatingly sharp which -came up between my shoulder-blades. How under these circumstances we -achieved sleep, and I believe that both of us were sometimes unconscious -in a sort of light, intermittent slumber, I cannot attempt to explain. -Perhaps the fact that one was often breathless from the exhaustion of -discomfort, and was obliged to breathe deeply, helped one to sleep, as -deep breathing often will. Perhaps the necessity of lying still because -it was so difficult to move was good for us in the end. Norton’s case -was worse than mine. One of his ears had been severely frostbitten on -the way up; only one side was available to lie on; and yet the blessed -sleep we sometimes sigh for in easy beds at home visited him too. - -The party had suffered more than at first we realized from exposure in -the wind on the way up. The damage to Norton’s ear was not all. I -noticed when my hands got warm in bed that three finger-tips appeared to -be badly bruised; the symptom could only point to one conclusion, and I -soon made out how they had come to be frostbitten. At the time when the -step-cutting began I had been wearing a pair of lined leather gloves, -motor-drivers’ gloves well suited to the occasion, and my hands had been -so warm that I thought it safe to change the glove on my right hand for -a woollen one with which it was easier to grasp the axe. But wool is not -a good protection against wind, and in grasping the axe I must have -partially stopped the circulation in these finger-tips. The injury, -though not serious, was inconvenient. And Morshead had felt the cold far -more than I. It is still uncertain whether he had yet been frostbitten -in toes and fingers, but though he made no complaint about them until -much later I have little doubt they were already touched, if not -severely frozen. At all events, he had been badly chilled on the way up; -he was obliged to lie down when we reached our camp and was evidently -unwell. - -When all is said about our troubles and difficulties, the night, in -spite of everything, was endurable. For distraction to pass the -sleepless intervals engaging thoughts were not far to seek; we had still -our plans for to-morrow; the climax was to come; and, might we not get -so high by such a time? Then, might not the remaining hours be almost, -even quite enough? Besides, we had accomplished something, and though -the moments following achievement are occupied more often in looking -forward than in looking back, we perhaps deliberately encouraged in -ourselves a certain complacency on the present occasion; we were able to -feel some little satisfaction in the mere existence of this camp, the -two small tents perched there on the vast mountain-side of snow-bound -rocks and actually higher, at 25,000 feet, than any climbing party had -been before. “Hang it all!” we cooed, “it’s not so bad.” - -The worst of it in dimly conscious moments was still the weather. The -wind had dropped in the evening, as it often does, and nothing was to be -deduced from that; but the hovering clouds had not cleared off and the -night was too warm. I’m not meaning that we complained of the warmth; -but for fine weather we must have a cold night, and it was no colder -here than we had often known it at Camp III.[6] Occasionally stars were -visible during the night; but they shone with a feeble, watery light, -and in the early morning we were listening to the musical patter of -fine, granular snow on the roofs of our tents. A thick mist had come up -all about us, and the stones outside were white with a growing pall of -fresh snow. We were greatly surprised under these conditions when, at -about 6.30 a.m., a perceptible break appeared in the clouds to the East -of us, the “weather quarter,” and this good sign developed so hopefully -that we were soon encouraged to expect a fair day. It was even more -surprising perhaps that some one among us very quickly discovered his -conscience: “I suppose,” he said with a stifled yawn, in a tone that -reminded one of Mr. Saltena rolling over in his costly bed, “it’s about -time we were getting up.” No one dissented—how could one dissent? “I -suppose we ought to be getting up,” we grunted in turn, and slowly we -began to draw ourselves out from the tight warmth of those friendly -bags. - -Footnote 6: - - The thermometer confirmed our senses and showed a minimum reading for - the night of 7° F. - -I do not propose to emphasise the various agonies of an early-morning -start or to catalogue all that may be found for fumbling fingers to do; -but one incident is worth recording. A second rucksack escaped us, -slipping from the ledge where it was perched, and went bounding down the -mountain. Its value, even Norton will agree, was greater than that of -the first; it contained our provisions; our breakfast was inside it. -From the moment of its elusion I gave it up for lost. What could stop -its fatal career? What did stop it unless it were a miracle? Somehow or -another it was hung up on a ledge 100 feet below. Morshead volunteered -to go and get it. By slow degrees he dragged up the heavy load, and our -precious stores were recovered intact. - -At 8 a.m. we were ready to start and roped up, Norton first, followed by -myself, Morshead and Somervell. This bald statement of fact may suggest -a misleading picture; the reader may imagine the four of us like runners -at the start of a race, greyhounds straining at the leash, with nerves -on the stretch and muscles aching for the moment when they can be -suddenly tight in strong endeavour. It was not like that. I suppose we -had all the same feelings in various degrees, and even our slight -exertions about the camp had shown us something of our physical state. -In spite of the occasional sleep of exhaustion it had been a long, -restless night, scarcely less wearisome than the preceding day; we were -tired no less than when we went to bed, and stiff from lying in cramped -attitudes. I was clear about my own case. Struggling across with an -awkward load from one tent to the other, I had been forced to put the -question, Is it possible for me to go on? Judging from physical -evidence, No; I hadn’t the power to lift my weight repeatedly step after -step. And yet from experience I knew that I should go on for a time at -all events; something would set the machinery going and somehow I should -be able to keep it at work. And when the moment of starting came I felt -some little stir of excitement. If we were not going to experience “the -wild joy of living, the leaping from rock up to rock,” on the other hand -this was not to be a sort of funeral procession. A certain keenness of -anticipation is associated merely with tying on the rope. We tied it on -now partly for convenience, so that no one would be obliged to carry it -on his back, but no less for its moral effect: a roped party is more -closely united; the separate wills of individuals are joined into a -stronger common will. Our roping-up was the last act of preparation. We -had “got ourselves ready,” lacing up our boots so as to be just tight -enough but not too tight, disposing puttees so that they would not slip -down, attending to one small thing or another about our clothing for -warmth and comfort’s sake, possibly even tightening a buckle or doing up -a button simply for neatness, and not forgetting to arrange the few -things we wanted to take with us, some in rucksacks, some nearer to hand -in pockets. Two of us, Norton and I, as Somervell’s photograph proves, -appeared positively dainty; the word seems hardly applicable to -Somervell himself: but at all events we were all ready; we felt ready; -and when all these details of preparation culminated in tying on the -rope we felt something more, derived from the many occasions in the past -when readiness in mind and body contained the keen anticipation of -strenuous delights. - -How quickly the physical facts of our case asserted their importance! We -had only moved upwards a few steps when Morshead stopped. “I think I -won’t come with you any farther,” he said. “I know I should only keep -you back.” Considering his condition on the previous day I had not -supposed Morshead would get very much higher; but this morning he had so -made light of his troubles, and worn so cheerful a countenance, that we -heard his statement now with surprise and anxiety. We understood very -well the spirit of the remark; if Morshead said that, there could be no -longer a question of his coming on, but we wondered whether one of us -should not stay behind with him. However, he declared that he was not -seriously unwell and was perfectly capable of looking after himself. -Somervell’s judgment as a doctor confirmed him, and it was decided he -should remain in camp while we three went on without him. - -[Illustration: - - MALLORY AND NORTON APPROACHING THEIR HIGHEST POINT, 26,985 FT. -] - -Our first object was to regain the crest of the North ridge, not by -retracing our steps to the point where we had left it yesterday, but -slanting up to meet it perhaps 800 feet above us. Ascent is possible -almost everywhere on these broken slopes; a steeper pitch can usually be -avoided, and the more difficult feats of climbing need not be performed. -In fact, the whole problem for the mountaineer is quite unlike that -presented by the ridge of any great mountain in the Alps, which, if it -is not definitely a snow ridge like that from the Dômedu Gouter to the -summit of Mont Blanc, will almost invariably present a sharper edge and -a more broken crest. On the North ridge of Everest one has the -sensations rather of climbing the face than the ridge of a mountain; and -it is best thought of as a face-climb, for one is actually on the North -face, though at the edge of it. I can think of no exact parallel in the -Alps—the nearest perhaps would be the easier parts on the Hornli ridge -of the Matterhorn, if we were to imagine the stones to be fewer, larger -and more secure. Somervell’s photographs will convey more to the trained -eye of a mountaineer than any words of mine, and it will readily be -understood that there was no question for us of gymnastic struggles and -strong arm-pulls, wedging ourselves in cracks and hanging on our -finger-tips. We should soon have been turned back by difficulties of -that sort. We could allow ourselves nothing in the nature of a violent -struggle. We must avoid any hasty movement. It would have exhausted us -at once to proceed by rushing up a few steps at a time. We wanted to hit -off just that mean pace which we could keep up without rapidly losing -our strength, to proceed evenly with balanced movements, saving effort, -to keep our form, as oarsmen say, at the end of the race, remembering to -step neatly and transfer the weight from one leg to the other by -swinging the body rhythmically upwards. With the occasional help of the -hands we were able to keep going for spells of twenty or thirty minutes -before halting for three or four or five minutes to gather potential -energy for pushing on again. Our whole power seemed to depend on the -lungs. The air, such as it was, was inhaled through the mouth and -expired again to some sort of tune in the unconscious mind, and the -lungs beat time, as it were, for the feet. An effort of will was -required not so much to induce any movement of the limbs as to set the -lungs to work and keep them working. So long as they were working evenly -and well the limbs would do their duty automatically, it seemed, as -though actuated by a hidden spring. I remember one rather longer halt. -In spite of all my care I found that one of my feet was painfully cold, -and fearing frostbite I took off my boot. Norton rubbed my foot warm. I -had been wearing four thick socks, and now put back on this foot only -three. As it remained warm for the rest of the day I have no doubt that -the boot was previously too tight. Once again I learned the futility of -stopping the circulation by wearing one layer of wool too many. - -It was our intention naturally in setting out this day to reach the -summit of Mount Everest. Provided we were not stopped by a -mountaineering difficulty, and that was unlikely, the fate of our -Expedition would depend on the two factors, time and speed. Of course, -we might become too exhausted to go farther before reaching our goal; -but the consideration of speed really covers that case, for provided one -were capable of moving his limbs at all he would presumably be able to -crawl a few steps only so slowly that there would be no point in doing -so. From the outset we were short of time; we should have started two -hours earlier; the weather prevented us. The fresh snow was an -encumbrance, lying everywhere on the ledges from 4 inches to 8 inches -deep; it must have made a difference, though not a large one. In any -case, when we measured our rate of progress it was not satisfactory, at -most 400 feet an hour, not counting halts, and diminishing a little as -we went up. It became clear that if we could go no farther—and we -couldn’t without exhausting ourselves at once—we should still at the -best be struggling upwards after night had fallen again. We were -prepared to leave it to braver men to climb Mount Everest by night. - -By agreeing to this arithmetical computation we tacitly accepted defeat. -And if we were not to reach the summit, what remained for us to do? None -of us, I believe, cared much about any lower objective. We were not -greatly interested then in the exact number of feet by which we should -beat a record. It must be remembered that the mind is not easily -interested under such conditions. The intelligence is gradually numbed -as the supply of oxygen diminishes and the body comes nearer to -exhaustion. Looking back on my own mental processes as we approached -27,000 feet, I can find no traces of insanity, nothing completely -illogical; within a small compass I was able to reason, no doubt very -slowly. But my reasoning was concerned only with one idea; beyond its -range I can recall no thought. The view, for instance—and as a rule I’m -keen enough about the view—did not interest me; I was not “taking -notice.” Wonderful as such an experience would be, I had not even the -desire to look over the North-east ridge; I would have gladly got to the -North-east shoulder as being the sort of place one ought to reach, but I -had no strong desire to get there, and none at all for the wonder of -being there. I dare say the others were more mentally alive than I; but -when it came to deciding what we should do, we had no lively discussion. -It seemed to me that we should get back to Morshead in time to take him -down this same day to Camp IV. There was some sense in this idea, and -many mountaineers may think we were right to make it a first -consideration. But the alternative of sleeping a second night at our -highest camp and returning next day to Camp III was never mentioned. It -may have been that we shrank unconsciously from another night in such -discomfort; whether the thought was avoided in this way, or simply was -not born, our minds were not behaving as we would wish them to behave. -The idea of reaching Camp IV with Morshead before dark, once it had been -accepted, controlled us altogether. It was easy to calculate from our -upward speed, supposing that we could treble this on the descent, at -what time we ought to turn; we agreed to start down at 2.30 p.m., but we -would maintain our rate of progress as best we could until that time -approached. - -At 2.15 we completed the ascent of a steeper pitch and found ourselves -on the edge of an easier terrain, where the mountain slopes back towards -the North-east shoulder. It was an obvious place for a halt: we were in -need of food; and we lay against the rocks to spend the remaining -fifteen minutes before we should turn for the descent according to our -bond. None of us was altogether “cooked”; we were not brought to a -standstill because our limbs would carry us no farther. I should be very -sorry to reach such a condition at this altitude; for one would not -recover easily; and a man who cannot take care of himself on the descent -will probably be the cause of disaster to his companions, who will have -little enough strength remaining to help themselves and him. It is -impossible to say how much farther we might have gone. In the light of -subsequent events it would seem that the margin of strength to deal with -an emergency was already small enough. I have little doubt that we could -have struggled up perhaps in two hours more to the North-east shoulder, -now little more than 400 feet above us. Whether we should then have been -fit to conduct our descent in safety is another matter. - -While we ate such food as we had with us, chiefly sugar in one form or -another, chocolate, mintcake, or acid-drops, and best of all raisins and -prunes, we now had leisure to look about us. The summit of Everest, or -what appeared to be the summit (I doubt if we saw the ultimate tip), -lying back along the North-east ridge, was not impressive, and we were -too near up under this ridge to add anything to former observations as -to the nature of its obstacles. The view was necessarily restricted when -Everest itself hid so much country. But it was a pleasure to look -westwards across the broad North face and down it towards the Rongbuk -Glacier; it was satisfactory to notice that the North Peak which, though -perceptibly below us, had still held, so to speak, a place in our circle -when we started in the morning, this same Changtse had now become a -contemptible fellow beneath our notice. We saw his black plebeian head -rising from the mists, mists that filled all the valleys, so that there -was nothing in all the world as we looked from North-east to North-west -but the great twins Gyachung Kang and Chö Uyo; and even these, though -they regarded us still from a station of equality, were actually -inferior. The lesser of them is 26,000 feet, and we could clearly afford -to despise him; the greater Chö Uyo we had to regard respectfully before -we could be sure; his triangulated height is 26,870, whereas our aneroid -was reading only 26,800; it seemed that we were looking over his head, -but such appearances are deceptive, and we were glad to have the -confirmation of the theodolite later proving that we had reached 26,985 -feet—higher than Chö Uyo by 100 feet and more. - -The beneficent superiority with which we now regarded the whole world -except Mount Everest no doubt helped us to swallow our luncheon—or was -it dinner?—a difficult matter, for our tongues were hanging out after so -much exercise of breathing. We had no chance of finding a trickle here -as one often may in the blessed Alps; and medical opinion, which knew -all about what was good for us, frowned upon the notion of alcoholic -stimulant for a climber in distress at a high altitude. And so, very -naturally, when one of us (Be of good cheer, my friend, I won’t give you -away!) produced from his pocket a flask of Brandy—each of us took a -little nip. I am glad to relate that the result was excellent; it is -logically certain therefore that the Brandy contained no alcohol. The -non-alcoholic Brandy, then, no doubt by reason of what it lacked, had an -important spiritual effect; it gave us just the mental fillip which we -required to pull ourselves together for the descent. - -[Illustration: - - SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVEREST FROM THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE FIRST CLIMB, - 26,983 FEET, 21ST MAY, 1922. -] - -Happily inspired by our “medical comfort,” I announced that I would take -the lead. Norton and I changed places on the rope. I optimistically -supposed that I should find an easier way down by a continuous -snow-slope to the West of the ridge. Somervell, also moved by -inspiration, suggested that he should remain behind to make a sketch and -hurry down our tracks to catch us up later. He says that I found it -difficult to understand that he would only require a few minutes, and -that I replied irritably. I can hardly believe that my tone just then -was anything but suave, but I have no doubt I was glad to have him with -us to be our sheet-anchor, and particularly so a little later, for we -were in difficulties almost at once. We found more snow on this new -line, as I had supposed; but it was not to our liking; it lay not on a -continuous slope, but covering a series of slabs and only too ready to -slide off. We were obliged to work back to the ridge itself and follow -it down in our morning’s tracks. - -At 4 p.m. we reached our camp, where Morshead was waiting. He was -feeling perfectly well, he reported, and ready to come down with us to -Camp IV. After collecting a few of our possessions which we did not wish -to abandon to the uncertain future, we roped up once more to continue -our descent. So far our pace going down had been highly satisfactory. In -the Alps one usually expects to descend on easy ground twice as fast as -one would go up. But we had divided our time of ascent by 4, and in an -hour and a half had come down 2,000 feet. Under normal conditions at -lower altitudes even this pace would be considered slow; it would not be -an exceptionally fast pace for going up these slopes; and yet the image -that stays in my memory is of a party coming down quite fast. It is -evident that the whole standard of speed is altered. On the ascent, too, -I had the sensation of moving about twice as fast as we actually were. I -imagine that the whole of life was scaled down, as it were, that we were -living both physically and mentally at half, or less than half, the -normal rate. However that may be, we had now to descend only 2,000 feet -to Camp IV, and with more than three hours’ daylight left we supposed we -should have no difficulty in reaching our tents before dark. - -Meditating after the event about the whole of our performance this day, -I have often wondered how we should have appeared at various stages to -an unfatigued and competent observer. No doubt he would have noted with -some misgiving the gradually diminishing pace of the party as it crawled -upwards; but he would have been satisfied, I think, that each man had -control of his limbs and a sure balance, and as we were moving along -together over ground where the rope will very easily be caught under the -points of projecting rocks and thereby cause inconvenience and delay -while it is unhitched, this observer, watching the rope, would have -noticed that in fact it almost never was caught up. The party at all -events were “keeping their form” to the extent of managing the rope as -it ought to be managed. For a moment when they were in difficulties -after turning back, he might have thought them rather shaky; but even -here they were able to pull themselves together and proceed with proper -attention and care. Whether he would have noticed any difference when -they started off again I cannot say. A certain impetus of concentration, -a gathering of mental and physical energy, a reserve called up from who -knows where when they turned to face the descent, had perhaps spent its -force; and though the party was a stage nearer to the end of the -journey, it was also a stage nearer to exhaustion and to that state -where carelessness so readily slips in unperceived. It may be supposed -we were a degree less alert, all the more because we foresaw no -difficulty; we had not exercised the imagination to figure difficulties -on the descent, and we now came upon them unexpectedly. - -The fresh snow fallen during the night had so altered appearances that -we could not be certain, as we traversed back towards the ridge again, -that we were exactly following the line by which we had approached our -camp the day before. My impression is that we went too low and missed -it. We were soon working along broken ground above a broad snow slope. -Fresh snow had to be cleared away alike from protruding rocks where we -wished to put our feet and from the old snow where we must cut steps. It -was not a difficult place and yet not easy, as the slope below us was -dangerous and yet not very steep, not steep enough to be really alarming -or specially to warn the climber that a slip may be fatal. It was an -occasion when the need for care and attention was greater than obviously -appeared, just the sort to catch a tired party off their guard. Perhaps -the steps were cut too hastily, or in one way and another were taking -small risks that we would not usually take. The whole party would not -necessarily have been in grave danger because one man lost his footing. -But we were unprepared. When the third man slipped the last man was -moving, and was at once pulled off his balance. The second in the party, -though he must have checked these two, could not hold them. In a moment -the three of them were slipping down and gathering speed on a slope -where nothing would stop them until they reached the plateau of the East -Rongbuk Glacier, 3,500 feet below. The leader for some reason had become -anxious about the party a minute or two earlier, and though he too was -moving when the slip occurred and could see nothing of what went on -behind him, he was on the alert; warned now by unusual sounds that -something was wrong, he at once struck the pick of his axe into the -snow, and hitched the rope round the head of it. Standing securely his -position was good, and while holding the rope in his right hand beyond -the hitch, he was able to press with the other on the shaft of the axe, -his whole weight leaning towards the slope so as to hold the pick of the -axe into the snow. Even so it would be almost impossible to check the -combined momentum of three men at once. In ninety-nine cases out of a -hundred either the belay