The Press Saturday, September 10, 1932. Everest.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20648, 10 September 1932, Page 14

The Press Saturday, September 10, 1932. Everest.

The announcement in the cable news during the week that another attempt is to be made to cliijib Mount Everest in 1933 will probably revive an old controversy. In the words ol' Sir Francis Younghusband, '' There are, '' course, still many —very many who do not care a rap whether Everest is " climbed or not. There are others who " think that the expenditure of thousands of pounds on these expeditions; '•'is a great waste of money. And '■ there arc still a few who think it " positively wi<ked to throw away " human life op so useless an enter- " prise." It must not be forgotten, however, that popular feeling has turned more and more in favour of buch expeditions. Before the 1922 attempt a combined appeal launched by the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club realised only £lO. "Very different was the response to the appeal made for the 1924 expedition; and the 1933 expedition will carry with it the good wishes of the great majority of civilised people. Something of this change of attitude must of course be ascribed to-the courage which has been shown by the members of previous parties. The last attempt of Mallory pnd Irvine was an achievement of which England has every reason to be proud. Yet it may be that the public is beginning to understand the motives which have induced the climbers themselves to attempt the ascent. The interest and support of the Alpine Club has been no more apparent than the interest and support of the Royal Geographical Society. A large proportion of the members of the various expeditions have been men of science. At first the scientific work of the expeditions was hindered in curious and unexpected ways by the prejudices of the Thibetans. The 1924 expedition had to agree not to take an offici&l geologist, for the Thibetans believe that chipping at rocks releases devils from the spirit world into the material, and so disturbs the equilibrium of the Universe. But this and similar difficulties have been overcome. The members of the various expeditions have kept the records of their work with meticulous precision. Not only has every detail concerning the ascents been set down for the benefit of future parties, but the results of research into natural conditions, bird and plant life, glaciology, and geology ] have been carefully written and published. The Royal Geographical So- j ciety has had papers on many oi these topics read before its members, and these have been published at length in the Proceedings. For instance the 1924 expedition was faced with the question of whether man could sleep at the immense height of 27,000 feet. The highest level attained up till then had- been 24,600 feet —2400 feet lower. Two thousand feet was considered the greatest height which could possibly be left until the last dpy. Although no member of the party reached the summit it was proved that man could, after gradual acclimatisation, sleep at 27,000 feet above sea-level, and further, that he could attain to a height of 28,000 feet without artificial aid. These facts will be of great value to next year's expedition, and are interesting as bearing out Mallory's contention that the top could be reached without the necessity of carrying . cumbrous oxygen apparatus. Against the two English, one Scottish, and nine Indian lives which have been lost in attempting to leach the summit must be set the value of the research which has been made into the protective coloration of birds and mammals at high altitudes, the hibernation of animals, the adaptation of animals to climatic conditions (the dogs in the higher regions are equipped,, like the yaks, with wool as well as ' hair); and the particularly valuable results of enquiry into the geography and geology of the region. There has been an element of continuity in this research. Dr. Heron's work in 1922 virtually carried on Sir "Henry Hayden'p pioneer investigations during the 1903-Q4 Thibetan expedition. Heron's study was largely of the sedimentary rocks which comprise the area to the north of the' great belt of crystalline rocks developed along the main axis of the Himalayas. His great regret was that he was hardly able to touch the crystalline belt. But in the 1924 expedition Odell was able to concentrate on this region; and the geology of this part of the earth's surface is no longer a matter for guesswork. Valuable research has been made into the, motion of glaciers. Members of the 1924 party came to the conclusion that the glaciers of this region are shrinking back into the recesses where they had their birth. The actinic value of light in photography at high altitudes has been explored; and one member of the party records, the delight he gave the medicaf officer by having an attack of malaria at a great height above sea level. That such attention )ias been paid ,to scientific research shows very plainly the lengths—or heights—to which scientist;? will go to increase the knowledge of mankind. It is never, during any Everest expedition, contemplated that more than a very few men will essay the final day's climb to the summit. The majority, of the members of the party go for other reasons than a mere desire to stand on the highest place in the world. And those other reasons are perhaps the most laudable and the most diss-;

interested that could be found for such an expedition. i .