KANCHENJUNGA CLIMBED

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27675, 3 June 1955, Page 13

KANCHENJUNGA CLIMBED

Feat By British Expedition (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) DARJEELING, June 2. The British alpine expedition on May 25 climbed 28,146 ft Kanchenjunga—the highest unclimbed mountain in the world—to within a few feet of its summit. The climbers, led by Dr. Charles Evans, a Liverpool surgeon, included a Canterbury mountaineer, Mr Norman Hardie, of Timaru. They could have climbed further, but stopped within a few strides of their goal to avoid offending the local Sikkimese people, who believe their gods live right at Kanchenjunga’s peak. Acording to All India Radio, which named May 25 as the date the peak was climbed, the mountaineers stopped within five vertical feet of the summit. The announcement of the conquest of Kanchenjunga came two years, almost to the hour, after the delayed announcement that Mount Everest had been climbed by Sir John Hunt’s team on May 29, 1953. Dr. Evans was in that team. The latest estimate put Everest 995 ft higher than Kanchenjunga.

News of the party’s feat came as a surprise as it had been expected hat the team would only prepare for the main assault on the peak by others later. Mountaineering circles in Darjeeling were also astounded because Kanchenjunga had been believed to be a far more difficult climb that Mount Everest. Evans’ expedition is now reported to be clear of the mountain and on its way back to. Darjeeling where it hop .is to be before the monsoon breaks. The team consists of George Band, also a member of the 1953 Everest team, Norman Hardie, Dr. E. J. Clegg, Captain R. A. Streather, J. Brown, John Jackson, J. Neil Mather 'and T. D. Mackinnon. Evans’ expedition was intended as a reconnaissance for a full-scale British expedition next year and had not been expected to be able to attack the summit of Kanchenjunga, which is- 80 miles east of Everest. When Indian Air Force photographs were examined in March, one of India’s leading mountaineers said Kanchenjunga appeared to be unquestionably more difficult than Everest. “Whereas Everest is an iceman’s mountain all the way, Kanchenjunga will require some pretty stiff rockclimbing near the summit—at a height where climbers can ill-afford to do much rock-climbing,” he said. Evans’ party arrived in Bombay from Liverpool in March and failed in its first attempt to find a way up the mountain d ; the second week in April. T’ um had 200 photographs' of K . .. jnjunga taken from t.ie air by an Indian Air Force plane. The expedition had set up five camps on the mountain by mid-May. They intended to establish seven camps in a bid to find a route to the summit.

After bad weather and blizzawds, a fine spell towards the end of Mav spurred them to make an attempt before the early monsoon. Sacred Territory Before the expedition started out, Evans visited the Sikkimese capital, Gangtok, to discuss with the Maharajah of Sikkim and his family, religious objections to the expedition invading sacred territory. He finally agreed that the expedition would not stand on the peak but would go close enough to determine that it could be reached. Reports reaching Katmandu last week- said he planned to find a way up a double icefall from Yalung glacier on to a great shelf of ice lying below the towering peak. It was believed the final route to the summit would lead from the western Col. Evans’ trip is sponsored by the Alpine Club and the Royal Geo-, graphical Society.