will give or the rope will break. In the still -moment of suspense before the matter must be put to the test nothing -further could be done to prevent a disaster one way or the other. The -rope suddenly tightened and tugged at the axe-head. It gave a little as -it gripped the metal like a hawser on a bollard. The pick did not budge. -Then the rope came taut between the moving figures, and the rope showed -what it was worth. From one of the bodies which had slid and now was -stopped proceeded an utterance, not in the best taste, reproaching his -fate, because he must now start going up hill again when he should have -been descending. The danger had passed. The weight of three men had not -come upon the rope with a single jerk. The two lengths between the three -as they slipped down were presumably not stretched tight, and the second -man had been checked directly below the leader before the other two. -Probably he also did something to check those below him, for he was -partly held up by projecting rocks and almost at once recovered his -footing. We were soon secure again on the mountain-side, and—not the -least surprising fact—no one had been hurt. - -I suppose we must all have felt rather shaken by an incident which came -so near to being a catastrophe. But a party will not necessarily be less -competent or climb worse on that account. At all events we had received -a warning and now proceeded with the utmost caution, moving one at a -time over the snow-covered ledges. It was slow work. This little -distance which with fair conditions could easily be traversed in a -quarter of an hour must have taken us about five times as long. However, -when we reached the ridge and again looked down the snow where we had -come up the day before, though it was clear enough we must waste no -time, we did not feel greatly pressed. Our old tracks were, of course, -covered, and we looked about for a way to avoid this slope; but it -seemed better to go down by the way we knew, and we were soon busy -chipping steps. It was a grim necessity at this hour of the day. I felt -one might almost have slipped down checking himself with the axe. We -were distinctly tempted. But after all, we were not playing with this -mountain; it might be playing with us. There was a clear risk, and we -were not compelled to accept it. We must keep on slowly cutting our -steps. The long toil was shared among us until the slope eased off and -we had nothing more to fear. We looked down to the North Col below us. -No difficulty could stop our descent. We had still an hour of daylight. -After all, with ordinary good fortune, we should be back in our tents -before dark. - -I had been aware for some time that Morshead, though he was going -steadily and well, was more tired than the rest of us. His long halt at -our high camp can have done him little good. He had not recovered. His -strength had just served to keep him up where it was urgently necessary -that he should preserve his balance; but it was now exhausted; he had -quite come to the end of his resources, and at best he could move -downwards a few steps at a time. It was difficult to see what could be -done for him. There were places where we might sit down and rest, and we -should be obliged not only to stop often for two or three minutes, but -also to stay occasionally for perhaps ten minutes or a quarter of an -hour. Anything like a longer halt must be avoided if possible, as the -air was already cold, and an exhausted man would be particularly -sensitive. Probably a longer rest would not have helped him, and we -proceeded as best we could, so as to avoid delay as much as possible. -One of us, and it was usually Norton, gave Morshead the support of his -shoulder and an arm round his waist, while I went first, to pick out -exactly the most convenient line, and Somervell was our rearguard in any -steeper place. So we crawled down the mountain-side in the gathering -darkness, until as I looked back from a few yards ahead my companions -were distinguishable only as vague forms silhouetted against the snow. -There were long hours before us yet, and they would be hours of -darkness. Occasionally the flicker of lightning from distant clouds away -to the West reminded us that the present calm might sometime be -disturbed. Perhaps below on the col, or it might be sooner, the old -unfriendly wind would meet us once again. For the present it was -fortunate that the way was easy; the great thing was to keep on the -snow, and we found that the edge of rocks by which we had come up, and -where it was now so much more difficult to get along, could be avoided -almost everywhere. With the same edge of stones to guide us, we could -not miss our way, and were still stumbling on in the dark without a -lantern when we reached the North Col. But we had a lantern with us, and -a candle too, in Somervell’s rucksack, and we should now require a -light. I was reminded once again of the most merciful circumstance, for -the air was still so calm that even with matches of a Japanese brand, -continually execrated among us, we had no difficulty in lighting our -candle. - -Two hundred yards, or little more in a direct line, now separated us -from our tents, with the promise of safety, repose, and warmth in our -soft eiderdown bags. Looking back, I never can make out how we came to -spend so long in reaching them. We had but to go along the broken saddle -of snow and ice where our tracks lay, and then drop down to our camp on -the shelf. But the tracks were concealed, and not to be found; crevasses -lay under the snow waiting for us. With nothing to guide us, we must -proceed cautiously, and once among the confusing shapes of white walls -and terraces and monticules and corridors, it was the easiest thing in -the world to lose our way. Somervell, who had covered the ground once -each way more often than any of us, held the helm, so to speak, against -a sea of conflicting opinions. Even he, now our leader, was not always -right, and we had more than once to come back along our tracks and take -a cast in another direction. To avoid the possible trouble or disaster -of having two men at once in a crevasse, we were obliged to keep our -intervals on the ropes, so that Morshead had now to take care of -himself. Perhaps the lower altitude had already begun to tell, for he -was stronger now, and came along much better than was to be expected. At -length we reached a recognisable landmark, a cliff of ice about 15 feet -high, where we had jumped down over a crevasse on our first visit here -in order to avoid a disagreeable long step over another crevasse on an -alternative route. I was very glad we had come this way rather than the -other, for though, looking down at the dimly lit space of snow which was -to receive us, I boggled a little at the idea of this leap, the -landing-place was sure to be soft, and it would be easy not to miss it. - -[Illustration: - - THE FIRST CLIMBING PARTY. -] - -I think each of us was just a little relieved when he found himself -safely down, and I dimly remember congratulating, not Morshead, but -Longstaff. I had already transposed the names several times, and he now -protested; but it made no difference, as I could remember no other. -“Longstaff” became an _idée fixe_, and though the entity of Morshead -remained unconfused—I did not, for instance, give him Longstaff’s -beard—he was fixedly Longstaff until the following morning. - -The agreeable change of finding ourselves together in that curious coign -was hardly disturbed by Somervell’s remark, “We’re very near the end of -our candle.” We felt we were all very near the end of our journey, for -we had dimly made out from the higher level we had just quitted the neat -rank of our tents still standing on the shelf below and ready to welcome -us. We had only to find the rope which had been fixed on the steep slope -below us and we should be at the end of our troubles. But the rope was -deeply buried, and we searched in vain, dragging the snow with our picks -along the edge of the fall. We were still searching when the last of our -candle burnt out. In the end we must do without the rope, and began the -abrupt descent tentatively, dubiously, uncertain that we had hit off -just the right place. The situation was decidedly disagreeable. Suddenly -someone among us hitched up the rope from under the snow. It may be -imagined we were not slow to grasp it. The blessed security of feeling -the frozen but helpful thing firmly in our hands! We positively made -some sort of a noise; unrecognisable, perhaps, it would have been to -sober daylight beings who know how to produce the proper effect, but if -a dim bat of the night were asked what this noise resembled, he might -have indicated that distantly, but without mistake it was like a cheer. -A few minutes more and then—then, at 11.30 p.m., and there on the good -flat snow as we fumbled at the tent-doors, then and there at last we -began to say, “Thank God.” - -Had we known what was yet in store for us, or rather what was not in -store, we might have waited a little longer for so emphatic an -exclamation. We were in need of food, and no solid food could be eaten -until something had been done towards satisfying our thirst. It was not -that one felt, at least I did not feel, a desire to drink; but the long -effort of the lungs during the day in a rarefied atmosphere where -evaporation is so rapid had deprived the body of moisture to such an -extent that it was impossible to swallow, for instance, a ration -biscuit. We must first melt snow and have water. But where were the -cooking-pots? We searched the tents without finding a trace of them. -Presumably the porters whom we had expected to find here had taken them -down to Camp III in error. As we sat slowly unlacing our boots within -the tents, it was impossible to believe in this last misfortune. We -waited for a brainwave; but no way could be devised of melting the snow -without a vessel. Still supperless, we wriggled into our sleeping-bags. -And then something happened in Norton’s head. In his visions of all that -was succulent and juicy and fit to be swallowed with ease and pleasure -there had suddenly appeared an ice-cream. It was this that he now -proposed to us; we had the means at hand to make ice-creams, he said. A -tin of strawberry jam was opened; frozen Ideal Milk was hacked out of -another; these two ingredients were mixed with snow, and it only -remained to eat the compound. To my companions this seemed an easy -matter; their appetite for strawberry cream ice was hardly nice to -watch. I too managed to swallow down a little before the deadly -sickliness of the stuff disgusted me. My gratitude to Norton was -afterwards cooled by disagreeable sensations. In the last drowsy moments -before complete forgetfulness I was convulsed by shudderings which I was -powerless to control; the muscles of my back seemed to be contracted -with cramp; and, short of breath, I was repeatedly obliged to raise -myself on my elbows and start again that solemn exercise of -deep-breathing as though the habit had become indispensable. - -The last stage of our descent to Camp III had still to be accomplished -on the following morning of May 22. I imagine that a fresh man with old -tracks to help him might cover the distance from Camp IV in about an -hour and a quarter. But no sign was left of our old tracks, and the snow -was deeper here than higher up. Only in the harder substance below the -fresh surface could new steps be cut wherever the slope was steep; and -as we began to understand that the way would be long and toilsome, -another thought occurred to us—our sleeping-bags at Camp IV would now be -required at Camp III, and porters must be sent to fetch them. Our -tracks, therefore, must be made safe for them. Half our labour was in -hewing so fine a staircase that the porters would be able to go up and -down unescorted without danger. The wearisome descent, which began at 6 -a.m., continued far into the morning; the sun pierced the vapoury mists -and the heat was immoderate now as the cold had been higher up. The -fatigued party regarded the conventions until the first man reached the -snow at the foot of the final ice-slope. There, so far as I could -understand, the van became possessed of the idea that it would be more -companionable for all to finish together. I found myself deliberately -pulled from my steps and slid about 80 feet down the ice until the pick -of my axe pulled me up at the foot of the slope. I could have borne the -ignominy of my involuntary glissade had I not found Finch at the foot of -the slope taking advantage of my situation with a kodak. - -[Illustration: - - FROSTBITTEN CLIMBER BEING HELPED DOWN TO CAMP II. -] - -The presence of Finch was easily explained. Reinforcements had arrived -at Camp III in our absence, and the transport had worked with such -wonderful speed that the oxygen cylinders were already in action. Finch, -whom we had last heard of in bed with dysentery at the Base Camp, had -shown such energy that he was now testing the oxygen apparatus with -Wakefield and Geoffrey Bruce. They were bound for the North Col with a -party of porters, so the return of our sleeping-bags was easily -arranged. The lesser injustices of fate are hard to forgive, and we -regretted labour that might have been left to others. However, Wakefield -now took us in charge, and at noon we were at Camp III once more. Strutt -and Morris had come out to meet us. Noel had stayed in camp, and, like a -tormentor waiting for his disarmed victim, there we found the “movie” -camera and him winding the handle. - -However, our welcome in camp is a pleasing memory. The supply of tea was -inexhaustible. Somervell confesses to having drunk seventeen mugfuls; he -can hardly have been so moderate. Morshead probably needed to drink more -than any of us; he ascribed his exhaustion on the mountain to want of -liquid, and medical opinion was inclined to agree with the suggestion. -However that may be, the night’s rest at a lower elevation had largely -restored his strength, and Morshead arrived at Camp III no more fatigued -to all appearances than the rest of us. But he bore the marks of his -painful ordeal. His condition had made him a prey to the cold, and we -only began to realise how badly he had been frostbitten as we sat in -camp while Wakefield bound up the black swollen fingers. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE ATTEMPT WITH OXYGEN - - By - CAPTAIN GEORGE FINCH - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE SECOND ATTEMPT - - -With the departure of the last of our companions on March 27, Crawford -and I found ourselves left behind in Darjeeling impatiently awaiting the -arrival of the oxygen equipment from Calcutta. A week elapsed before we -were able to set out for Kalimpong, where we picked up the oxygen stores -on April 4. On the evening of our second march out from Kalimpong, -suspicious rattlings were heard in the cases containing the oxygen -cylinders. On investigation, it transpired that they had been packed -metal to metal, and the continual chafing caused by the rough mule -transport had already resulted in considerable wear in the steel. This -dangerous state of affairs, which, if not speedily remedied, would -undoubtedly soon have led to the bursting of some of the cylinders, with -consequent demoralisation of our transport, let alone possible -casualties, called for immediate attention; so throughout the night of -April 5–6, Crawford and I, aided by our porters, worked steadily at -grommeting the cylinders with string and repacking them in such a manner -as would render impossible any recurrence of the trouble. - -On April 8, in a snowstorm, we crossed the Jelep La; thence, proceeding -viâ the Chumbi Valley and Phari, we ultimately rejoined the main body of -the Expedition in Kampa Dzong on the 13th. The rest of our journey -across Tibet to the Base Camp has already been described elsewhere, but -perhaps I may be permitted to give a few of my own impressions of the -country and its inhabitants. - -In recollection, the strange land of Tibet stretches itself out before -me in an endless succession of vast, dreary plains, broken by chains of -mountains that, in relation to the height of their surroundings, sink -into the insignificance of hills. Arid and stony desert wastes, almost -totally unblessed by the living green of vegetation; interminable tracts -of sand that shift unceasingly under the restless feet of an -ever-hurrying, pitilessly cruel wind; bleak, barren, and unbeautiful of -form, but fair and of indescribable appeal in the raiment of soft -glowing rainbow hues with which distance, as in compensation, clothes -all wide open spaces. Sunsets provided many a wondrous picture, while -towards the South a glistening array of white-capped excrescences marked -the main chain of the Himalaya. The honour of being the most poignant of -my memories of Tibet, however, remains with the wind. It blew -unceasingly, and its icy blasts invariably met one straight in the face. -The pre-monsoon wind is westerly; the post-monsoon wind blows from the -East. Our journey towards the Base Camp led us towards the West; -homeward bound, during the monsoon, we travelled East. Both going and -returning, therefore, we marched in the teeth of a wind, that gnawed -even at our weather-beaten, hardened skins, and was the most generous -contributor in the quota of discomforts that Tibet meted out to us. - -And what of the dwellers in these inhospitable plains? Like all -humankind, the Tibetans have their bad as well as their good points. The -former are easily told. If one wishes to converse with a Tibetan, it is -always advisable to stand on his windward side. A noble Tibetan once -boasted that during his lifetime he had had two baths—one on the -occasion of his birth, the other on the day of his marriage. Those of us -honoured by his presence found the statement difficult to believe. Apart -from this rather penetrating drawback, the Tibetans are a most likeable -people; cheery, contented, good-natured, and hard-working; slow to give -a promise, but punctilious to a degree in carrying it out; truthful and -scrupulously honest. As testimony of this last-mentioned trait, be it -said that during the whole of our long wanderings through Tibet, when it -was quite impossible to keep a strong guard over our many stores, we -never lost so much as a single ration biscuit through theft. Old age is -seldom met with; it is exceptional to see a Tibetan whose years number -more than fifty-five or sixty. Presumably living in so severe a climate, -at an altitude of 14,000 feet or more above sea-level, proves too great -a strain upon the human heart. The priests, or “Lamas,” as they are -called in Tibet, constitute the governing class. They represent the -educated section of the community; the monasteries are the seats of -learning, and, as such, are well-nigh all-powerful. I regret to state -that I did not like the priests as much as the laity. The reason is not -far to seek. If you wish to hold converse with a Lama, it is advisable -not only to stand on his windward side, but also to take care that the -wind is exceptionally strong. The Lamas do not marry. As two-fifths of -the able-bodied population of Tibet lead a monastic life, it will be -readily understood that the odour of sanctity is all-pervading. In other -respects the monks proved as attractive as their simpler countrymen. -Inquisitive with the direct and pardonable inquisitiveness of children, -they are nevertheless men of a distinctly high order of intelligence. -Kindly, courteous, and appreciative of little attentions, they were -always ready to lend assistance and to give information concerning their -religion and the manners and customs of their country. - -These few of the more lasting of my impressions would be incomplete -without mention of Tibetan music. On the assumption that whatever is, is -beautiful, Tibetan music is beautiful—to the Tibetan. To the Western ear -it is elementary in the extreme, and, in point of view of sheer ugliness -of sound, competes with the jarring, clashing squeaks, bangs, and hoots -of the jazz-bands that were so fashionable at home at the time of our -departure for India. - -On May 2, the day after our arrival at the Base Camp, Strutt, Norton, -and I were sent off by the General to reconnoitre for a suitable first -camping site near the exit of the East Rongbuk Valley. Gaining the -latter by the so-called terrace route which leads over the tremendous -moraines on the right bank of the main Rongbuk Glacier, we had no -difficulty in finding on the right bank of the East Rongbuk Stream, but -a few hundred yards West of the end of the East Rongbuk Glacier, a -favourable position for Camp No. I. We returned that afternoon, -descending down the snowed-over and frozen-up stream to the main Rongbuk -Glacier, making our way thence to the Base Camp through the trough -leading down between the glacier and the moraines. With this little -excursion my climbing activities ceased for the time being. Soon -afterwards I was beset by a troublesome stomach complaint, which had -already claimed as victims the majority of the other members of the -Expedition, and it was not until May 16 that I was sufficiently restored -from the wearing effects of my illness to resume climbing. In spite of -this, my time at the Base Camp was fully occupied. Frequent oxygen -drills were held, and all the oxygen stores overhauled and tested. -Various members of the Expedition were instructed in the use of Primus -stoves. There were many small repairs of different natures to be done, -and in my leisure moments I was kept busy with matters photographic. In -addition, Mount Everest and the weather conditions prevalent thereon -became objects of the keenest study and interest. The remark, “I suppose -Mont Blanc would be absolutely dwarfed into insignificance by Mount -Everest,” has frequently been made to me in one form or another, and, to -my questioners’ amazement, my answer has always been a decided “No.” As -a matter of fact, Mont Blanc, as seen from the Brévant or the Flégère, -excels in every way any view I have ever enjoyed of Mount Everest. It is -true that I have seen the latter only from a tableland which is itself -from 14,000 to 16,000 feet above sea-level, and that I know nothing of -the wonderful sight that Mount Everest probably presents to the observer -from the Southern (Nepalese) side. The grandeur of a mountain depends -very largely upon the extent to which it is glaciated. Mont Blanc is -nearly 16,000 feet high, and its glaciers descend to within 4,000 feet -of sea-level—a vertical zone of 12,000 feet of perpetual ice and snow. -Those glaciers of Mount Everest which flow North, and thus the only ones -with which we are concerned, descend to a point about 16,500 feet above -sea-level—a vertical zone of 12,500 feet of perpetual ice and snow. Thus -it is evident that, from the point of view of vertical extent of -glaciation, there is little difference between the monarch of the Alps -and the Northern side of the highest summit in the world. From the point -of view of beauty there can be no comparison. Seen from one quarter, -Mont Blanc rises in a series of snowy domes piled one against the other -in ever-increasing altitude to a massive yet beautifully proportioned -and well-balanced whole. From another side we see great converging -granite columns, breathing the essence of noble purpose, proudly -supporting and lifting aloft to the sun the gleaming, snowy-capped -splendour of the summit dome. Another view-point, though revealing -perhaps a less beautiful Mont Blanc, lacking much of the graceful -symmetry and strong, purposeful design of the other views, is redeemed -by the fact that the observer is forced in so close to the mountain that -the rattling din of stonefalls and the loud crash of the ice-avalanche -are always in his ears. Mont Blanc asserts her authority with no -uncertain voice. In the Mount Everest as we of this Expedition know it, -revealed in the full glare of the tropical sun, all this is lacking. -Symmetry and beauty cannot truthfully be read out of the ponderous, -ungainly, ill-proportioned lump which carries, as if by chance, on its -Western extremity a little carelessly truncated cone to serve as a -summit. Avalanches are neither seen nor heard. Falling stones there are -without doubt, but one is too far off to hear them. Yet Everest had her -moments. Diffused with the borrowed glory of sunrise or sunset, and clad -in a mantle of fresh snow, the harsh clumsiness of her form would be -somewhat softened and concealed; bathed in the yellow-blue light of -dawn, as yet unkissed by the sun, but whipped into wakefulness by a -driving westerly wind that tore from head and shoulders the snowy veil -which she had donned during the night, rending it into long, spun-out -living streamers, no beholder could gainsay her beauty. - -[Illustration: - - MOUNT EVEREST FROM BASE CAMP. -] - -Weather conditions naturally proved of the greatest interest. On -consulting my diary, I find that during the period from May 1 to June 5, -there were two days when the weather was fine and settled, and that -these two days succeeded snowstorms which had thickly powdered the -mountain with fresh snow. On both days the sky was cloudless, or nearly -so, and, judging from the absence of driven snow-dust about the summit, -Mount Everest appeared to be undisturbed by wind. Apart from these two -occasions, however, the weather was never absolutely fine. Cloudless -skies there were, but the great streamers of snow smoking away from the -highest ridges of the mountain testified to the existence of the fierce -and bitter wind against which a mountaineer would have to fight his way. -On four occasions there were periods of snowstorms lasting from but a -single night to three days and three nights. - -On May 10, Mallory and Somervell set out for Camp III, to make ready for -a first attempt to climb Mount Everest. I had practically recovered from -my stomach trouble, and expected to be able to leave the Base in the -course of a day or two, in order to follow up the first attempt with a -second attack, in which oxygen was to be used. Norton was to be my -companion. Unfortunately, however, I suffered a relapse, and Strutt, -Norton, and Morshead left to join Mallory and Somervell, whereas I had -to resign myself to several more days at the Base. At length, on May 15, -I was ready and eager to think about doing something. My climbing -companions were Geoffrey Bruce and Lance-Corporal Tejbir, the most -promising of the Ghurkas. Wakefield was to accompany us as far as Camp -III, in order to give us a clean bill of health from there onwards. -Leaving the Base on the 16th, we proceeded to Camp I, where the -following day was spent attending to our oxygen apparatus and transport -arrangements. Soon after midday on the 18th, we arrived at Camp II, -where the greater part of the afternoon was devoted to giving Geoffrey -Bruce, Tejbir, and several of the porters, a lesson in the elements of -mountaineering and of ice-craft. On the 19th we reached Camp III, where -we learned from Colonel Strutt that Mallory, Norton, Somervell, and -Morshead had gone up to the North Col in the morning. Geoffrey Bruce and -I immediately set about overhauling our equipment, in particular our -oxygen stores, and as we worked we could see the first party making -their way through the séracs, and climbing the ice-cliffs of the lofty -depression of the North Col. - -The cylinders containing our oxygen were found to be in good condition; -but the apparatus—through no fault of the makers, who had, indeed, done -their work admirably—leaked very badly, and to get them into -satisfactory working order, four days of hard toil with soldering-iron, -hacksaw, pliers, and all the other paraphernalia of a fitter’s shop were -necessary. Our workshop was in the open. The temperature played up and -down round about 0° F., but inclined more to the negative side of that -irrational scale. The masks from which the oxygen was to be breathed -proved useless, but by tackling the problem with a little thought and -much cheerfulness a satisfactory substitute was eventually evolved, -making it possible to use the oxygen apparatus in an efficient manner. -Without this new mask no real use could have been made of our oxygen -supplies; oxygen would have been misjudged as being useless, and the -solution of the problem of climbing Mount Everest would have been as -distant as ever. - -Preparatory to embarking on the climb itself, we went for several trial -walks—one over to the Rapiu La, a pass 21,000 feet high, at the foot of -the North-east ridge of Everest, from which we hoped to obtain views of -the country to the south. But only part of the North-east ridge showed -hazily through drifting mists. Towards the north and looking down the -East Rongbuk Glacier, views were clearer, though partially obscured by -rolling banks of cloud. Colonel Strutt and Dr. Wakefield, unoxygenated, -accompanied us on this little expedition, and oxygen at once proved its -value, so easily did Bruce and I outpace them. On May 22, acting on -instructions from Colonel Strutt, Geoffrey Bruce, Wakefield, Tejbir, and -I, with a number of porters, set out for the North Col to meet and -afford any required assistance to the members of the first climbing -party who were on their way down from the mountain. It was also our -intention to bring stores up into the North Col as well as give the -oxygen apparatus a final severe try-out prior to embarking upon an -attack upon Mount Everest itself. We met the first climbing party just -above the foot of the final steep slopes leading up to the North Col. -They were more or less in the last stage of exhaustion, as, indeed, men -who have done their best on such a mountain should be. After supplying -them with what liquid nourishment was available, and leaving Wakefield -and two porters to see them back to Camp III, we carried on up to the -North Col. In the afternoon we returned to Camp III. There had been a -considerable amount of step-cutting, for fresh snow had fallen, -compelling us to deviate from the usual route; but even so, oxygen had -made a brief Alpine ascent of what is otherwise a strenuous day’s work. -We took three hours up and fifty minutes down, with thirty-six -photographs taken _en route_. - -[Illustration: - - EAST RONGBUK GLACIER NEAR CAMP II. -] - -On May 24, Captain Noel, Tejbir, Geoffrey Bruce, and I, all using -oxygen, went up to the North Col (23,000 feet). Bent on a determined -attack, we camped there for the night. Morning broke fine and clear -though somewhat windy, and at eight o’clock we sent off up the long -snow-slopes leading towards the North-east shoulder of Mount Everest, -twelve porters carrying oxygen cylinders, provisions for one day, and -camping gear. An hour and a half later, Bruce, Tejbir, and I followed, -and, in spite of the fact that each bore a load of over 30 lb., which -was much more than the average weight carried by the porters, we -overtook them at a height of about 24,500 feet. They greeted our arrival -with their usual cheery, broad grins. But no longer did they regard -oxygen as a foolish man’s whim; one and all appreciated the advantages -of what they naïvely chose to call “English air.” Leaving them to -follow, we went on, hoping to pitch our camp somewhere above 26,000 -feet. But shortly after one o’clock the wind freshened up rather -offensively, and it began to snow. Our altitude was 25,500 feet, some -500 feet below where we had hoped to camp, but we looked round -immediately for a suitable camping site, as the porters had to return to -the North Col that day, and persistence in proceeding further would have -run them unjustifiably into danger. This I would under no circumstances -do, for I felt responsible for these cheerful, smiling, willing men, who -looked up to their leader and placed in him the complete trust of little -children. As it was, the margin of safety secured by pitching camp where -we did instead of at a higher elevation was none too wide; for before -the last porter had departed downwards the weather had become very -threatening. A cheerful spot in which to find space to pitch a tent it -was not; but though I climbed a couple of hundred feet or so further up -the ridge, nothing more suitable was to be found. Remembering that a -wind is felt more severely on the windward side of a ridge than on the -crest, a possible position to the West of the ridge was negatived in -favour of one on the very backbone. The leeside was bare of any possible -camping place within reasonable distance. Our porters arrived at 2 p.m., -and at once all began to level off the little platform where the tent -was soon pitched, on the very edge of the tremendous precipices falling -away to the East Rongbuk and Main Rongbuk Glaciers, over 4,000 feet -below. Within twenty minutes the porters were scurrying back down the -broken, rocky ridge towards the snow-slopes leading to the North Col, -singing, as they went, snatches of their native hillside ditties. What -splendid men! Having seen the last man safely off, I looked to the -security of the guy-ropes holding down the tent, and then joined Bruce -and Tejbir inside. It was snowing hard. Tiny, minute spicules driven by -the wind penetrated everywhere. It was bitterly cold, so we crawled into -our sleeping-bags, and, gathering round us all available clothing, -huddled up together as snugly as was possible. - -With the help of solidified spirit we melted snow and cooked a warm -meal, which imparted some small measure of comfort to our chilled -bodies. A really hot drink was not procurable, for the simple reason -that at such an altitude water boils at so low a temperature that one -can immerse the hand in it without fear of being scalded. Over a -_post-prandium_ cigarette, Bruce and I discussed our prospects of -success. Knowing that no man can put forward his best effort unless his -confidence is an established fact, the trend of my contribution to the -conversation was chiefly, “Of course, we shall get to the top.” After -sunset, the storm rose to a gale, a term I use deliberately. Terrific -gusts tore at our tent with such ferocity that the ground-sheet with its -human burden was frequently lifted up off the ground. On these occasions -our combined efforts were needed to keep the tent down and prevent its -being blown away. Although we had blocked up the few very small openings -in the tent to the best of our powers, long before midnight we were all -thickly covered in a fine frozen spindrift that somehow or other was -blown in upon us, insinuating its way into sleeping-bags and clothing, -there to cause acute discomfort. Sleep was out of the question. We dared -not relax our vigilance, for ever and again all our strength was needed -to hold the tent down and to keep the flaps of the door, stripped of -their fastenings by a gust that had caught us unawares, from being torn -open. We fought for our lives, realising that once the wind got our -little shelter into its ruthless grip, it must inevitably be hurled, -with us inside it, down on to the East Rongbuk Glacier, thousands of -feet below. - -And what of my companions in the tent? To me, who had certainly passed -his novitiate in the hardships of mountaineering, the situation was more -than alarming. About Tejbir I had no concern; he placed complete -confidence in his sahibs, and the ready grin never left his face. But it -was Bruce’s first experience of mountaineering, and how the ordeal would -affect him I did not know. I might have spared myself all anxiety. -Throughout the whole adventure he bore himself in a manner that would -have done credit to the finest of veteran mountaineers, and returned my -confidence with a cheerfulness that rang too true to be counterfeit. By -one o’clock on the morning of the 26th the gale reached its maximum. The -wild flapping of the canvas made a noise like that of machine-gun fire. -So deafening was it that we could scarcely hear each other speak. Later, -there came interludes of comparative lull, succeeded by bursts of storm -more furious than ever. During such lulls we took it in turn to go -outside to tighten up slackened guy-ropes, and also succeeded in tying -down the tent more firmly with our Alpine rope. It was impossible to -work in the open for more than three or four minutes at a stretch, so -profound was the exhaustion induced by this brief exposure to the fierce -cold wind. But with the Alpine rope taking some of the strain, we -enjoyed a sense of security which, though probably only illusory, -allowed us all a few sorely needed moments of rest. - -Dawn broke bleak and chill; the snow had ceased to fall, but the wind -continued with unabated violence. Once more we had to take it in turns -to venture without and tighten up the guy-ropes, and to try to build on -the windward side of the tent a small wall of stones as an additional -protection. The extreme exhaustion and the chill produced in the body as -a result of each of these little excursions were sufficient to indicate -that, until the gale had spent itself, there could be no hope of either -advance or retreat. As the weary morning hours dragged on, we believed -we could detect a slackening off in the storm. And I was thankful, for I -was beginning quietly to wonder how much longer human beings could stand -the strain. We prepared another meal. The dancing flames of the spirit -stove caused me anxiety bordering on anguish lest the tent, a frail -shelter between life and death, should catch fire. At noon the storm -once more regained its strength and rose to unsurpassed fury. A great -hole was cut by a stone in one side of the tent, and our situation thus -unexpectedly became more desperate than ever. - -But we carried on, making the best of our predicament until, at one -o’clock, the wind dropped suddenly from a blustering gale to nothing -more than a stiff breeze. Now was the opportunity for retreat to the -safety of the North Col camp. But I wanted to hang on and try our climb -on the following day. Very cautiously and tentatively I broached my wish -to Bruce, fearful lest the trying experience of the last twenty-four -hours had undermined his keenness for further adventure. Once again -might I have spared myself all anxiety. He jumped at the idea, and when -our new plans were communicated to Tejbir, the only effect upon him was -to broaden his already expansive grin. - -It was a merry little party that gathered round to a scanty evening meal -cooked with the last of our fuel. The meal was meagre for the simple -reason that we had catered for only one day’s short rations, and we were -now very much on starvation diet. We had hardly settled down for another -night when, about 6 p.m., voices were heard outside. Our unexpected -visitors were porters who, anxious as to our safety, had left the North -Col that afternoon when the storm subsided. With them they brought -thermos flasks of hot beef-tea and tea provided by the thoughtful Noel. -Having accepted these most gratefully, we sent the porters back without -loss of time. - -[Illustration: - - OXYGEN APPARATUS. -] - -[Illustration: - - CAPTAIN NOEL KINEMATOGRAPHING THE ASCENT OF MOUNT EVEREST FROM THE - CHANG LA. -] - -That night began critically. We were exhausted by our previous -experiences and through lack of sufficient food. Tejbir’s grin had lost -some of its expanse. On the face of Geoffrey Bruce, courageously -cheerful as ever, was a strained, drawn expression that I did not like. -Provoked, perhaps, by my labours outside the tent, a dead, numbing cold -was creeping up my limbs—a thing I had only once before felt and to the -seriousness of which I was fully alive. Something had to be done. Like -an inspiration came the thought of trying the effect of oxygen. We -hauled an apparatus and cylinders into the tent, and, giving it the air -of a joke, we took doses all round. Tejbir took his medicine -reluctantly, but with relief I saw his face brighten up. The effect on -Bruce was visible in his rapid change of expression. A few minutes after -the first deep breath, I felt the tingling sensation of returning life -and warmth to my limbs. We connected up the apparatus in such a way that -we could breathe a small quantity of oxygen throughout the night. The -result was marvellous. We slept well and warmly. Whenever the tube -delivering the gas fell out of Bruce’s mouth as he slept, I could see -him stir uneasily in the uric, greenish light of the moon as it filtered -through the canvas. Then half unconsciously replacing the tube, he would -fall once more into a peaceful slumber. There is little doubt that it -was the use of oxygen which saved our lives during this second night in -our high camp. - -Before daybreak we were up, and proceeded to make ready for our climb. -Putting on our boots was a struggle. Mine I had taken to bed with me, -and a quarter of an hour’s striving and tugging sufficed to get them on. -But Bruce’s and Tejbir’s were frozen solid, and it took them more than -an hour to mould them into shape by holding them over lighted candles. -Shortly after six we assembled outside. Some little delay was incurred -in arranging the rope and our loads, but at length at 6.30 a.m., soon -after the first rays of the sun struck the tent, we shouldered our -bundles and set off. What with cameras, thermos bottles, and oxygen -apparatus, Bruce and I each carried well over 40 lb.; Tejbir with two -extra cylinders of oxygen shouldered a burden of about 50 lb. - -Our scheme of attack was to take Tejbir with us as far as the North-east -shoulder, there to relieve him of his load and send him back. The -weather was clear. The only clouds seemed so far off as to presage no -evil, and the breeze, though intensely cold, was bearable. But it soon -freshened up, and before we had gone more than a few hundred feet the -cold began to have its effect on Tejbir’s sturdy constitution, and he -showed signs of wavering. Bruce’s eloquent flow of Gurumuki, however, -managed to boost him up to an altitude of 26,000 feet. There he -collapsed entirely, sinking face downwards on to the rocks and crushing -beneath him the delicate instruments of his oxygen apparatus. I stormed -at him for thus maltreating it, while Bruce exhorted him for the honour -of his regiment to struggle on; but it was all in vain. Tejbir had done -his best; and he has every right to be proud of the fact that he has -climbed to a far greater height than any other native. We pulled him off -his apparatus and, relieving him of some cylinders, cheered him up -sufficiently to start him with enough oxygen on his way back to the high -camp, there to await our return. We had no compunction about letting him -go alone, for the ground was easy and he could not lose his way, the -tent being in full view below. - -After seeing him safely off and making good progress, we loaded up -Tejbir’s cylinders, and, in view of the easy nature of the climbing, -mutually agreed to dispense with the rope, and thus enable ourselves to -proceed more rapidly. Climbing not very steep and quite easy rocks, and -passing two almost level places affording ample room for some future -high camp, we gained an altitude of 26,500 feet. By this time, however, -the wind, which had been steadily rising, had acquired such force that I -considered it necessary to leave the ridge and continue our ascent by -traversing out across the great northern face of Mount Everest, hoping -by so doing to find more shelter from the icy blasts. It was not easy to -come to this decision, because I saw that between us and the shoulder -the climbing was all plain sailing and presented no outstanding -difficulty. Leaving the ridge, we began to work out into the face. For -the first few yards the going was sufficiently straightforward, but -presently the general angle became much steeper, and our trials were -accentuated by the fact that the stratification of the rocks was such -that they shelved outward and downward, making the securing of adequate -footholds difficult. We did not rope, however. I knew that the longer we -remained unroped, the more time we should save—a consideration of vital -importance. But as I led out over these steeply sloping, evilly smooth -slabs, I carefully watched Bruce to see how he would tackle the -formidable task with which he was confronted on this his first -mountaineering expedition. He did his work splendidly and followed -steadily and confidently, as if he were quite an old hand at the game. -Sometimes the slabs gave place to snow—treacherous, powdery stuff, with -a thin, hard, deceptive crust that gave the appearance of compactness. -Little reliance could be placed upon it, and it had to be treated with -great care. And sometimes we found ourselves crossing steep slopes of -scree that yielded and shifted downwards with every tread. Very -occasionally in the midst of our exacting work we were forced to indulge -in a brief rest in order to replace an empty cylinder of oxygen by a -full one. The empty ones were thrown away, and as each bumped its way -over the precipice and the good steel clanged like a church bell at each -impact, we laughed aloud at the thought that “There goes another 5 lb. -off our backs.” Since leaving the ridge we had not made much height -although we seemed to be getting so near our goal. Now and then we -consulted the aneroid barometer, and its readings encouraged us on. -27,000 feet; then we gave up traversing and began to climb diagonally -upwards towards a point on the lofty North-east ridge, midway between -the shoulder and the summit. Soon afterwards an accident put Bruce’s -oxygen apparatus out of action. He was some 20 feet below me, but -struggled gallantly upwards as I went to meet him, and, after connecting -him on to my apparatus and so renewing his supply of oxygen, we soon -traced the trouble and effected a satisfactory repair. The barometer -here recorded a height 27,300 feet. The highest mountain visible was Chö -Uyo, which is just short of 27,000 feet. We were well above it and could -look across it into the dense clouds beyond. The great West Peak of -Everest, one of the most beautiful sights to be seen from down in the -Rongbuk Valley, was hidden, but we knew that our standpoint was nearly -2,000 feet above it. Everest itself was the only mountain top which we -could see without turning our gaze downwards. We could look across into -clouds which lay at some undefined distance behind the North-east -shoulder, a clear indication that we were only a little, if any, below -its level. Pumori, an imposing ice-bound pyramid, 23,000 feet high, I -sought at first in vain. So far were we above it that it had sunk into -an insignificant little ice-hump by the side of the Rongbuk Glacier. -Most of the other landmarks were blotted out by masses of ominous, -yellow-hued clouds swept from the West in the wake of an angry -storm-wind. The point we reached is unmistakable even from afar. We were -standing on a little rocky ledge, just inside an inverted V of snow, -immediately below the great belt of reddish-yellow rock which cleaves -its way almost horizontally through the otherwise greenish-black slabs -of the mountain. Though 1,700 feet below, we were well within half a -mile of the summit, so close, indeed, that we could distinguish -individual stones on a little patch of scree lying just underneath the -highest point. Ours were truly the tortures of Tantalus; for, weak from -hunger and exhausted by that nightmare struggle for life in our high -camp, we were in no fit condition to proceed. Indeed, I knew that if we -were to persist in climbing on, even if only for another 500 feet, we -should not both get back alive. The decision to retreat once taken, no -time was lost, and, fearing lest another accidental interruption in the -oxygen supply might lead to a slip on the part of either of us, we roped -together. It was midday. At first we returned in our tracks, but later -found better going by aiming to strike the ridge between the North-east -shoulder and the North Col at a point above where we had left it in the -morning. Progress was more rapid, though great caution was still -necessary. Shortly after 2 p.m., we struck the ridge and there reduced -our burdens to a minimum by dumping four oxygen cylinders. The place -will be easily recognised by future explorers; those four cylinders are -perched against a rock at the head of the one and only large snow-filled -couloir running right up from the head of the East Rongbuk Glacier to -the ridge. The clear weather was gone. We plunged down the easy, broken -rocks through thick mists driven past us from the West by a violent -wind. For one small mercy we were thankful—no snow fell. We reached our -high camp in barely half an hour, and such are the vagaries of Everest’s -moods that in this short time the wind had practically dropped. Tejbir -lay snugly wrapped up in all three sleeping-bags, sleeping the deep -sleep of exhaustion. Hearing the voices of the porters on their way up -to bring down our kit, we woke him up, telling him to await their -arrival and to go down with them. Bruce and I then proceeded on our way, -met the ascending porters and passed on, greatly cheered by their bright -welcomes and encouraging smiles. But the long descent, coming as it did -on the top of a hard day’s work, soon began to find out our weakness. We -were deplorably tired, and could no longer move ahead with our -accustomed vigour. Knees did not always bend and unbend as required. At -times they gave way altogether and forced us, staggering, to sit down. -But eventually we reached the broken snows of the North Col, and arrived -in camp there at 4 p.m. A craving for food, to the lack of which our -weakness was mainly due, was all that animated us. Hot tea and a tin of -spaghetti were soon forthcoming, and even this little nourishment -refreshed us and renewed our strength to such an extent that -three-quarters of an hour later we were ready to set off for Camp III. -An invaluable addition to our little party was Captain Noel, the -indefatigable photographer of the Expedition, who had already spent four -days and three nights on the North Col. He formed our rearguard and -nursed us safely down the steep snow and ice slopes on to the almost -level basin of the glacier below. Before 5.30 p.m., only forty minutes -after leaving the col, we reached Camp III. Since midday, from our -highest point we had descended over 6,000 feet; but we were quite -finished. - -[Illustration: - - THE BRITISH MEMBERS OF THE SECOND CLIMBING PARTY. -] - -That evening we dined well. Four whole quails truffled in _pâté-de-foie -gras_, followed by nine sausages, left me asking for more. The last I -remember of that long day was going to sleep, warm in the depths of our -wonderful sleeping-bag, with the remains of a tin of toffee tucked away -in the crook of my elbow. - -Next morning showed that Bruce’s feet were sorely frostbitten. I had -practically escaped; but the cold had penetrated the half-inch-thick -soles of my boots and three pairs of heavy woollen socks, and four small -patches of frostbite hampered me at first in my efforts to walk. Bruce -was piled on to a sledge, and I journeyed with him as his -fellow-passenger. Willing porters dragged us down until the surface of -the glacier became so rough as to impose too great a strain on our -slender conveyance with its double burden. - -Our attack upon Mount Everest had failed. The great mountain with its -formidable array of defensive weapons had won; but if the body had -suffered, the spirit was still whole. Reaching a point whence we -obtained our last close view of the great unconquered Goddess Mother of -the Snows, Geoffrey Bruce bade his somewhat irreverent adieux with “Just -you wait, old thing, you’ll be for it soon!”—words that still are -expressive of my own sentiments. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - CONCLUSIONS - - -Geoffrey Bruce and I arrived back at the Base Camp early in the -afternoon of May 29. The next few days were spent in resting, and I then -underwent the same experience as the members of the first climbing -party; that is, instead of recovering my strength rapidly during the -first three or four days, if anything a further decline took place. -However, as the weather appeared fine, and there seemed promise of a -bright spell prior to the breaking of the monsoon, it was decided to -make another attempt on the mountain. Of the remaining climbing members -of the Expedition, Somervell was undoubtedly the fittest, with Mallory a -good second. Both had enjoyed some ten days’ rest since their first -assault upon Mount Everest, and therefore had a chance of recovering -from the abnormal strain to which they had been submitted. Medical -opinion as to my condition after so brief a rest was somewhat divided, -but in the end I was passed as sufficiently fit to join in the third -attempt. On the 3rd of June we left the Base Camp. The party consisted -of Wakefield as M.O., Crawford, and later Morris, as transport officers, -Mallory, Somervell and myself as climbers. The attempt was to be made -with oxygen, and I was placed in command. It required a great effort for -me to get as far as Camp I, and I realised there that the few days’ rest -which I had enjoyed at the Base Camp had been quite insufficient to -allow of my recuperation. During the night the weather turned with a -vengeance and it snowed heavily, and I knew that there could be no -object in my proceeding farther. After giving Somervell final detailed -instructions regarding the oxygen apparatus, I wished them all the best -of luck, and on the 4th returned to the Base Camp. As Strutt, Longstaff, -and Morshead were leaving next day for Darjeeling, I was given, and -availed myself of, the opportunity of accompanying them. - -That return journey constitutes one of the most delightful experiences -of my life. Within a week of leaving the Base Camp, I had entirely -regained my strength, although a certain tenderness in the soles of my -feet made itself felt for some considerable time. For the most part the -weather was warm, and everywhere the eye feasted on the riotous -colouring of blossoms such as we had never before seen. The only fly in -the ointment was the ever-present sense of defeat coupled with the -knowledge that with only a little better luck we should have won -through. - -In spite of our failure, however, I felt that we had learnt much; and -perhaps the most important lesson of all was that we had been taught the -real value of oxygen. Prior to the formation of the 1922 Expedition, the -oxygen problem had already been the subject of much discussion round -which two distinct schools of thought had arisen. The first, headed by -Professor G. Dreyer, F.R.S., Professor of Pathology at the University of -Oxford, was staunch to the belief that, without the assistance of a -supply of oxygen carried in containers on the back of the climber, it -would be impossible for a man to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The -second body of scientific opinion held that, not only would it be -possible for a man to attain the summit of Everest unaided by an -artificial supply of oxygen, but that the weight of such a supply would -only hamper the climber in his efforts, and thus completely -counterbalance any advantages likely to accrue from its use. To arrive -at an impartial conclusion as to the correctitude of these two divergent -opinions, it is only necessary to give careful consideration to the -results achieved on the two high climbs of May 22 and May 27 -respectively. The former was made without an artificial supply of -oxygen, the latter with. The first climbing party, consisting of -Mallory, Morshead, Norton, and Somervell, left the North Col at 7 a.m. -on the 20th of May, and that afternoon, at an altitude of 25,000 feet -above sea-level, pitched a camp just off the great North ridge leading -down from the shoulder. Morshead had suffered from the cold and was -evidently unwell. One of Norton’s ears had been badly frostbitten, and -Mallory had frostbitten finger-tips. Somervell alone was, to all intents -and purposes, as yet untouched. Snow fell during the night, but they -were untroubled by wind. At eight o’clock next morning they left their -camp—all save Morshead, who, apparently at the end of his tether and -unable to go farther, had to remain behind. After over six hours’ -climbing, Mallory, Norton, and Somervell succeeded in reaching an -altitude of 26,985 feet; so that, since their departure from their high -camp, they had gained a vertical height of 1,985 feet at a rate of -ascent of 330 feet per hour. The point at which they turned back lies -below the shoulder on the great North ridge, and is, in horizontal -distance, about 1⅛ miles from the summit, and rather over 2,000 feet -below it in vertical height. They began to retrace their steps at 2.30 -in the afternoon, and regained their high camp at four o’clock; their -rate of descent therefore was 1,320 feet per hour. Shortly after 4 p.m., -accompanied by Morshead, they started on the return journey to the North -Col, where they arrived at 11.30 that night, a rate of descent of 270 -feet per hour. We had seen them on their way down from their high camp, -and acting on instructions from Colonel Strutt, we went up towards the -North Col on the 23rd to render them assistance. We met them just above -the foot of the steep slopes leading up the col. They were obviously in -the last stages of exhaustion, as, indeed, men should be who had done -their best on a mountain like Mount Everest. - -On the 25th of May the second party, consisting of Geoffrey Bruce, -Tejbir and myself, left the North Col. Our porters, who did not use -oxygen, left at eight o’clock; we, using oxygen, left at 9.30 a.m., and -in an hour and a half succeeded in overtaking them at an altitude of -24,500 feet, where, somewhat fatigued with their three hours’ effort, -they paused to rest. A moment’s calculation will show that we had been -climbing at the rate of 1,000 feet per hour. Leaving the porters to -follow, we eventually gained an altitude of 25,500 feet, where, owing to -bad weather, we were constrained to camp. It was not until two o’clock -in the afternoon that the porters rejoined us, despite the fact that our -own progress had been hindered by the necessity for much step-cutting. -That night in our high camp was a night of trial and no rest, and the -following day, the 26th, was little better; in addition, our supply of -food was exhausted. Then followed a second night, when the advantages of -using oxygen to combat fierce cold were strikingly evident. At six -o’clock on the morning of the 27th, having had practically no rest for -two nights and a day, half starved and suffering acutely from hunger, we -set out from our high camp in full hopes of gaining the summit of Mount -Everest. Half an hour later, at an altitude of 26,000 feet, Tejbir broke -down—an unfortunate occurrence that may be largely attributed to his -lack of really windproof clothing. On arriving at a height of 26,500 -feet we were forced to leave the ridge, so violent and penetratingly -cold was the wind to which we were exposed. The thousand feet from our -camp up to this point had occupied one and a half hours, some twenty -minutes of which had been employed in re-arranging the loads when Tejbir -broke down. Our rate of progress, therefore, had been about 900 feet per -hour, in spite of the fact that we each carried a load of over 40 lb. -After leaving the ridge we struck out over difficult ground across the -great North face of the mountain, gaining but little in altitude, but -steadily approaching our goal. Eventually we decided to turn back at a -point less than half a mile in horizontal distance from, and about 1,700 -feet below, the summit. Thus, although we had climbed in vertical height -only some 300 feet higher than the first party, nevertheless we were -more than twice as close to the summit than they had been when they -turned back. - -To summarise the two performances. The first party established a camp at -an altitude of 25,000 feet, occupied it for one night, and finally -reaching a point 26,985 feet in height, and 1⅛ miles from the summit, -returned without a break to the North Col. The second party established -a camp at an altitude of 25,500 feet, occupied it for two nights and -almost two days, and eventually reaching a point of 27,300 feet high and -less than half a mile from the summit, returned without a break to Camp -III. The weather conditions throughout were incomparably worse than -those experienced by the first party. The difference between the two -performances cannot be ascribed to superior climbing powers on the part -of the second party, for the simple reason that all the members of the -first party were skilled and proven mountaineers, while Geoffrey Bruce -and Lance-Corporal Tejbir, though at home in the hills, had never before -set foot on a snow and ice mountain. No matter how strong and willing -and gallant an inexperienced climber may be, his lack of mountaineering -skill and knowledge inevitably results in that prodigality of -effort—much of it needless—which invariably and quickly places him at a -grave disadvantage when compared with the trained mountaineer. The -strength of a climbing party is no greater than that of its weakest -member. Judged on this basis the second party was very weak compared -with the first, and the superior results obtained by the former can only -be ascribed to the fact that they made use of an artificial supply of -oxygen. - -The contention, therefore, that the disadvantages of its weight would -more than counterbalance the advantages of an artificial supply of -oxygen, may be dismissed as groundless, and the assumption may be made -that on any further attempt upon Everest oxygen will form a most -important part of the climber’s equipment. The question next arises as -to the exact stage in the proceedings at which recourse should be made -to the assistance of oxygen. The strongest members of the Expedition -felt fit and well, and recuperated readily from fatigue, at Camp III, -21,000 feet above sea-level, but at the North Col this was no longer the -case. Thus it would seem that the upper level of true acclimatisation -lies somewhere between 21,000 and 23,000 feet. I would therefore -advocate commencing to use oxygen somewhere between these two levels, -preferably at the foot of the steep slopes leading up to the North Col. -The use of small quantities would allow the climber to reach the Col -without unduly tiring himself. From the North Col to a high camp -situated at an altitude of about 26,500 feet, a slightly increased -quantity of oxygen would suffice to enable the climber to progress -almost as rapidly as he would in the much lower levels of the Alps. We -know from experience that a camp at the above-mentioned altitude can be -readily established, and in all except the worst of weather conditions a -party can make its way down again. Between the camp and the summit there -would be a vertical height of only 2,500 feet, and it is conceivable -that with a full supply of oxygen this distance could be covered in as -little as four hours. I am strongly of the opinion that only one camp -should be used between the North Col and the summit. No matter what -precautions are taken, man’s strength is rapidly sapped during the stay -at these great altitudes, and the plan of campaign most likely to ensure -success would appear to be leisurely and comfortable progress as far as -the North Col, the establishment of a high camp at 26,500 feet, and a -final dash to the summit. This last part of the programme, however, -would not be feasible unless a small dump of oxygen were made at a -height of about 27,500 feet. To do this it would be necessary for a -specially detailed party to spend one night at the high camp, and on the -following day employ their strength in making a dump somewhere above the -shoulder. This done, they would then be able to return to the North Col -with the satisfaction of knowing that they had made it possible for the -actual climbing party to win through. - -It is by no means yet certain which is the best line of approach to the -North Col. The route hitherto followed, viâ the East Rongbuk Glacier, is -tedious and roundabout, but it has the advantage of being well sheltered -from the wind, and, except for the final steep slopes beneath the col, -safe under any conditions. Much more direct, however, and probably less -arduous, is the approach from over the main Rongbuk Glacier. The line of -ascent thence to the summit of the col presents no real difficulty, and, -provided it is not found to be too exposed to the wind, is undoubtedly -much safer, even after heavy snowfalls, than that previously followed. -In the light of past experience one can hardly hope to count on good -weather as an ally; adequate protection in the form of windproof -clothing will enable the climber to face all but actual snowstorms. - -Climbing parties making the final assaults on the summit should be -small, consisting of two men and no more. In the event of one man -collapsing, his comrade, if at all up to scratch, should be able to get -him down in safety. By so limiting the size of the parties, a number of -attacks, each one as strong as if effected by a large and cumbersome -team of, say, four, could be carried out. Again, in the case of small -parties as suggested, mutual attention to each other’s oxygen outfit is -possible and any necessary repair or adjustment more expeditiously made. - -The type of climber who should go farthest on Mount Everest would appear -to be similar to that which best suits the Alps. Of the physical -attributes necessary, the following points, in addition to what is -usually termed perfect physical fitness, may be emphasised. In the -rarefied atmosphere of high altitudes the larger the vital capacity the -better. By the term “vital capacity” is meant the maximum amount of air -an individual is able to expel from the lungs by voluntary effort after -taking the deepest possible inspiration. Compared with the lean, spare -type of individual, the thickset, often musclebound man, though possibly -equal to an immense effort provided it is of short duration, is, as a -rule, at a great disadvantage. The Expedition has also shown beyond all -possible doubt that the tall man is less prone to become fatigued than -one of shorter stature. Again, as is well known amongst mountaineers, -the long-legged, short-trunk type of body is immensely superior to the -short-legged, long-trunk type. - -Perhaps more important than perfect physical fitness to the would-be -conqueror of Everest is the possession of the correct mentality. -Absolutely essential are singleness of aim, namely, the attainment of -the summit, and unswerving faith in the possibility of its achievement. -Half-heartedness in even one member of the attacking party spells almost -certain failure. Many a strong party in the Alps has failed to reach its -objective through the depressing effect of the presence of one doubting -Thomas. Like an insidious disease, a wavering, infirm belief is liable -to spread and cause the destruction of the hopes of those who come into -contact with it. The man who cannot face Mount Everest without at the -same time proclaiming that the mountain has the odds in its favour would -do better by himself and others to leave the proposition severely alone. -Of almost equal importance is the possession of what may be called -mental energy or will power, or simply “go.” Mountaineers may be divided -into two classes according to their behaviour when, tired and well-nigh -exhausted, they are called upon to make yet one more supreme effort. -There are those who, lacking the will power necessary to force their -jaded bodies on to still further action, give in; others, possessed of -an almost inexhaustible fund of mental energy, will rise to the -occasion, not once, but time and again. Physical pain is the safety -valve which nature has provided to prevent harm being done to the body -by exhaustion. But nature’s margin of safety is a wide one. On Everest, -this margin must be narrowed down, if necessary, to vanishing-point; and -this can only be done by the climber whose fund of mental energy is -sufficient to drive his body on and on, no matter how intense the pains -of exhaustion, even to destruction if need be. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - NOTES ON EQUIPMENT - - -Our recent experiences having shown that the greatest altitude at which -acclimatisation takes place is about 22,000 feet above sea-level, it may -be reasonably assumed that, from the climber’s point of view, high -altitude on Mount Everest begins at that height. Incidentally, also, on -approaching the North Col over the East Rongbuk Glacier, the snow and -ice conditions met with up to this level approximate very closely to -summer conditions in the Alps. Above 22,000 feet, however, such -conditions, particularly the state of the snow, resemble those met with -in the Alps in mid-winter. This high-altitude zone may be further -divided into two sub-zones—the first, from 22,000 feet (the foot of the -steep snow and ice slopes leading up to the North Col) to 23,000 feet, -in which climatic conditions are by no means severe, as the North Col -affords protection from the prevailing west wind; and the second, from -23,000 feet onwards, of which extreme cold and strong wind are the -predominant characteristics. - -It is therefore evident that the climber must be equipped according to -the zone in which he finds himself. In the first zone clothing somewhat -warmer than that used in the Alps in the summer is practically -sufficient. Owing to the marked intensity of the sun’s rays, however, it -is advisable to cover the trunk with at least one layer of sunproof -material, such as a sunproof shirt with spine pad, while a solar topee -and suitable snow-glasses constitute the best form of headgear. Crookes’ -glasses of smoke-blue colour proved superior to other varieties; they -afford complete protection from glare and do not cause eye-strain and -subsequent headache. As sunburn, even very superficial and involving -only a small area, is invariably followed by conditions of feverishness -which must impair one’s fitness, a veil should be worn over the face and -gloves on the hands. Oxygen should be employed from the foot of the -North Col slopes onwards, for no useful purpose can be served by tiring -oneself through not using it, when, as we have seen elsewhere, full -recovery from fatigue is no longer possible at 23,000 feet. The second -zone (from 23,000 feet onwards), where a radical change in climatic -conditions is manifest, demands more complicated preparation. Wind is -seldom absent, and the degree of intensity of the cold is comparable -with that met with at the Poles, and indeed probably often exceeds it. -Also, owing to the rarefied state of the atmosphere, the cold is felt -much more severely than would be the case at sea-level. A far greater -volume of air is expelled from the climber’s lungs, and this air, at -blood heat and under a low pressure approximating to one-third of an -atmosphere, is saturated with moisture drawn from the body viâ the -lungs. The result is a proportionately far greater loss of animal heat. -Further, the partial pressure of oxygen contained in a normal atmosphere -becomes so low at altitudes over 23,000 feet that, unless the climber -has recourse to a supply of oxygen carried by himself, his climbing -efficiency is enormously reduced. The climbing equipment of the -mountaineer in this second zone of high altitude should therefore -include, firstly, a supply of oxygen; secondly, warm and windproof -clothing and foot-gear; thirdly, plenty of food and drink, as the use of -oxygen has a most stimulating effect upon the appetite. - -The oxygen equipment has already been fully described by Mr. Unna in the -_Alpine Journal_, vol. xxxiv., page 235. The apparatus is, in principle, -quite simple. It consists of a frame carried on the shoulders of the -climber, at whose back, in a rack attached to the frame, are four steel -cylinders filled with oxygen compressed to 120 atmospheres. From the -cylinders the oxygen is taken by means of copper tubes over to an -instrument arm in front of the climber. This instrument arm, also -attached to the frame, carries the pressure gauges and so forth which -indicate how much oxygen the climber is left and how rapidly the -supplies are being used up. Close to the instrument arm and readily -accessible are the valves necessary for controlling the rate of flow of -oxygen from the apparatus. From the instrument arm the oxygen passes -through a flexible rubber tubing up to a mask covering the face of the -climber. The two types of mask supplied to the Expedition proved -useless, partly owing to their stifling effect upon the wearer, and -partly to the fact that saliva and moisture collected rapidly under them -and froze. Both, therefore, had to be discarded, but fortunately I was -able to make a substitute which functioned successfully. This mask -consists of a rubber tube into which is let a rubber bladder by means of -a glass T-piece, or by means of two straight pieces of glass tube let in -at opposite ends of the bladder. One end of the rubber tube is fastened -to the tube of the apparatus out of which the oxygen flows, the other -end being held in the climber’s mouth. On exhaling, the climber closes -the rubber tube by biting upon it, and the oxygen issuing from the -apparatus, instead of being wasted, is stored up in the rubber bladder. -On inhaling, the pressure of the teeth is released sufficiently to allow -the rubber tube to open, thus permitting the oxygen stored up in the -bladder to flow into the climber’s mouth, whence, mixing with the air -exhaled, it is drawn into the lungs. The chief advantages of this mask -are that, firstly, it economises oxygen to the greatest possible extent, -and secondly, the swelling and the shrinking of the bladder during each -exhalation and inhalation respectively give the climber a fair idea as -to how rapidly the oxygen is flowing from the apparatus, and thus -enables him to keep a check upon the readings of the flow-meter, or -instrument which indicates the rate of flow of gas. In actual practice -it was found that in the space of a few minutes the climber used the -mask quite automatically. The biting upon and closing the rubber tube -and subsequent opening were performed without mental effort. - -A certain amount of breathing takes place viâ the pores of the skin. As, -however, the best clothing for a climber on Mount Everest is windproof, -there is a likelihood of the air surrounding the body becoming stale, in -which case the process of skin-breathing is seriously impeded. This -difficulty could be easily surmounted by flushing out the stale air by -means of a tube inserted inside the climber’s clothes, the flushing-out -process being done at intervals by temporarily fixing this tube to the -orifice of the oxygen apparatus. It is not known definitely whether the -advantage gained would be worth the trouble, but there is every reason -for believing so. In any case it is a matter which might well be -critically tested on the next Expedition. - -Cigarette-smoking proved of great value at high altitudes. Geoffrey -Bruce, Tejbir, and I, after pitching camp at 25,500 feet, settled down -inside our little tent about 2.30 in the afternoon. From then until -seven o’clock the following evening we used no oxygen at all. At first -we noticed that unless one kept one’s mind on the question of -breathing—that is, made breathing a voluntary process instead of the -involuntary process it ordinarily is—one suffered from lack of air and a -consequent feeling of suffocation—a feeling from which one recovered by -voluntarily forcing the lungs to work faster than they would of their -own accord. There is a physiological explanation for this phenomenon. At -normal altitudes human blood holds in solution a considerable quantity -of carbon dioxide, which serves to stimulate the nerve centre -controlling one’s involuntary breathing. At great altitudes, however, -where, in order to obtain a sufficiency of oxygen, the climber is forced -to breathe enormous volumes of air, much of this carbon dioxide is -washed out of the blood, and the nerve centre, no longer sufficiently -stimulated, fails to promote an adequately active involuntary breathing. -A voluntary process must be substituted, and this throws a considerable -strain upon the mind, and renders sleep impossible. On smoking -cigarettes we discovered after the first few inhalations it was no -longer necessary to concentrate on breathing, the process becoming once -more an involuntary one. Evidently some constituent of cigarette smoke -takes the place and performs the stimulating function of the carbon -dioxide normally present. The effect of a cigarette lasted for about -three hours. Clothing is a most important matter. It would be difficult -to exaggerate the intensity of the cold encountered at high altitudes on -Mount Everest. Several layers—the innermost of which should be of silk, -the others wool of moderate weight—form a much better protection against -cold than one or two heavy layers. The chief item of clothing, however, -should consist of a jumper and trousers made of windproof material. Two -of these windproof suits should be worn one above the other, and every -precaution taken to reduce the circulation of the air to the smallest -possible extent. The hands must be protected in accordance with the same -principles, and the head. I used a R.N.A.S. pattern flying helmet and -found it most satisfactory. Helmet and snow-glasses should completely -cover the head and face, leaving no skin exposed. Boots were a source of -trouble to all, but fortunately we had so many different designs which -we could test out thoroughly that we are now able to form a very shrewd -idea as to which kind is the most suitable. Leather conducts heat too -well for reliance to be placed upon it for the preservation of warmth. -The uppers of the boots should be of felt, strengthened where necessary -to prevent stretching, by leather straps covered by duroprened canvas. -Toe and heel caps must be hard and strong, and the former especially -should be high, so that the toes are given plenty of room. The sole of -the boot should be composed of a layer of thin leather attached to a -layer of three-ply wood, hinged in two sections at the instep. A thin -layer of felt should form the inside of the sole. The boots should be -large enough to accommodate in comfort two pairs of thick socks, or, -even better still, two pairs of thin socks and one pair of thick socks. -Nails used in the boots should penetrate through the leather into the -three-ply wood, but not through the latter. - -In conclusion, I should like to thank the Governing Body of the Imperial -College of Science and Technology for granting me the necessary leave to -enable me to take part in the 1922 Mount Everest Expedition, and also -for granting me facilities for carrying out a considerable number of -investigations in the laboratory of the Department of Chemical -Technology upon questions relating, amongst others, to oxygen equipment, -fuels, and vacuum flasks. These last were required in order to enable us -to keep foods liquid at heights over 23,000 feet, and the flasks -obtained on the market proved quite useless for this purpose in view of -the fact that they had not been sufficiently well evacuated. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - THE THIRD ATTEMPT - - By - GEORGE LEIGH-MALLORY - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER X - - THE THIRD ATTEMPT - - -The project of making a third attempt this season was mooted immediately -on the return of Finch and Geoffrey Bruce to the Base Camp. There in -hours of idleness we had discussed their prospects and wondered what -they would be doing as we gazed at the mountain to make out the weather -on the great ridge. We were not surprised to learn when they came down -that the summit was still unconquered, and we were not yet prepared to -accept defeat. The difficulty was to find a party. Of the six who had -been already engaged only one was obviously fit for another great -effort. Somervell had shown a recuperative capacity beyond the rest of -us. After one day at the Base he had insisted on going up again to Camp -III in case he might be of use to the others. The rest were more or less -knocked out. Morshead’s frostbitten fingers and toes, from which he was -now suffering constant pain, caused grave anxiety of most serious -consequences, and the only plan for him was to go down to a lower -elevation as soon as possible. Norton’s feet had also been affected; he -complained at first only of bruises, but the cold had come through the -soles of his boots; his trouble too was frostbite. In any case he could -not have come up again, for the strain had told on his heart and he now -found himself left without energy or strength. - -Geoffrey Bruce’s feet also were so badly frostbitten that he could not -walk. Finch, however, was not yet to be counted out. He was evidently -very much exhausted, but an examination of his heart revealed no -disorder; it was hoped that in five or six days he would be able to -start again. My own case was doubtful. Of my frostbitten finger-tips -only one was giving trouble; the extremity above the first joint was -black, but the injury was not very deep. Longstaff, who took an interest -which we all appreciated in preventing us from doing ourselves permanent -injury, pointed out the probability that fingers already touched and -highly susceptible to cold would be much more severely injured next -time, and was inclined to turn me down, from his medical point of view, -on account of my fingers alone. A much more serious matter was the -condition of my heart. I felt weak and lazy when it was a question of -the least physical exertion, and the heart was found to have a “thrill.” -Though I was prepared to take risks with my fingers I was prepared to -take none with my heart, even had General Bruce allowed me. However, I -did not abandon hope. My heart was examined again on June 3, no thrill -was heard, and though my pulse was rapid and accelerated quickly with -exertion it was capable of satisfactory recovery. We at once arranged -that Somervell, Finch, and I, together with Wakefield and Crawford, -should set forth the same day. - -It was already evident that whatever we were to do would now have to -wait for the weather. Though the Lama at the Rongbuk Monastery had told -us that the monsoon was usually to be expected about June 10, and we -knew that it was late last year, the signs of its approach were -gathering every day. Mount Everest could rarely be seen after 9 or 10 -a.m. until the clouds cleared away in the evening; and a storm -approaching from the West Rongbuk Glacier would generally sweep down the -valley in the afternoon. Though we came to despise this blustering -phenomenon,—for nothing worse came of it than light hail or snow, either -at our camp or higher,—we should want much fairer days for climbing, and -each storm threatened to be the beginning of something far more serious. -However, we planned to be on the spot to take any chance that offered. -The signs were even more ominous than usual as Finch and I walked up to -Camp I on the afternoon of June 3; we could hardly feel optimistic; and -it was soon apparent that, far from having recovered his strength, my -companion was quite unfit for another big expedition. We walked slowly -and frequently halted; it was painful to see what efforts it cost him to -make any progress. However, he persisted in coming on. - -We had not long disposed ourselves comfortably within the four square -walls of our “sangar,” always a pleasant change from the sloping sides -of a tent, when snow began to fall. Released at last by the West wind -which had held it back, the monsoon was free to work its will, and we -soon understood that the great change of weather had now come. Fine, -glistening particles were driven by the wind through the chinks in our -walls, to be drifted on the floor or on our coverings where we lay -during the night; and as morning grew the snow still fell as thickly as -ever. Finch wisely decided to go back, and we charged him with a message -to General Bruce, saying that we saw no reason at present to alter our -plans. With the whole day to spend confined and inactive we had plenty -of time to consider what we ought to do under these conditions. We went -over well-worn arguments once more. It would have been an obvious and -easy course, for which no one could reproach us, to have said simply, -The monsoon has come; this is the end of the climbing season; it is time -to go home. But the case, we felt, was not yet hopeless. The monsoon is -too variable and uncertain to be so easily admitted as the final -arbiter. There might yet be good prospects ahead of us. It was not -unreasonable to expect an interval of fine weather after the first heavy -snow, and with eight or ten fair days a third attempt might still be -made. In any case, to retire now if the smallest chance remained to us -would be an unworthy end to the Expedition. We need not run our heads -into obvious danger; but rather than be stopped by a general estimate of -conditions we would prefer to retire before some definite risk that we -were not prepared to take or simply fail to overcome the difficulties. - -After a second night of unremitting snowfall the weather on the morning -of June 5 improved and we decided to go on. Low and heavy clouds were -still flowing down the East Rongbuk Glacier, but precipitation ceased at -an early hour and the sky brightened to the West. It was surprising, -after all we had seen of the flakes passing our door, that no great -amount of snow was lying on the stones about our camp. But the snow had -come on a warm current and melted or evaporated, so that after all the -depth was no more than 6 inches at this elevation (17,500 feet). Even on -the glacier we went up a long way before noticing a perceptible increase -of depth. We passed Camp II, not requiring to halt at this stage, and -were well up towards Camp III before the fresh snow became a serious -impediment. It was still snowing up here, though not very heavily; there -was nothing to cheer the grey scene; the clinging snow about our feet -was so wet that even the best of our boots were soaked through, and the -last two hours up to Camp III were tiresome enough. Nor was it a -cheering camp when we reached it. The tents had been struck for the -safety of the poles, but not packed up. We found them now half-full of -snow and ice. The stores were all buried; everything that we wanted had -first to be dug out. - -The snow up here was so much deeper that we anxiously discussed the -possibility of going further. With 15 to 18 inches of snow to contend -with, not counting drifts, the labour would be excessive, and until the -snow solidified there would be considerable danger at several points. -But the next morning broke fine; we had soon a clear sky and glorious -sunshine; it was the warmest day that any of us remembered at Camp III; -and as we watched the amazing rapidity with which the snow solidified -and the rocks began to appear about our camp, our spirits rose. The side -of Everest facing us looked white and cold; but we observed a cloud of -snow blown from the North Ridge; it would not be long at this rate -before it was fit to climb. We had already resolved to use oxygen on the -third attempt. It was improbable that we should beat our own record -without it, for the strain of previous efforts would count against us, -and we had not the time to improve on our organisation by putting a -second camp above the North Col. Somervell, after Finch’s explanation of -the mechanical details, felt perfectly confident that he could manage -the oxygen apparatus, and all those who had used oxygen were convinced -that they went up more easily with its help than they could expect to go -without it. Somervell and I intended to profit by their experience. They -had discovered that the increased combustion in the body required a -larger supply of food; we must arrange for a bountiful provision. Their -camp at 25,000 feet had been too low; we would try to establish one now, -as we had intended before, at 26,000 feet. And we hoped for a further -advantage in going higher than Finch and Bruce had done before using -oxygen; whereas they had started using it at 21,000 feet, we intended to -go up to our old camp at 25,000 feet without it, perhaps use a cylinder -each up to 26,000 feet, and at all events start from that height for the -summit with a full supply of four cylinders. If this was not the correct -policy as laid down by Professor Dryer, it would at least be a valuable -experiment. - -Our chief anxiety under these new conditions was to provide for the -safety of our porters. We hoped that after fixing our fifth camp at -26,000 feet, at the earliest three days, hence on the fourth day of fine -weather, the porters might be able to go down by themselves to the North -Col in easy conditions; to guard against the danger of concealed -crevasses there Crawford would meet them at the foot of the North Ridge -to conduct them properly roped to Camp IV. As the supply officer at this -camp he would also be able to superintend the descent over the first -steep slope of certain porters who would go down from Camp IV without -sleeping after carrying up their loads. - -But the North Col had first to be reached. With so much new snow to -contend with we should hardly get there in one day. If we were to make -the most of our chance in the interval of fair weather, we should lose -no time in carrying up the loads for some part of the distance. It was -decided therefore to begin this work on the following day, June 7. - -In the ascent to the North Col after the recent snowfall we considered -that an avalanche was to be feared only in one place, the steep final -slope below the shelf. There we could afford to run no risk; we must -test the snow and be certain that it was safe before we could cross this -slope. Probably we should be obliged to leave our loads below it, having -gained, as a result of our day’s work, the great advantage of a track. -An avalanche might also come down, we thought, on the first steep slope -where the ascent began. Here it could do us no harm, and the behaviour -of the snow on this slope would be a test of its condition. - -The party, Somervell, Crawford, and I, with fourteen porters (Wakefield -was to be supply officer at Camp III), set out at 8 a.m. In spite of the -hard frost of the previous night, the crust was far from bearing our -weight; we sank up to our knees in almost every step, and two hours were -taken in traversing the snowfield. At 10.15 a.m., Somervell, I, a -porter, and Crawford, roped up in that order, began to work up the steep -ice-slope, now covered with snow. It was clear that the three of us -without loads must take the lead in turns stamping out the track for our -porters. These men, after their immense efforts on the first and second -attempts, had all volunteered to “go high,” as they said once more, and -everything must be done to ease the terrible work of carrying the loads -over the soft snow. No trace was found of our previous tracks, and we -were soon arguing as to where exactly they might be as we slanted across -the slope. It was remarkable that the snow adhered so well to the ice -that we were able to get up without cutting steps. Everything was done -by trenching the snow to induce it to come down if it would; every test -gave a satisfactory result. Once this crucial place was passed, we -plodded on without hesitation. If the snow would not come down where we -had formerly encountered steep bare ice, a fortiori, above, on the -gentler slopes, we had nothing to fear. The thought of an avalanche was -dismissed from our minds. - -It was necessarily slow work forging our way through the deep snow, but -the party was going extraordinarily well, and the porters were evidently -determined to get on. Somervell gave us a long lead, and Crawford next, -in spite of the handicap of shorter legs, struggled upwards in some of -the worst snow we met until I relieved him. I found the effort at each -step so great that no method of breathing I had formerly employed was -adequate; it was necessary to pause after each lifting movement for a -whole series of breaths, rapid at first and gradually slower, before the -weight was transferred again to the other foot. About 1.30 p.m. I -halted, and the porters, following on three separate ropes, soon came up -with the leading party. We should have been glad to stay where we were -for a long rest. But the hour was already late, and as Somervell was -ready to take the lead again, we decided to push on. We were now about -400 feet below a conspicuous block of ice and 600 feet below Camp IV, -still on the gentle slopes of the corridor. Somervell had advanced only -100 feet, rather up the slope than across it, and the last party of -porters had barely begun to move up in the steps. The scene was -peculiarly bright and windless, and as we rarely spoke, nothing was to -be heard but the laboured panting of our lungs. This stillness was -suddenly disturbed. We were startled by an ominous sound, sharp, -arresting, violent, and yet somehow soft like an explosion of untamped -gunpowder. I had never before on a mountain-side heard such a sound; but -all of us, I imagine, knew instinctively what it meant, as though we had -been accustomed to hear it every day of our lives. In a moment I -observed the surface of the snow broken and puckered where it had been -even for a few yards to the right of me. I took two steps convulsively -in this direction with some quick thought of getting nearer to the edge -of the danger that threatened us. And then I began to move slowly -downwards, inevitably carried on the whole moving surface by a force I -was utterly powerless to resist. Somehow I managed to turn out from the -slope so as to avoid being pushed headlong and backwards down it. For a -second or two I seemed hardly to be in danger as I went quietly sliding -down with the snow. Then the rope at my waist tightened and held me -back. A wave of snow came over me and I was buried. I supposed that the -matter was settled. However, I called to mind experiences related by -other parties; and it had been suggested that the best chance of escape -in this situation lay in swimming. I thrust out my arms above my head -and actually went through some sort of motions of swimming on my back. -Beneath the surface of the snow, with nothing to inform the senses of -the world outside it, I had no impression of speed after the first -acceleration—I struggled in the tumbling snow, unconscious of everything -else—until, perhaps, only a few seconds later, I knew the pace was -easing up. I felt an increasing pressure about my body. I wondered how -tightly I should be squeezed, and then the avalanche came to rest. - -My arms were free; my legs were near the surface. After a brief -struggle, I was standing again, surprised and breathless, in the -motionless snow. But the rope was tight at my waist; the porter tied on -next me, I supposed, must be deeply buried. To my further surprise, he -quickly emerged, unharmed as myself. Somervell and Crawford too, though -they had been above me by the rope’s length, were now quite close, and -soon extricated themselves. We subsequently made out that their -experiences had been very similar to mine. But where were the rest? -Looking down over the foam of snow, we saw one group of porters some -little distance, perhaps 150 feet, below us. Presumably the others must -be buried somewhere between us and them, and though no sign of these -missing men appeared, we at once prepared to find and dig them out. The -porters we saw still stood their ground instead of coming up to help. We -soon made out that they were the party who had been immediately behind -us, and they were pointing below them. They had travelled further than -us in the avalanche, presumably because they were nearer the centre, -where it was moving more rapidly. The other two parties, one of four and -one of five men roped together, must have been carried even further. We -could still hope that they were safe. But as we hurried down we soon saw -that beneath the place where the four porters were standing was a -formidable drop; it was only too plain that the missing men had been -swept over it. We had no difficulty in finding a way round this -obstacle; in a very short time we were standing under its shadow. The -ice-cliff was from 40 to 60 feet high in different places; the crevasse -at its foot was more or less filled up with avalanche snow. Our fears -were soon confirmed. One man was quickly uncovered and found to be still -breathing; before long we were certain that he would live. Another whom -we dug out near him had been killed by the fall. He and his party -appeared to have struck the hard lower lip of the crevasse, and were -lying under the snow on or near the edge of it. The four porters who had -escaped soon pulled themselves together after the first shock of the -accident, and now worked here with Crawford and did everything they -could to extricate the other bodies, while Somervell and I went down -into the crevasse. A loop of rope which we pulled up convinced us that -the other party must be here. It was slow work loosening the snow with -the pick or adze of an ice-axe and shovelling it with the hands. But we -were able to follow the rope to the bodies. One was dug up lifeless; -another was found upside down, and when we uncovered his face Somervell -thought he was still breathing. We had the greatest difficulty in -extricating this man, so tightly was the snow packed about his limbs; -his load, four oxygen cylinders on a steel frame, had to be cut from his -back, and eventually he was dragged out. Though buried for about forty -minutes, he had survived the fall and the suffocation, and suffered no -serious harm. Of the two others in this party of four, we found only -one. We had at length to give up a hopeless search with the certain -knowledge that the first of them to be swept over the cliff, and the -most deeply buried, must long ago be dead. Of the other five, all the -bodies were recovered, but only one was alive. The two who had so -marvellously escaped were able to walk down to Camp III, and were almost -perfectly well next day. The other seven were killed. - -This tragic calamity was naturally the end of the third attempt to climb -Mount Everest. The surviving porters who had lost their friends or -brothers behaved with dignity, making no noisy parade of the grief they -felt. We asked them whether they wished to go up and bring down the -bodies for orderly burial. They preferred to leave them where they were. -For my part, I was glad of this decision. What better burial could they -have than to lie in the snow where they fell? In their honour a large -cairn was built at Camp III. - -A few words must be added with regard to this accident. No one will -imagine that we had pushed on recklessly disregarding the new conditions -of fresh snow. Three members of the Alpine Club, with experience of -judging snow for themselves, chiefly, of course, in the Alps, had all -supposed that the party was safe. They had imagined that on those gentle -slopes the snow would not move. In what way had they been deceived? The -fact that the avalanche snow came to rest on the slope where they were -proves that their calculation was not so very far wrong. But the snow -cannot all have been of the quality that adhered so well to the steep -ice-slope lower down. Where the avalanche started, not from the line of -their steps, but about 100 feet higher, it was shaded to some extent by -a broken wall of ice. There, perhaps, it had both drifted more deeply -and remained more free and powdery, and the weight of this snow was -probably sufficient to push the other down the slope once its surface -had been disturbed. More experience, more knowledge might perhaps have -warned us not to go there. One never can know enough about snow. But -looking up the corridor again after the event, I wondered how I ever -could be certain not to be deceived by appearances so innocent. - -The regret of all members of the Expedition for the loss of our seven -porters will have been elsewhere expressed. It is my part only to add -this: the work of carrying up our camps on Mount Everest is beyond the -range of a simple contract measured in terms of money; the porters had -come to have a share in our enterprise, and these men died in an act of -voluntary service freely rendered and faithfully performed. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - CONCLUSIONS - - -It might be supposed that, from the experience of two expeditions to -Mount Everest, it would be possible to deduce an estimate of the dangers -and difficulties involved and to formulate a plan for overcoming the -obstacles which would meet with universal approval among mountaineers. -But, in fact, though many deductions could hardly be denied, I should be -surprised to find, even among us of the second party, anything like -complete agreement either in our judgment of events or in our ideas for -the future. Accordingly, I must be understood as expressing only my -personal opinions. The reader, no doubt, will judge the book more -interesting if he finds the joint authors disagreeing among themselves. - -The story of the first attempt to climb the mountain in 1922 will have -no doubts on one point. The final camp was too low. However strong a -party may be brought to the assault, their aim, unless they are provided -with oxygen, must be to establish a camp considerably higher than our -camp at 25,000 feet. The whole performance of the porters encourages us -to believe that this can be done. Some of them went to a height of -25,000 feet and more, not once only, but thrice; and they accomplished -this feat with strength to spare. It is reasonable to suppose that these -same men, or others of their type, could carry loads up to 27,000 feet. -But it would be equally unreasonable to suppose that they could reach -this height in one day from the camp on Chang La at 23,000 feet. No one -would be so foolish as to organise an attempt on this assumption. Two -camps instead of one must be placed above the Chang La; another stage -must be added to the structure before the climbing party sets forth to -reach the summit. - -But how exactly is this to be done? It is to this question that one -would wish to deduce an answer from the experience of 1922. It is very -unlikely that any future party will find itself in the position to carry -out any ideal plan of organisation. Ideally, they ought to start by -considering what previous performances might help or hinder the aim of -bringing the party of attack in the fittest possible condition to the -last camp. What ought they to have done or not to have done, having -regard to acclimatisation? It is still impossible to lay down the law on -this head. After the first Expedition, I supposed that the limit of -acclimatisation must be somewhere about 21,000 feet. It now seems -probable that it is higher. One of the physiologists who has been most -deeply concerned with this problem of acclimatisation considers that it -would probably be desirable, from the physiological point of view, to -stay four or five days at 25,000 feet before proceeding to attempt the -two last stages on consecutive days. Those of us who slept at Camp V for -the first attempt would certainly be agreed in our attitude towards this -counsel. The desire to continue the advance and spend another night at a -higher elevation, if it persisted at all for so long a time at 25,000 -feet, would be chilled to tepidity, and the increasing desire to get -away from Camp V might lead to retreat instead of advance. The -conditions must be altogether more comfortable if the climbers are to -derive any advantage from their rustication at this altitude. It would -not be impossible, perhaps, if every effort were concentrated on this -end, to make a happy home where the aspiring mountaineers might pass a -long week-end in enjoyment of the simplest life at 25,000 feet; it would -not be practicable, having regard to other ends to be served by the -system of transport. But it might be well to spend a similar period for -acclimatisation 2,000 feet lower on the Chang La. There a very -comfortable camp, with perfect shelter from the prevailing wind and good -snow to lie on, can easily be established. Noel actually spent three -successive nights there in 1922, and apparently was the better rather -than the worse for the experience. - -No less important in this connection is the effect of exertions at high -altitudes on a man’s subsequent performance. We have to take into -account the condition of the climbing parties when they returned to the -Base Camp after reaching approximately 27,000 feet. With one exception, -all the climbers were affected in various degrees by their exertions, to -the prejudice of future efforts. It would seem, therefore, that they -cannot have had much strength to spare for the final stage to the -summit. But there was a general agreement among the climbers that it was -not so much the normal exertion of climbing upwards that was in itself -unduly exhausting, but the addition of anything that might be considered -abnormal, such as cutting steps, contending with wind, pushing on for a -particular reason at a faster pace, and the many little things that had -to be done in camp. It is difficult from a normal elevation to -appreciate how great is the difference between establishing a camp on -the one hand and merely ascending to one already established on the -other. If ever it proves possible to organise an advanced party whose -business it would be to establish at 25,000 feet a much more comfortable -camp than ours in 1922, and if, in addition, a man could be spared to -undertake the preparation of meals, the climbers detailed for the -highest section of all would both be spared a considerable fatigue and -would have a better chance of real rest and sleep. - -The peculiar dangers of climbing at great altitudes were illustrated by -the experience of 1922. The difficulty of maintaining the standard of -sound and accurate mountaineering among a party all more or less -affected by the conditions, and the delays and misfortunes that may -arise from the exhaustion of one of the party, are dangers which might -be minimised by a supporting party. Two men remaining at the final camp -and two men near Camp V watching the progress of the unit of assault -along the final ridge, and prepared to come to their assistance, might -serve to produce vital stimulants, hot tea or merely water, at the -critical moment, and to protect the descent. It is a counsel of -perfection to suggest providing against contingencies on this lavish -scale; but it is well to bear in mind the ideal. And there is, besides, -a precaution which surely can and will be taken: to take a supply of -oxygen for restorative purposes. The value of oxygen for restoring -exhausted and warming cold men was sufficiently well illustrated during -the second attempt in 1922. - -[Illustration: - - CHANG LA AND NORTH-EAST SHOULDER OF MOUNT EVEREST -] - -The question as to whether the use of oxygen will otherwise help or -hinder climbers is one about which opinions may be expected to disagree. -Anyone who thinks that it is impossible to get up without oxygen can -claim that nothing has shown it to be impossible to get up with its aid. -For my part, I don’t think it impossible to get up without oxygen. The -difference of atmospheric pressure between 27,000 feet and the summit is -small, and it is safe to conclude that men who have exerted themselves -at 27,000 feet could live without difficulty for a number of hours on -the summit. As to whether their power of progress would give out before -reaching 29,000 feet, it is impossible to dogmatise. I can only say that -nothing in the experience of the first attempt has led me to suppose -that those last 2,000 feet cannot be climbed in a day. I am not -competent to sift and weigh all the evidence as to whether, how much, -and with what consumption of gas it was easier to proceed up the slopes -of Mount Everest with oxygen so far as Finch and Bruce went on that -memorable day. But I do venture to combat the suggestion that it is -necessarily easier to reach the top in that manner. I think no one will -dispute the statement that the final camp for the second attempt was too -low, as it had been for the first, to enable the oxygen party to reach -the summit. With the same apparatus it will be necessary in this case -also to provide a second camp above the North Col. And the question for -the moment will ultimately be, is it possible to add to that immense -burden of transport to 27,000 feet the weight of the oxygen cylinders -required? - -The weather in all probability will have something to say to this -problem. The Expedition of 1922 was certainly not favoured by the -weather. There was no continuous spell of calm fine days, and the summer -snows began a week earlier than the most usual date. One wonders what -sort of weather is to be expected with the most favourable conditions on -Mount Everest. It is conceivable that a series of calm fine days -sometimes precede the monsoon. But when we consider the perpetual winds -of Tibet at all seasons, it seems unlikely that Mount Everest is often -immune from this abominable visitation. It is far more likely that the -calm day is a rare exception, and only to be expected when the -north-westerly current is neutralised by the monsoon from the -South-east. The ill-luck of 1922 may probably be computed as no more -than those seven days by which the monsoon preceded expectation. With so -short a time for preparations and advance, we were indeed unfortunate in -meeting an early monsoon. And it is hardly possible considerably to -extend the available time by starting earlier. There was only the barest -trickle of water at the Base Camp on May 1, 1922, and the complications -involved by the necessity of melting snow for water, both here and at -all higher stages, for any considerable time, would be a severe -handicap. But it must be remembered that the second attempt was made a -week before the monsoon broke. Time appeared short on the mountain -chiefly from the threat of bad weather and the signs showing that the -majority of days were, to say the least, extremely disagreeable for -climbing high on the mountain. If others are confronted by similar -conditions, they too will probably feel that each fine day must be -utilised and the attack must be pressed on; for the fine days past will -not come back, and ahead is the uncertain monsoon. - -A final question may now be asked: What advantages will another -Expedition have which we did not have in 1922? In one small and in one -large matter the next Expedition may be better equipped. It was -disappointing, after so much time and thought had been expended upon the -problem of foot-gear, that nothing was evolved in 1922 which succeeded -in taking the place of Alpine boots of well-known patterns. The great -disadvantage of these sorts of boot is that one cannot wear crampons -with them at these high altitudes, for the strap bound tightly round the -foot will almost certainly cause frostbite; either different boots or -different spikes must be invented if the climbers are to have crampons -or their equivalent. It is essential that they should be so equipped to -avoid the labour of step-cutting, and the lack of this equipment might -well rob them of victory on the steep final slopes below the summit. -This matter of foot-gear is not so very small, after all. But a still -more important one is the oxygen apparatus. It is conceivable, and I -believe by no means unlikely, that a different type of cylinder may be -used in the future, and capable of containing more oxygen, compared with -the same weight, than those of 1922. A 50 per cent. improvement in this -direction should alter the whole problem of using oxygen. With this -advantage it might well be possible to go to the top and back with the -four cylinders which a man may be expected to carry from a height of -25,000 feet or little higher. If a second camp above the North Col -becomes unnecessary in this way, the whole effort required, and -especially the effort of transport, will be reduced to the scale of what -has already been accomplished, and can no doubt be accomplished again. - -The further advantage of a future Expedition is simply that of -experience. It amounts to something, one cannot say how much. In small -ways a number of mistakes may be avoided. The provision of this and that -may be more accurately calculated according to tried values. The whole -organisation of life in high camps should be rather more efficient. -Beyond all this, the experience of 1922 should help when the moment -comes towards the making of a right plan; and a party which chooses -rightly what to do and when to do it, and can so exclude other -possibilities as to be certain that no better way could be chosen, has a -great advantage. But, when all is said as to experience and equipment, -it still remains true that success requires a quality. History repeats -itself, perhaps, but in a vague and general fashion only where mountains -are concerned. The problem of reaching the summit is every time a fresh -one. The keen eye for a fair opportunity and resource in grave -emergencies are no less necessary to the mountaineer everywhere, and not -least upon Mount Everest, than determination to carry through the high -project, the simple will to conquer in the struggle. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - NOTES - - By - T. HOWARD SOMERVELL - - on - - ACCLIMATISATION AT HIGH - ALTITUDES - - COLOUR IN TIBET - - TIBETAN CULTURE - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - ACCLIMATISATION AT HIGH ALTITUDES - - -The Everest Expedition of 1922 had no preconceived programme of -scientific investigation, and was first and foremost an attempt to get -up the mountain; though, as I had been connected with physiological -research for some years, I was naturally anxious to make observations on -the effect of altitude on the human frame. These observations were -rather subjective, and were unaccompanied by any accurate data—in other -words, the reader will be relieved to hear that there are no tables of -figures to be reproduced. Barcroft and others were in the course of -their Expedition to the Andes, and I knew full well their results would -supply more accurate information on the exact process of acclimatisation -at high altitudes than anything we could do with our simpler apparatus. -We left it to this other Expedition, therefore, to supply the figures, -while our observations were exclusively on the practical side; that is -to say, we observed the rapidity and effect of acclimatisation, while -not investigating exactly how it is brought about. - -The first effect of altitude, in such moderate degree as we encountered -it on the plains of Tibet, was almost entirely a mere breathlessness, -which limited our rate of walking, and increased the popularity of our -uncomfortable Tibetan saddles when travelling uphill. A few of us had -severe headaches from time to time; at the modest height of 17,000 feet -I noticed Cheyne-Stokes respiration at night when lying down, though -never when sitting or standing; and I remember being distinctly amused -at the fact that one was unable to control it.[7] A few of the party had -a single attack of vomiting, but no permanent effect was noticed, and by -the time we had lived on the Tibetan Plateau for a few weeks we had lost -all ill effects save only breathlessness, which, of course, persisted to -some extent until we reached comparatively low elevations. Further -effect at these heights was not noticed save in the case of some of the -older members of the party, who suffered from a considerable loss of -appetite while at the Base Camp at 16,000 feet; this effect on appetite -did not improve as time went on. - -Footnote 7: - - For the benefit of the non-medical reader, Cheyne-Stokes breathing is - the gradual alternation of shallow and deep respirations: usually - about ten shallow breaths are followed by respirations which get - gradually deeper; then by three or four really deep ones, which become - shallower until the cycle recommences. - -It was when we began the more serious work on the mountain that we made -the most interesting observations on acclimatisation, and proved both -its rapidity (which was known before) and its persistence to great -heights. Scientists of various schools had, before the start of the -Expedition, predicted that acclimatisation would be impossible above the -height of 20,000 feet. Why they had done so will always remain a mystery -to me; but possibly they were misled by the fact that so many climbing -expeditions in the past have failed somewhere in the region of 23,000 -feet above sea-level. We were enabled, however, to prove conclusively -that acclimatisation does go on to greater heights; in fact, I do not -see a theoretical limit to it at any elevation below the top of Mount -Everest. Our observations were largely subjective, but for that reason -they are perhaps all the more to be appreciated by the general reader; -and in view of their subjective nature I may perhaps be pardoned in -substituting “feelings” for figures and putting information in the form -of a personal experience. - -When Mallory and I arrived at Camp III and established it on the site -chosen by the reconnaissance party, our first concern was the -preparation of another camp at the North Col. I shall never forget our -first ascent up that accursed slope of snow and ice, each step a -hardship, every foot a fight; until at last we lay almost exhausted on -the top. After a day or two at Camp III below, we went up again to the -col, this time with Strutt and Morshead, and I think Norton. The ascent -of the col this time was hard work, but not more than that; and after -the col had been reached Morshead and I were sufficiently cheerful to -explore the way leading up to Everest. A day or two later we again -ascended the North Col, and never really noticed more discomfort than -was occasioned by breathlessness. Though not possessing the scientific -data which explained this change in our condition, yet in those few days -of life at 21,000 feet we had become acclimatised to our altitude to a -very remarkable degree; what had previously been a hard struggle had now -become a comparatively easy job. By this rapid change in our -constitution we had not only proved the predictions of scientists to be -wrong, but had gained the physical power which took us without -artificial oxygen supply to 27,000 feet, and we had determined that -acclimatisation is not only possible but is also quite rapid at these -high altitudes. - -Thus, by sojourn and exercise for a week above 20,000 feet, we obtained -the physiological equipment necessary for an attempt on the mountain, -and at this point some personal experiences may be of interest, though -possibly of no great importance. We found that, as we ascended, we fell -into an automatic rate of breathing; Mallory preferred to breathe slowly -and deeply, while rapid and shallower respirations appealed to me; but -we all walked upwards at almost exactly the same rate at any given -height. Below the North Col, I took three breaths to a step, while at -26,000 feet I was taking five complete respirations; but as long as I -was walking slowly enough I experienced no distress or discomfort. If -one hurried for a short distance, one was forced to rest for a few -seconds—a rest was imperative, and one felt it were impossible to do -without it; but as long as an even pace was kept up, one had no desire -to stop, nor to make one’s admiration of the landscape an excuse for -delaying one’s comrades. At the height of 26,000 feet, I took my pulse -(which was 180) and my respirations (which were 50 to 55 to the minute); -but withal one felt perfectly comfortable even though these abnormal -physiological conditions were present. No doubt the heart must be young -to stand this rate of beating for many hours; yet not too young, or it -will easily become enlarged and permanently damaged. - -In view of our experiences it seems justifiable to predict that -acclimatisation at 23,000 feet will be sufficient for the attainment of -the summit of Mount Everest, if indeed a sojourn at 21,000 feet is -insufficient—which is to my mind more than doubtful. The other important -practical observation we made is less encouraging: namely, that we all -varied in our rate of acclimatisation, and in fact some of our number -(especially the older ones among us) actually seemed to deteriorate in -condition while staying at a great height. But I think we proved that it -is possible to climb to the summit of Everest without the use of oxygen, -though the selection of men who are able to do so is very difficult -until those heights are actually reached at which acclimatisation -becomes established. Personally I felt perfectly well at 27,000 feet, -and my condition seemed no different at that height from what it had -been at 25,000 feet, or even lower; and I have no doubt there are many -people, if only they can be found, who can get to the top of Everest -unaided save by their own physiological reaction to a life at 21,000 -feet for a few days. If a number of such people were allowed to live at -a height corresponding to our Camp III for a fortnight or so, making -perhaps a few minor excursions to 23,000 or 24,000 feet, then I have no -doubt from the physiological point of view that they will be able to -climb Mount Everest, provided the weather is fine and the wind not too -violent. Without allowing time for acclimatisation to take place, it is -probable that nobody—that is, unless some _lusus naturæ_ exists—will -reach the summit; if artificially supplied oxygen be used, the -acclimatisation may not be necessary; but the danger of an attempt by -non-acclimatised men with oxygen apparatus is that a breakdown of the -apparatus might lead to serious consequences, while a fully acclimatised -man is probably just as capable of standing a height of 29,000 feet, -unaided, as you or I would be able to stand the height of Mount Blanc -to-morrow. When the Expedition of 1922 started I was personally of -opinion that nobody could exist at a height about 25,000 or 26,000 feet -without oxygen; but since we have proved that this can be done, it seems -that the chances of climbing the mountain are probably greater if oxygen -be not used. For the apparatus, and the spare cylinders required, -necessitate the use of a large number of coolies; while in an attempt -without oxygen only three or four coolies are required for the camping -equipment and the food at the highest camp. Therefore it seems that the -best chance of getting to the top of Mount Everest lies in the sending -out of some nine or ten climbers, who can remain at a high camp, become -thoroughly acclimatised, and then make a series of expeditions up the -mountain, three or so at a time, as continuously as weather conditions -will allow. By adopting these tactics the number of possible attempts up -the mountain can be increased; and it seems to me that the chances of -climbing to the summit lie in the multiplicity of possible attempts -rather than in any other direction. It were better to prepare for a -number of attempts each by a small but acclimatised party, rather than -to stake all on one or two highly organised endeavours, in which oxygen, -and a large number of coolies, are used. It is only a small proportion -of coolies who can get up to the heights of 25,000 or 27,000 feet, and -they should be used for any one attempt as sparingly as possible. During -the war we all had our ideas of how it should be run, and they were -generally wrong; the above plan is the writer’s idea of how to climb -Mount Everest, and may or may not be right, but is enunciated for what -it is worth. - -Among subsidiary effects of extreme altitudes, were those upon appetite, -temper, and mental condition generally. Most of us will admit a good -deal of peevishness and irritability while at a level of 22,000 feet and -more; for the altitude undoubtedly makes one lose to some extent one’s -mental balance, and the first way in which this appears on the surface -is by a ruffling of the temper. In addition, one has a certain lack of -determination, and when at a height approaching 27,000 feet I remember -distinctly that I cared very little whether we reached the top of -Everest or not. A good instance of this altered attitude of mind is -provided by the fact that Finch and Bruce took a camera with them on -their ascent, and forgot to take any photographs of their last day’s -climbing. - -I have mentioned the deleterious effect of altitude on the appetite of -some of our older members; but the same was to some extent true of us -all. I have the most vivid recollection of distaste for food during our -first few days at Camp III, and especially of the way one had almost to -push a prune down one’s throat on the way up to the North Col; but with -the majority of us this distaste for food (especially for meat and the -slowly-digested foods) diminished during our sojourn at great heights, -though our appetites never became quite normal until we reached one of -the lower camps. Those who had oxygen reported that they had large -appetites above the North Col; and there is no doubt that it is the -rarefaction of the air that causes this alteration of the appetite. One -may perhaps be justified in assuming that the secretion of gastric juice -is diminished while air that is poor in oxygen is inhaled, though it is -rather hard to understand how this is brought about. - -Although acclimatisation is not entirely connected with the actual -increase in the number of blood corpuscles (as has been proved by -Barcroft in 1922), yet this is still recognised as one of the important -factors in its production. But this increase in the concentration of the -blood must be associated with a great increase in its viscosity, and -when that is combined with intense cold with its accompanying -constriction of all the smaller blood-vessels, there are present all the -conditions necessary for the production of frostbite. Therefore -acclimatisation with all its benefits probably increases the risk of -frostbite; hence one who is acclimatised must be especially careful of -feet and hands and their coverings. It is hard to put on too many -clothes at a great altitude, and very easy to put on too few. - -The chief point still remaining to be mentioned concerns the -after-effects of the climbing of Everest; but these varied so much that -they give us little or no scientific information. Some of us were tired -for twenty-four hours only, some for many days; some were reported to -have enlarged hearts, while in some the heart was normal; some were -incapacitated by frostbite, though their general physical condition was -very probably good. One therefore cannot generalise about after-effects, -but as a medical man I felt strongly (by observation on myself and my -companions on the Expedition) that if one is to “live to fight another -day” and to require the minimum recuperation period after an attempt on -the mountain, it is essential during the attempt to keep oneself well -within one’s powers. One is tempted to go too hard, and to exert one’s -strength to its limits; but it is just the last few ounces of strength -which call forth the greatest effort and make the maximum demands on -one’s resources; and if these resources are to be used to their full -extent they should be continuously conserved by an avoidance of definite -hurry. Personally I am of opinion that exercise before the climbing -begins is of great value. Mallory and I were the only ones whom -Longstaff allowed to make two attempts on Everest; and we were probably -rendered fit in this way by the subsidiary expeditions we had made on -the way to Mount Everest and by our preliminary work in getting the camp -ready on the North Col. It is, however, hard to generalise on a point -like this, but each man knows the idiosyncrasies of his own -constitution, and it should be left to individuals to a great extent to -see that their condition on arrival at the foot of the mountain is the -best that is possible. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - COLOUR IN TIBET - - -In order to bring before the reader a vivid picture of Tibet, and -especially of the region around Mount Everest, a comparison between -Tibet and other better-known countries is almost inevitable. The -Expedition of 1922 took with them no official artist, or no doubt he -would have been deputed to write this section of the book; there were, -however, two people who tried to paint pictures of the country, Major -Norton and myself; and though I realise how inadequate our efforts were, -perhaps those of an official artist might have been almost as bad. -However, as one who looks on the world with an eye for its beauty, -although lacking the ability to transfer that beauty to canvas, one may -perhaps be pardoned for endeavouring to describe certain general -impressions of the scenery encountered by the Expedition. - -In the course of our journey we passed through a great variety of -landscape; in Sikkim, for instance, we found a land of steep slopes and -dense forests, while Tibet is almost a desert country. We experienced -the clear air of the winter, and the mists and storm-clouds of the -monsoon. While we were on the rolling plains of the Tibetan Plateau, -only a few miles away were the snow-covered summits of the highest -mountains in the world. - -Sikkim is a country of deep valleys and of luxurious vegetation; the air -is generally damp and the skies cloudy, and there is often a beautiful -blue haze that gives atmosphere to the distance. Sikkim is not unlike -the Italian side of the Alps, in many ways. True, its scale is larger, -and it possesses some of the most beautiful and impressive peaks in the -world (for no Alpine peak can vie with Siniolchum or Pandim for sheer -beauty of form and surface), but on the whole the scenery of Sikkim is -of the same general build as the valleys and peaks of Northern Italy. In -this sense Sikkim did not offer to the new-comer anything entirely -different from what he had seen before. But Tibet and Everest certainly -did; and the difference between Sikkim and Tibet is twofold—first, Tibet -is almost uniformly over 13,000 feet above sea-level, and therefore -bears no trees at all; second, Tibet is almost free from rainfall and -is, in consequence, a desert country. One’s eye travelled, for mile -after mile, over red-brown sand and red-brown limestone hills, finally -to rest on the blue and white of the distant snows. The air, before the -monsoon commences, is almost always clear—clear to an extent unimagined -by a European, clearer even than the air of an Alpine winter. So peaks -and ridges 30 or 40 miles away are often almost in the same visual plane -as the foreground of the landscape. In some extensive views, such as we -had from the hills above Tinki Dzong, one came to look upon hills 30 -miles away as the middle distance of one’s picture, while the background -was formed of mountains a hundred miles from the point of view. It is -this lack of atmosphere which makes pictorial representation of these -Tibetan scenes so very difficult; the pictures I made on the course of -the Expedition have all had one criticism from many different -people—“there is no atmosphere.” Many as are the demerits of these -pictures, this is the one merit they have; and if they had an -“atmosphere” they would cease to be truthful. In the Alps one has often -seen mountains with extreme clearness at a great distance, but I never -remember having viewed an Alpine landscape in which there was -practically no effect of distance, and practicably no blueness of the -more distant shadows. Yet that is precisely what obtains in Tibet before -the month of June. And then, with startling suddenness, comes the -monsoon, with its damp air; for some months the landscape is entirely -altered, and also much beautified. The blue haze of the monsoon converts -the distant shadows from their crude purple-brown to the most -magnificent and sometimes brilliant blue. Once or twice one looked in -vain on one’s palette for a blue of sufficient brilliance and intensity -to reproduce the colour of the shadows 20 or 30 miles away. Then the -monsoon brings clouds and rain-storms, all of which tend to give variety -to the scene, and to endue the distant peaks with that effect of mystery -which renders them so alluring and so beautiful. - -As far as the scenery among the higher mountains is concerned, the -comparison of photographs of the Everest group of peaks with those of -the Alps will give one more idea of the differences between the two -districts than can a mere verbal description, save in the matter of -scale and colour. In colour, the Alps are more varied and the rock is, -as a rule, a darker brown; the snow-shadows are more blue and the -outlines less clear; while Alpine foregrounds so often contain trees -which are totally absent from the foregrounds of Tibet. There both rocks -and stones, scree and valley-bed are of a light reddish-brown, almost -uniform in tone from near foreground to extreme distance; Makalu, for -example, is a colossal rock-pyramid of quite a light ochre colour; the -rocks of Everest are of a light amber brown relieved in the -neighbourhood of 27,000 feet by a lighter yellowish band of quartzite. -The snow of the range on its northern side resembles that of Alpine -peaks, but on the southern face the festoons and grooves of ice, so well -known to many from photographs of Himalayan mountains, decorate the much -steeper and more uncompromising slopes. Most of the higher peaks are -swept by continual gusts of wind which whirl clouds of snow from the -topmost ridges into the sky. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - TIBETAN CULTURE - - -The Tibetans are a very simple folk, though not without a very definite -civilisation of their own. Art and music exist in all nations, if the -art be merely the fashioning of utensils, and the music be the crudest -of rhythms played on a tom-tom. Yet in Tibet the rudimentary music and -art associated with so many Eastern races is carried a stage farther, -and what is in wilder people merely natural instinct has become in Tibet -a definite culture. For I presume that culture is merely organised art, -and certainly on that criterion the Tibetan is to some extent cultured. - -He is a fine architect, and many of his houses have a simple stateliness -which raises them in artistic value high above the average -dwelling-house of most other Oriental countries, to say nothing of our -own garden suburbs. The Monasteries of Tibet are still more imposing, -and some of them are real objects of beauty, for the dignified -simplicity of the buildings themselves is combined with an elaborate and -often beautiful decoration of windows and cornices. The Tibetans have -learned the true principles of decoration—they do not cover the surfaces -of their buildings with unnecessary ornament, but reserve the wooden -parts alone for elaboration. The cornices are often intricate in -workmanship, but throughout the great principle of design is carried to -perfection—the principle that all ornament should be founded on utility. -Thus economy in the use of scrolls is combined with the multiplication -of brackets, supports, and rafter-ends, so that the whole is satisfying -to the eye as being beautiful, rather than useless. Considerable Chinese -influence is shown in their decorative art, but the Tibetans have a -personal, or rather national, touch which distinguishes their work in -all branches of art from the Chinese. In painting, too, the influence of -China, and very occasionally of India, is felt: though through it all -the refined austerity of the better-class Tibetan shines unmistakably. -The older pictures, nearly always of sacred subjects, are drawn with -consummate skill, coloured with great taste, and in the matter of design -rank much higher than the contemporary art of India. But, alas! the -story of painting in Tibet is the same as it is everywhere in this -commercial world of ours; the modern Tibetan picture is worthless, -careless and meretricious. No doubt the demand for “native art” at the -bazaars of Darjeeling and other places around has caused this -deterioration of what was once a fine and noble art; pictures which used -to be the life-work of devoted lamas and conscientious hermits are now -“dashed off” to satisfy the capacious maw of the tasteless traveller. -Though Tibet is still in measure “The Forbidden Land,” yet the tentacles -of commercialism cannot but penetrate between its bars, and the same -thing is now happening to Tibet as happened to Europe last century and -produced oleographs and official artists. It seems almost as if man by -nature does bad work only when he is working for reward. - -[Illustration: - - RELIGIOUS BANNERS IN SHEKAR MONASTERY. -] - -This is a mere flashlight sketch of the art of Tibet, for details of -which other books must be consulted; but the music of Tibet will be -described more fully, for two reasons—first, that no accurate record of -it has to my knowledge been obtained until now, and second, that the -writer is himself particularly fond of music, which he believes to be -the highest of the arts. - -Just as in Europe to-day we have both the traditional folk-song and the -highly organised orchestral music, so in Tibet both these forms of the -art exist. The two are also more or less interdependent in Tibet, while -in Western nations each often goes its own way without the other. - -The airs sung by the Tibetan people are usually simple, short, and -oft-repeated. They are nearly always in the pentatonic scale, -represented best to the general reader by the black notes of the piano. -Most isolated races evolve this scale at some time during their history, -and the tunes of the Highlands of Scotland, the Forests of Central -Africa, the Appalachians of America, and the Tibetans are all in this -scale.[8] - -Footnote 8: - - Sir Walford Davies has pointed out that, starting (on the black notes) - from A flat, and using only the perfect fifth, this scale is very soon - developed. From A flat one gets E flat and D flat, each a fifth away; - from D flat one obtains G flat, a fifth down, and from E flat a fifth - upwards gives us B flat. Thus we get the five notes of the scale by a - simple series of fifths, the fifth being the most perfect interval in - music, and the one which will appeal most readily to a primitive - people. - -A typical well-known pentatonic tune is “Over the Sea to Skye.” Those -who know, for instance, the songs of the Western Highlands, will be able -to appreciate the cheerful and non-Oriental character of the tunes of -Tibet, which are more akin to those of Russia and Eastern Europe than to -the music of China or India. This general spirit of the music which the -Tibetans play or sing points to a common origin of the folk-tunes of -Tibet and Russia. It seems probable that in Turkestan was the real -origin of this music, which very likely spread eastwards into Tibet and -westwards into Russia; or if Turkestan is not the country of origin of -the music, it may be the musical link between Russia and Tibet. The -tunes of Nepal, as sung by our coolies, are many of them of a similar -nature to those of Tibet, though more often the whole major or minor -scale is used, giving them often a strangely European sound; some of the -Nepalese airs have a jolly lilt and swing; others in the minor key have -quite a haunting beauty; and they too are quite unlike the music of the -plains of India with its rather pointless wailing characteristics.[9] - -Footnote 9: - - A more technical article on the subject of Tibetan Music, with musical - quotations, will be found in the _Musical Times_ for February 1, 1923. - -In Tibet, then, the folk-tunes are simple, short, and emphatically not -such “good tunes” as the airs of Nepal. But, in addition to the songs of -the peasants and beggars, there is the more highly-organised and -orchestrated music of the monasteries. This is usually played with three -groups of instruments—first and foremost the percussion; drums of all -sizes from those made of a human skull to others 3 and 4 feet in -diameter, and cymbals of great resonance and good tone, coming often -from China. The cymbals are taken very seriously, and each different way -of clashing them has a special name and a special religious -significance. The hard-worked percussion department keeps up a -continuous rhythm throughout the performance of a devil-dance or other -musical festival; and to its strenuous and often sinister efforts are -added from time to time the sounds of the two groups of wind -instruments. The first of these, playing airs which often possess great -charm, are the double-reed oboes, about twice as long as our European -oboe, and very often provided with equidistant holes, rendering them -incapable of playing save in the scale of whole tones (or a close -approximation to it). The second and larger wind instrument is the long -straight trumpet, 8 to 12 feet long, of which the fundamental note is -almost continuously blown. Most monasteries have two of these, about one -tone apart in pitch; but as the longer of the two is blown so as to play -its first overtone, while the fundamental note is played on the other, a -drone bass of a minor seventh is the resulting sound. This adds to the -sinister impressiveness of the music, and provides an effective -accompaniment to the quaint tunes of the oboe-like instruments. At a -devil-dance performance, the orchestra plays for a whole day, or perhaps -two, almost without rest either for itself or for its listeners. - -In addition to these instruments, a fairly civilised violin is used in -Tibet, especially by wandering beggar minstrels. This is about -two-thirds as long as our violin, and has four strings, tuned A,D,A,D, -in that order. The bow has two hanks of hair, one of which passes -between the first and second strings, while the other goes between the -third and fourth. Thus, by pressing the bow in one direction the two A -strings are sounded, producing a reinforced note (i.e. two notes in -unison); by pressing the bow in the other direction the sound of the D -strings is obtained. The strings converge towards the top of the -instrument, so that they can all be fingered at once. The Tibetans -become very agile with their fingers, and I have heard very skilful -performances of rapid, jolly dance-tunes by wandering minstrels; these -tunes, like the songs of the peasants, are usually in the pentatonic -scale. - -One more instrument must be mentioned—the trumpet made from a human -thigh-bone. This is not very commonly used in the larger monasteries, -but occasionally sounds a note in the ritual of the worship of smaller -villages. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - NATURAL HISTORY - - By - - T. G. LONGSTAFF, M.D. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - NATURAL HISTORY - - -Previous experience of the conditions of Tibetan travel had taught me -that collection and observation was a task requiring complete immunity -from other duties; but to the doctor of such an Expedition this -condition was not attainable. In the collection of specimens we were, -however, fortunate in obtaining the assistance of several other members -of the Expedition. But it is especially to Major Norton that the thanks -of the Everest Committee are due, for in addition to his other duties, -he took over the whole of the botanical work and worked equally with -myself in all other branches of Zoology. His gift of painting was -particularly valuable in leading to the certain identification of birds -in districts where collecting was prohibited. At the time of writing he -is on duty at Chanak, and the following notes lose half their value -through lack of his promised collaboration, which I had anticipated with -particular pleasure. - -In his absence I must omit all reference to botany, for personally, -owing to the wintry conditions during our outward march and to the speed -of my journey back with the invalids, I saw nothing that has not been -already better described by Wollaston. But Norton, with our Lepcha -collector Rumoo, obtained some 350 flowering plants in Kharta, and we -also sent back samples of agricultural seeds. - -It must be remembered that it was the constant aim of General Bruce to -render it easier for any subsequent party to pass through the country. -The objection of the Tibetans to the taking of any wild life is almost -universal amongst the clerics and is devoutly shared by the lay -population in certain localities. These considerations unfortunately -applied particularly to the districts of Tengkye, Shelkar Dzong and -Rombuk, where the killing of even domestic animals is prohibited. - -There are, however, other parts of Tibet where the same restraint is -unnecessary, and even where hunting is habitually practised by the -semi-nomadic population. This immunity in our case applied especially to -the Chumbi Valley and the country round Phari, and in consequence we -have been able to bring back some material which it is hoped will add to -the value of the larger collections brought back last year by Dr. -Wollaston. - -That portion of Tibet visited by the Expedition, and indeed it is -typical of most of its provinces, is a region of bare uplands and naked -mountains. Such physical conditions combine with a violent type of -radiation in the thin dry air to evolve a daily strife of winds, -ceaselessly seeking to rectify the balance of atmospheric stability; -this continual wind is indeed the foundation of the traveller’s -discomfort and the worst enemy of the mountaineer. - -[Illustration: - - ROMOO, THE LEPCHA COLLECTOR, WHO ASSISTED - DR. LONGSTAFF AND MAJOR NORTON. -] - -[Illustration: - - KARMA PAUL, THE EXPEDITION’S INTERPRETER. -] - -Owing to its aridity, due to the intervention of the rain-catching -Himalaya, the country is practically treeless. Distant open views -prevail over vast landscapes, lit by strong lights in an atmosphere -devoid of fogs or softening mist effects. Usually nothing can move -without being visible from a great distance. Hence, though it is not a -region particularly rich in life, yet those forms which do prevail are -not easily overlooked. Concealment is only to be obtained by burrowing -underground, or by immobility combined with protective coloration. - -Nowhere is this more obtrusively shown than on the great stony uplands, -at an altitude of from 14,000 to 17,000 feet East and South of Khamba -Dzong. Here we were in constant sight of bands of wild asses, gazelle, -and sheep: from a distance of a couple of miles a prowling wolf was -easily discerned. The ground is nowhere here covered by a continuous -carpet of grass or herbs, but each plant is several yards from the next. -Hence even a small herd of game will cover the ground with innumerable -tracks, suggesting to the uninitiated a far greater number of -individuals than really exist. To watch a flock of Tibetan sheep or -goats grazing seems like watching a migration, for the herd moves at a -smart walk, often breaking into a run, each individual racing for the -next mouthful a few yards ahead. They move on a wide front, with the -shepherd and his wolf-dog well in evidence. On one occasion we came on a -wolf devouring a lamb: 50 yards away lay the guardian dog, waiting -apparently for any scraps the robber might leave. - -It might be supposed that as in the Arctic the birds and animals would -turn white in winter. But two sufficient reasons against this necessity -have already been indicated. Firstly, the snow line is so high, probably -between 19,000 and 20,000 feet, that vegetation does not extend up to -it: even the predatory beasts are dependent on vegetation for the -pasture of their prey. Secondly, evaporation is so rapid that the -country is never snow-clad for long even during the winter season. - -But some modification of habit to meet the hostility of winter, under -conditions of life already so severe, is to be looked for. Of Marmots we -saw nothing during the journey to Everest; probably they were still -hibernating. Norton found them later in Kharta and obtained a welcome -specimen. Yet Hares were very common at 16,000 to 17,000 feet, several -haunting the old moraines of the Rongbuk Glacier even above our Base -Camp. Here also, at 17,000 feet, was a small herd of Bharel, or Blue -Sheep, which having some familiarity with the hermit monks permitted a -fairly close approach. - -More interesting are the Mouse-hares, or Pikas, of several varieties, -small friendly creatures which live in colonies, mainly (_Ochotona -curzoniæ_) on the open plains, where even their small burrows sometimes -undermine considerable areas so that one must ride with care. They are -quick and lively in their movements, darting from hole to hole with -extreme rapidity, and peeping from their burrows at the stranger with -obvious amusement. They are often first seen sitting up on their -hind-legs. They lay in stores of grass for winter use, though the -evidence all goes to prove that they do not regularly hibernate. They -frequently utter a nearly inaudible high-pitched whispering call, a sort -of subdued whistle, from which no doubt comes the (Shoka) Bhotia name of -_shippi_, “The Whisperer,” which I obtained in Gnari Khorsum in 1905. -Certain birds, as will be subsequently noted, live in association with -these small rodents, and add a further note to the charm of their -colonies. It appears impossible to trap them, and as their skulls are -usually damaged by shooting, a good series of skins, in both summer and -winter pelage, of the different species, is still much wanted for study -in our museums. - -The collection of small mammals is always difficult, and under the -circumstances already detailed our collection of skins was necessarily a -very small one. Geoffrey Bruce, however, obtained a perfect specimen of -the Panda (_Ailurus fulgens_) from the forests on the Chumbi side of the -Jelep La. This curiously aberrant animal, sometimes called the Bear-Cat, -is about the size of a fox, and has rich thick fur of a chestnut colour -on the back, black below, and with a thick bushy ring-marked tail; in -appearance it resembles somewhat the badgers, the bears, and the cats. -Its relative, the Great Panda of Tibet, is one of the rarest of large -mammals, owing to its very circumscribed distribution. - -A Hamster and a few Pikas of three varieties were caught at night in our -tents. A Weasel (_M. temon_) shot in Sikkim, with another Weasel and a -Marmot from Kharta, complete our list of mammal skins. We are much -disappointed at our failure to see or obtain any specimens from 20,000 -feet, where Wollaston’s Pika was actually handled last year—the greatest -known altitude for resident mammals. - -As to the birds, we were fortunate in having been able to go over Dr. -Wollaston’s collection with Mr. Norman B. Kinnear of the Natural History -Museum, who provided us in addition with a series of careful notes by -which we could identify those likely to be met with in localities where -we could not shoot. It is hoped that our material will be found -sufficient for Mr. Kinnear to publish a supplement to his recent paper -in the _Ibis_ on last year’s collection. - -Dr. Percy R. Lowe, Keeper of Birds of the Natural History Museum, was -particularly anxious for us to obtain for him a specimen of the -Himalayan or Ibis-billed Curlew (_Ibidorhynchus struthersi_) in the -flesh, for purposes of dissection, nothing being known of its anatomy up -to the present. Luckily this bird haunts the Chumbi Valley, and Norton -and I were able to spend a day in its pursuit. It is of the form of a -small curlew, of a general french-grey hue with bold dark markings, and -coral red beak and legs. There were several of these birds, not yet -(April 3) paired, about Yatung in the Chumbi Valley, but they were very -wary. They utter a high-pitched wader-like note not at all resembling -our curlew. They always flew directly over the main river, whence we -never could have retrieved them. The shores of this river are fringed by -beaches of large round grey pebbles, and resting amongst these the birds -were invisible. Eventually I lay up under the bank and Norton succeeded -in driving a bird on to an island in mid-stream, where I shot it. With -an outward display of truly scientific eagerness we divested ourselves -of our nether garments and waded waist deep through the torrent. We came -near quarrelling as to whether the water or the air was the coldest. But -at any rate we retrieved our bird, and what is more brought it, duly -preserved in spirits, through all the trials of travel and climate, -safely back to Dr. Lowe. - -In the Chumbi Valley also we obtained the Great or Solitary Snipe -(_Gallinago solitaria_), an addition to last year’s list. But my -favourite family, the Redstarts, were the most interesting. The -beautiful White-capped Redstart (_Chimarhornis leucocephalus_), mostly -widely distributed in the Himalaya, was still with us. The Plumbeous -Redstart (_Rhyacornis fuliginosus_) and the Blue-fronted Redstart -(_Phœnicurus frontalis_) we had already obtained in Sikkim. These also -were present at the beginning of April in the Chumbi Valley. We obtained -in addition the beautiful Blue-tail or Red-flanked Bush-Robin (_Tarsiger -rafiliatus_). I understand that the three latter species have not been -previously recorded from this locality. The Blue-tail frequents dense -bushes over marshy spots and is very quiet and furtive in its habits, -while the Redstarts are the most obtrusive of birds, as to me they are -one of the most beautiful of families. At Phari I luckily obtained a -specimen of what I thought was the Indian Redstart, but the bird in the -hand proved again to be the Blue-fronted sort. At 17,000 feet, above the -Base Camp over the snout of the main Rongbuk Glacier, I saw a cock-bird -of Güldenstadt’s Redstart (_Phœnicurus erythrogaster grandis_), -fortunately a very easily recognisable bird, and one I had previously -seen in Nubra and the Karakoram country. - -Although I had previously become somewhat familiar with bird-life in -Tibet, I was not prepared to see the teeming flocks of finches, -buntings, and larks which we met with on the bare stony uplands at every -old camping ground or village we encountered. A portion of this swarming -bird population appears to have been due to the spring migration being -at its height. Of this we had evidence before and during our passage of -the Jelep La, from Sikkim into the Chumbi Valley. At Phari and at Khamba -Dzong especially, the birds appeared not yet to have dispersed in pairs -to their breeding territory, but, though actually arrived at their -destination, to be still collected in migration flocks. Yet this -condition of things may be more apparent than real, for neither Norton -nor I ever managed to find any evidence of nesting behaviour in such an -extremely common bird as Brandt’s Ground Linnet. It is conceivable that -the inimical climatic conditions of Tibet are such as to condemn a -larger proportion than usual of the bird population to a celibate -existence, a condition which is at least by no means rare even in the -British Isles. A small piece of evidence is that the only four nests of -larks and wagtails which I found contained only three eggs each, as if -the altitude had reduced the number of eggs laid. It is to be noted that -in each case the eggs were incubated, and so the clutches were -presumably complete. But as an exception to this rule, at Chushar, on -June 13, I found a nest of the Eastern Desert Wheatear with a normal -clutch of five eggs. - -In writing of nesting, it may be recorded that we obtained the eggs of -the Tibetan Snow Cock (_Tetraogallus tibetanus_) from nearly 17,000 feet -on the Pang La. At the Base Camp (16,500 feet), a Brown Accentor -(_Prunella f. fulvescens_) commenced building its nest in a crevice -between a stack of provision boxes in the middle of the camp on May 16. -Laying did not commence till May 25—a long period of delay—and was -completed with the third egg on the 27th. The hen commenced to sit at -once, and no more eggs were laid. Norton observed Alpine Choughs and -Rock Doves nesting in the cliffs above the Base Camp at an altitude of -17,000 feet. Besides the usual Ravens, and the species already named, -the Base Camp was visited by Brandt’s Ground Linnet (_Leucosticte -brandti_), a Sparrow, a Snow Finch, the Ground Chough (_Podoces -humilis_), and the Shore Lark (_Otocorys alpestris elwesi_). - -Noel, during his vigil on the Chang La (23,000 feet), saw a small bird -fly above him, borne on the Westerly gale. But Wollaston’s Lammergeyer -maintains still the first place in altitude with a record of over 24,000 -feet. - -At Trangso Chumbab, on June 11, I had the opportunity of observing the -habits of Blandford’s Mountain-Finch (_Chionospiza blandfordi_). This -bird seems to live in amity with the Pikas (_Ochotona curzoniæ_) in -their burrows. I marked the birds bringing food to a Pika burrow, and -wishing to see what the young in down were like, Finch and I commenced -to dig out the hole. It proved, however, beyond our powers in the -sun-baked ground, so I fell to watching again. We had laid open the -burrow for about 2 feet. The hen-bird at once returned with food, but -alighting at the spot where the burrow formerly commenced, began -immediately to tunnel into the ground, quite oblivious of the true -opening in full view only 2 feet away. What would our nature writers say -to such a lapse of intellect? The bird burrowed with its beak, diving -its head into the ground and boring with a very rapid jerky twist so -that the sand was scattered in a small cloud. This was repeated several -times and on several visits. I then filled up the trench, leaving the -nesting hole open. On the next visit the bird flew down the hole, which -I then stopped with loose earth. In the morning the burrow had been -completely cleared and the birds were busily feeding their young again. -This seems to point to the conclusion that these birds are naturally -ground-dwellers, and are fully capable of making their own tunnels, but -that the abundance of Pika burrows has induced lazy habits. Mandelle’s -Snow-Finch (_Montifringilla mandelli_), not obtained by last year’s -Expedition, was shot by us at Pika warrens at Phari (April 7), and seen, -always associated with Pikas, on the following days. - -On June 11, also, we were witnesses to what must be a common tragedy. A -family of small Brahminy ducklings—the Ruddy Sheldrake of Europe—were -making their noisy way down from some nesting site on the steppe to the -headwaters of the Arun—and safety. The parent birds may have taken -fright at our camp, through which the ducklings scuttled fearlessly. The -loathsome Ravens, gathered, as always, for carrion or camp refuse, -swooped down and attacked the hapless family, bolting a whole duckling -at each mouthful. Surely a gun would have done no harm here. - -Norton made the interesting discovery that the Meadow Bunting (_Emberiza -cia godlewskii_) breeds in the Kama Valley, thus extending its breeding -range far to the South. It may, indeed, be expected that several species -now believed to breed only in Siberia may in fact be found nesting on -the Northern slopes of the Himalaya, and even in other highland regions -of Tibet. For here altitude comes to the assistance of latitude to -produce an arctic type of climate, flora, and fauna; though it must be -admitted that the aridity of Tibet must produce very different climatic -conditions to those obtaining in the far North. In Gnari Khorsum, 400 -miles West of Everest, I had obtained specimens, with young in down, of -the Large Eastern Sand Plover (_Cirripedesmus mongolicus atrifrons_), -which previously was only known as a breeding species from much farther -North; and again, the day we left Tibet, at 17,000 feet, on the Serpo -La, I found another pair of these Dotterel, from their behaviour -obviously nesting, so to speak, at the very gates of India, for 10 miles -further on we had left everything Tibetan behind us—landscape, flowers, -birds, beasts, and insects were all different. Nowhere else in the world -can there be a sharper natural division than between the Tibetan -Highlands and the true Himalayan Zone. - -The physical and climatic conditions prevailing in this part of Tibet -produces an environment hostile to reptilian and amphibian life. The -single Toad obtained last year was quite new to science, and Norton’s -capture of a second specimen is a great piece of luck. Miss Joan B. -Procter, F.Z.S., of the Natural History Museum, has described and named -it (_Cophophryne alticola_). It is remarkable by having the toes fully -webbed. She also writes that the Toad, together with the Frog (_Nanorana -pleskei_) and the Lizard (_Phrynocephalus theobaldi_), are all devoid of -external ears, the tympanum itself being absent in the Toad. This -unusual modification is attributed to the effect of altitude, but it has -also been suggested that the absence of ears is due to inherited atrophy -following generations of frost-bite—an interesting subject for the -followers of Weissman! - -The fish, rejoicing in the name of _Schizopygopsis stoliczkæ_, is stated -by Mr. Norman never to have been previously obtained from such an -altitude. - -With the Molluscs we drew blank, in spite of Norton’s energetic dredging -of tarns and pools at Kharta. Nor did any member of the Expedition -produce a single snail-shell, though all were armed with pill-boxes and -on the look out for them. - -It is probably only among the various families of insects that any -important biological results may be hoped for from this Expedition. Our -collection from the Base Camp, greatly due to the assistance received -from Morris, of more than 300 beetles of a dozen or more species, may be -sufficient to show some evidence of the effect of environment. A number -of them are new to science, and, with one or two exceptions, were not -obtained last year. There are already described over 100,000 kinds of -beetles, and under these circumstances it is obvious that even such a -modest collection as ours will take some time to work out. Mr. K. G. -Blair, of the Natural History Museum, has it in hand, and, with the -assistance of Mr. H. E. Andrewes and Dr. G. A. K. Marshall, will -certainly make the most of it. His preliminary note gives 160 specimens -of four or perhaps five kinds of Ground Beetles (_Carabidæ_) belonging -to genera of Palæarctic distribution. Of the Tenebrionids there are 140 -specimens belong to six species, probably all new, but characteristic of -the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Of the Weevils there are only -seventeen specimens, but they appear to belong to seven new species. Two -of these were kindly collected by Norton’s Toad. - -Mr. B. P. Uvarov is working out the Orthoptera, and writes that our -Stick-Insect (Phasmid) is of great interest because the family is -essentially a sub-tropical group and has never been recorded from any -such high altitude before. We were lucky, also, in getting three more -specimens of Wollaston’s curious new Grasshopper (_Hypernephia -everesti_, Uvarov). At the same time, my old specimens from Purang have -been elevated into the type of a new species of a new genus (_Hyphinomos -fasciata_). Future visitors are earnestly requested to collect every -grasshopper-like insect they meet here, for the orthopterous fauna of -High Asia is wholly unexplored. - -It must be remembered that we constantly passed through localities in -which it was inadvisable to show even a butterfly-net. When recrossing -the Pang La (17,000 feet), I lagged behind and spent a laborious hour -collecting disconcertingly quick-flying, woolly-bodied flies; these and -others are being worked out by Major E. E. Austen, D.S.O. - -There is also a Burrowing Bee (_Ammophia sp._), the most interesting -insect I met. It is of a repellent ant-like aspect, of an evil black and -red pattern. It flies astonishingly fast, and can only be netted by -careful stalking when it lands to burrow in the sand. It is preparing a -tomb for a paralysed grub in which it will lay its own egg; on hatching, -the bee grub will feed on the living corpse of its entertainer. I first -observed it by noticing, as I rode along the banks of the Phung Chu, -tiny jets of sand being shot violently upwards from the ground, the -insect itself being quite invisible. My pony, a true Tibetan, loathed -the sight of a butterfly-net; I had no companion to hold him, and the -pursuit of science was attended by more than the usual trials. - -A series of small Moths was obtained at the Base Camp, and Norton -collected more in Kharta. These are being worked out by Mr. W. H. T. -Tams, but in the case of Moths, identification is a particularly lengthy -and laborious business. - -The Butterflies are naturally few in such an environment; nor does the -constant wind make their breathless capture any easier. Captain N. D. -Riley is working them out, and tells me that in general they resemble -our English butterflies, with other Alpine families. On a recent visit -to the Museum, I was excusing the scantiness of our collection, -explaining that, as a rule, I had only been able to collect while -crossing high passes. Indicating a series of small dark brown -“Ringlets,” rather the worse for wear, I said that that was all I saw -above 16,000 feet. “Why that,” said Riley, “is a new species of a new -genus!” So may our successors seize every opportunity that offers of -collecting even the least and most inconspicuous-looking insects in the -endeavour to assist our research workers in adding some particle to the -sum of our knowledge of nature. - -[Illustration: - - SKETCH-MAP OF MOUNT EVEREST AND THE RONGBUK GLACIERS. - From surveys by Major Wheeler, with Route and Camps of the 1922 - Expedition added by Colonel Strutt. - _London: Edward Arnold & Co._ -] - -[Illustration: - - The Route of the - MOUNT EVEREST EXPEDITION 1922 - CHUMBI TO MT. EVEREST - _Published by Edward Arnold & Co. for the Mount Everest Committee_ - _from maps prepared by the Royal Geographical Society._ - (Click on map for larger version.) -] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - INDEX - - - Abruzzi, Duke of, the, 115 - - - Acclimatisation, 77–78, 126–240, 288–289, 299–308 - - Altitude, zones of, 262 _ff._; - effects of, 305. - _See_ Acclimatisation - - Ammu Chu valley, 29 - - Army and Navy Stores, 21 - - - Arun river, 39, 43, 82–87, 97; - gorges of, explored, 98–102 - - Avalanche on Mount Everest, 69, 282–285 - - - Base Camp, the, 49–51, 124 - - Bhong Chu, river, (= Arun, _q.v._) - - Bride Peak (Baltistan), 115 - - Brown, Mr., 21 - - Bruce, Captain J. G., 8, 20, 33, 130, 325; - in second attempt on Mount Everest, 61–62, 116–117, 236–249, 254–257; - leaves Base Camp for Kharta, 65, 80, 85, 89–90, 95 - - Bruce, General C. G., 4–6, 8, 19–20; - author of the _Narrative of the Expedition_, 17–118, 130, 143 - - Bullock, Mr. G., 139, 156, 162 - - - - Camp IV (on North Col.), 57; - route to, from E. Rongbuk glacier, 125, 153–159, 173–175; - from main Rongbuk glacier, 259 - - Camp V (above North Col), 288 - - Camps, problem of, 141, 258, 287, 291–292 - - - Camps I, II, and III on E. Rongbuk glacier, 52, 54–56, 145–152, 231 - - Chang La (= North Col, _q.v._), 289, 329 - - Changtse, mountain, 158 - - Chey La, 105 - - Chiu, camp, 108 - - Cho Uyo, mountain, 72, 158, 209, 246 - - Chobu village, 104 - - Chodzong, camp, 43, 79 - - Chog La, 89–90 - - Chokarbo, camp, 89–90 - - Chomolhari, mountain, 28 - - Chomolonzo, mountain, 91 - - Chomolungmo (= Mount Everest), 123 - - Chongay, tent-mender, 21, 31, 92–94, 103 - - Chongay La, agent of the Shekar Dzongpen, 42, 53, 57 - - Chongray, Tibetan deity, 45 - - Chotromo, camp, 98 - - Chumbi valley, 27, 29–30, 38, 105, 111, 326–327 - - Chushar, 329 - - Cigarette-smoking, effects of, 266–267 - - Clothing, 186–188, 262, 307. - _See_ Wind-proof clothing - - Cooks, 23, 56 - - Crampons. _See_ Foot-gear - - Crawford, Mr. C. G., 8, 20, 22, 38, 227–228; - at Camp III, 168–169; - in third attempt on Mount Everest, 275, 280–284; - return to Darjeeling, 96–97, 114 - - - Dalai Lama, the, 85, 118 - - Damtang, village, 92, 103 - - Darjeeling, 20, 22, 114 - - Dasno, Mallory’s porter, 153, 159 - - Donka La, 32, 111 - - Doya La, 66, 81–82 - - Dra, village, 105 - - Dreyer, Professor G., 253, 279 - - Dzakar Chu, river, 43, 81, 104 - - - East Rongbuk glacier, 51, etc. - _See_ Camps I, II, III - - - Everest, Mount, 18, 114, 125; - compared with Mont Blanc, 231–233; - first attempt on, 58–60, 182–224, 253–254, 256; - second attempt, 61–62, 227–250, 254–257; - third attempt, 66–70, 273–286; - weather conditions, 18, 170–171, 233–234, 275, 292 - - - Farrar, Captain J. P., 8–10 - - Father William, 84, 104 - - Finch, Captain George, 6, 10, 20, 22; - joins main body at Kamba Dzong, 38, 227–228; 39, 58, 59; - to site of Camp I, 230–231; - at Base Camp, 231 _ff._, - to Camp III, 234–235; - second attempt on Mount Everest, 61–62, 116–117, 237–250, 254–257; - starts on third attempt, but returns, 66–67, 251–252; - return to Darjeeling, 67, 252. - Author of Chapters VII, VIII, and IX - - Food, 177–180 - - - Foot-gear, 197, 268, 293 - - Fuel, 51, 52, 93 - - - Gembu (= headman), 100 - - Gnatong, bungalow, 26, 27, 112, 130 - - Gurkhas, 5, 20 - - Gyachang Kang, mountain, 72, 158, 209 - - Gyaljen, sardar, 32–33, 63 - - Gyamda, pony, 29, 80, 82 - - Gyang’ka-nangpa, camp, 39, 133, 136–137 - - Gyantse, town, 29, 110 - - - Hats, Homburg, as gifts, 42, 85 - - Head-gear, 263, 268 - - Howard-Bury, Colonel, 3, 4, 8, 17, 32, 39 - - Hung Zungtrak, camp, 36 - - Hurké Gurung, naik, 32 - - - Jelep La, 27, 38, 112, 131, 227 - - Jelep valley, 29 - - Jykhiop, camp, 107 - - - Kalimpong, 21, 22, 27, 227 - - Kama valley, 88–89, 93, 171, 331 - - Kanchenjunga, 112, 114 - - Karma Paul, interpreter, 24, 45, 47, 63, 79 - - Kehar Sing, cook, 80, 92 - - Kellas, Dr., 38 - - Khamba Dzong, 32, 37, 39, 109, 228 - - Kharta valley, 65, 83 - - - Kharta Shika, 83, 87–89 - - Khartaphu, mountain, 158 - - Khombu La, 54 - - Kosi river, 97 - - Kyamathang, village, 97, 99–100 - - Kyishong, camp, 106 - - - Laden La, Mr., 27 - - Lal Sing Gurung, lance-naik, 32 - - Leeches, 113 - - Lhakpa La, 158 - - Lhakpa Tsering, boy, 38 - - Lhotse, 126 - - Longstaff, Dr. T. G., 19, 130; - first reconnaissance to site of camp III, 51–53, 64; - return to Darjeeling, 65, 252. - Author of Chapter XV - - Lumeh Camp, 104 - - Lungdo, village, 100 - - Lungtung, village, 26, 113 - - - Macdonald, Mr. John, 29–30, 63, 72, 106, 111, 113 - - Makalu, mountain, 152, 171, 312 - - - Mallory, Mr. G. L., 4, 6, 9, 19, 130; - attempt on Sangkar Ri, 39, 133–137; - ascends 21,000 ft. peak near Base camp, 140; - to Camp I, 144; - Camp II, 146; - Camp III, 148; - to North Col and back, 57, 152–160, 301; - at Camp III, 160–168; - establishes Camp IV, 169–174, 300; - first attempt on Mount Everest, 56–59, 175–224; - third attempt, 273–286, 308; - return to Darjeeling, 96–97. - Author of Chapters IV–VI, X and XI - - Monsoon, the, 18, 50, 58, 68, 70, 275–276, 292 - - Morris, Captain C. G., 8, 20, 21, 33; - establishes Camp I, 52; - meets party of second attempt on Everest at Camp III, 223; - conducts evacuation of Camps I–III, 66–71; - explores the Arun gorges, 95, 98–102 - - Morshead, Major, 4, 8, 20, 130; - on first reconnaissance to site of Camp III, 51–52; - arrives at Camp III, 168; - establishes Camp IV, 169–175; - to 25,000 ft. camp on first attempt on Mount Everest, 56–59, 175–203, - 211–224; - return to Darjeeling, 64–65, 252 - - Mules, 27, 31, 34 - - - Nepal, Maharajah of, 75, 96, 103 - - Nepalese language, 33; - sheep, 91 - - Ngangba La, 54 - - Noel, Captain J. B., 8, 20, 23, 85, 130; - at Base Camp, 50, 73–74; - to North Col with the party of second attempt on Everest, 237; - spends three nights there, 249, 289, 329; - explores the Arun gorges, 95, 98–102 (his own account); - leaves the main body and goes to Gyantse, 110 - - - North Col, 55; - camp on, 57. - _See_ Camp IV - - Norton, Major E. F., 6–7, 19, 24, 130, 131; - to site of Camp I, 230–231; - on first reconnaissance, 51–52; - first attempt on Mount Everest, 58–59, 173–224; - leaves Base camp for Kharta valley, 65, 84, 86; - joins the main body, 87, 89, 95; - botanical and zoological work, 321–322, 326, etc. - - - Oxygen, 9–10, 52, 60, 69, 115–117, 231, 235–237, 243, 252–259, 263–266, - 291, 294, 303–305 - - - Pang La, 43, 334 - - Pangli, camp, 105 - - Pawhunri, mountain, 36 - - Phari Dzong, 30–31, 33, 111, 131 - - Pharmogoddra La, 108 - - Popti La, 92, 103 - - Porters, 5, 63, 94, 117, 286, etc. - - Pou, a cook, 151 - - Primus stoves, 151, 176 - - Pumori, mountain, 158, 247 - - - Rapiu La, 152, 168, 171, 236 - - Rawlinson, Lord, 20 - - Richengong, Camp, 29 - - Rongbuk monastery, 43, 73 - - Rongbuk Lama, 45–47, 74–75, 78, 275 - - Rongli Chu, 26, 112, 114 - - Rumoo collector of plants, 322 - - - Sakiathang, Camp, 89–91 - - Sakia Chu, 102 - - Samchang La, 89 - - Sangkar Ri, mountain, 39, 133–137 - - Sarabjit Thapa, lance-naik, 32 - - Sedongchen, Camp, 113 - - Serpo La, 331 - - Shekar Dzong, 39–41, 105 - - Sherpas, 33, 54, 63 - - Shika. _See_ Kharta Shika - - Shiling, plain, 107, 136 - - Shing (= fuel), 52 - - Sikkim, 25–28, 110, 113, 309–310 - - Snow-glasses, 263 - - Somervell, Dr., 7, 10, 19, 130, 167; - attempt on Sangkar Ri, 39, 133–137; - ascends a 21,000 ft. peak near Base camp, 140; - first attempt on Mount Everest (_see_ Mallory), 56–59, 144–224, - 301–302; - third attempt, 273–286, 308; - return to Darjeeling, 96–97, 114. - Author of Chapters XII to XIV - - Strutt, Colonel E. L., 6, 19; - fixes site of Camp I, 230–231; - leader of first reconnaissance, 51–53; - returns to Camp III and visits North Col, 56–58; - return to Darjeeling, 65, 252 - - - Tang La, 32, 34 - - Tashilumpo, Lama of, 85, 118 - - Tatsang, village, 39, 110; - nunnery, 37 - - Tea, 177, 223; - Tibetan tea, 46, 78 - - Tejbir Bura, lance-naik, 20, 32, 58; - in second attempt on Everest, 62, 234–244, 248, 254–256, 78, 81, 85 - - Teng, village and camp, 82–85, 96–97 - - Tibet, 228, 323 - - Tibetan architecture, 313–314; - atmosphere, 79–80, 311; - colour, Chap. XIII; - coolies, 53–54, 63; - fauna, Chap. XV; - food, 44; - music, 230, 315–318; - painting, 314; - wind, 165, 228, 332–333; - weather, 170 - - Tinki Dzong, 39, 107–108; - pass, 107, 132, 310 - - Training, 39, 118, 130. - _See_ Acclimatisation - - Trangso Chumbab, camp, 329 - - Transport, 143, 168 - - Trateza, camp, 82 - - Tsanga, waterfall, 100 - - Tzampa (= flour), 100 - - - Unna, Mr. P. J. H., 10 - - - Wakefield, Dr., 7, 19, 39, 130; - meets the party of the first attempt on Everest, 223, 236; - to Camp III with party of third attempt 70, 252, 275, 280 - - Weatherall, Mr., 20–21 - - Wheeler, Captain E. O., 4, 147 - - Wind, 165, 172, 186. - _See_ Everest, Tibet - - - Wind-proof clothing, 59, 62, 117, 255, 259, 264, 266–267 - - Wollaston, Dr. A. F. R., 322, 326, etc. - - - Yaru, river, 39, 107, 138 - - Yatung, 29, 131, 326 - - Yulok La, 102 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - Uniform with “Mount Everest: The Assault.” - - MOUNT EVEREST. - The Reconnaissance, 1921. - By LIEUT.-COLONEL C. K. HOWARD-BURY, D.S.O., - AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION. - With 33 full-page illustrations and maps. Medium 8vo. - 25s. net. - Also a Limited Large Paper Edition, with additional plates - in photogravure. Quarto, each copy numbered. - £5 5s. net. - -“A remarkable contribution to the long and glorious story of British -endeavour in the high places of the earth. The whole is a splendid -record of clever and courageous enterprise.”—The Times. - -“The book under review tells the tale of the doings of last year’s -journey, and a notable tale it is, well told, finely illustrated with -wonderful photographs, and excellently printed. The accompanying maps -enable us for the first time to describe the articulation of the whole -mountain region and to replace the vaguely guessed indication of -culminations and connexions by a labyrinth of glaciers and ridges, full -of meaning to geographers and those for whom the actual shape of the -surface of the earth has interest.”—Sir Martin Conway, M.P., in the -Manchester Guardian. - -“Mr. Leigh-Mallory, who led the climbing party of the Everest -expedition, has written in ‘The Reconnaissance of the Mountain’ an epic -of mountaineering which deserves to be an abiding possession for all -those who have ventured themselves into the silence and desolation of -the high peaks.”—Morning Post. - -“The book put together by the members of last year’s expedition, more -especially the maps and illustrations, makes us envious. Colonel Howard -Bury has told his story simply, with evident enjoyment. Mr. Leigh -Mallory, who gives us the story of the reconnaissance, is terse and -human and never tedious. He tells us exactly what we want to know.”—Mr. -Edmund Candler in the Nation. - -“The story of the journey and the climbing adventure as told separately -by the leader and Mr. Mallory combine to make a narrative of singular -variety which sustains its interest to the end, and is agreeably -supplemented by the chapters of ‘Natural History Notes,’ contributed by -Dr. Wollaston.”—Mr. Douglas Freshfield in the New Statesman. - -“As fascinating and picturesque as it is valuable. It will rank with the -best of its kind, and is assured of a success that is exceptionally well -deserved. It will satisfy both the expert and the casual reader, and -there can be nothing but praise for all concerned in it.”—Illustrated -London News. - -“The book is admirably and enthusiastically written, very finely -illustrated, and in every way an ideal record of what will always be -considered a classical example of exploration in its first -stage.”—Country Life. - -“Quite apart from its intrinsic interest it will be of the greatest -value to everybody who wishes to appreciate the attempt which is now -being made to continue the work and reach the absolute summit of the -highest mountain in the world.”—Westminster Gazette. - - ---------------------------- - - LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD & CO. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - ● Transcriber’s Notes: - ○ Abbreviated index entries for page ranges (e.g. 12-4 or 127-9) - were expanded to allow links to the appropriate pages to be - generated for the HTML and ePUB versions. - ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. - ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected. - ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only - when a predominant form was found in this book. - ○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). - ○ The use of a carat (^) before one or more letters shows they were - intended to be superscripts, as in S^t Bartholomew or L^{d.} - Egemont. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Assault on Mount Everest, 1922, by -Charles Granville Bruce - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ASSAULT ON MOUNT EVEREST, 1922 *** - -***** This file should be named 61083-0.txt or 61083-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/0/8/61083/ - -Produced by Tim Lindell, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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