Himalayan Schoolhouse Expedition Launched

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30587, 2 November 1964, Page 9

Himalayan Schoolhouse Expedition Launched

[By SIR KDMUND HILLARY] LUKLA BASE CAMP.

A yak belched gustily outside my tent. I glanced out the door and saw the massive rock and ice buttresses of Kwangde framed against the blue Tibetan sky.

In the distance I could hear the cheerful shouts and laughter of the 100 Sherpas working on our airstrip at Lukla. Closer at hand, two of the expedition members were noisily discussing the day’s work to be done on the Chaunrikarka school.

The monsoon rains now seemed far behind us and the Himalayan Schoolhouse Expedition was well and truly launched. Our expedition, as its name indicates, has as a primary purpose the establishment of Elementary schools for the Sherpas of Nepal. Courage And Loyalty These cheerful and hardy people have for many years been indispensable in the assaults on the great peaks of the Himalayas. Their strength at extreme altitudes is phenomenal and their courage and loyalty have become legendary. Few of us who climb with the Sherpas fail to develop the greatest respect and affection for them. Since 1961 my expeditions have been trying to do something practical in return for this loyal service. In June of that year we constructed a school in the village of Khumjung, heart of the widespread Sherpa community. Finance was generously supplied by the management and staff of Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, of Chicago, and this enabled us not only to build the school but also to supply equipment and a qualified teacher. This same financial support has also largely made possible the succeeding expeditions. Fame Spread The fame of Khumjung school rapidly spread among the Sherpas and I received numerous petitions from other villages requesting a similar blessing. Last year we built and staffed another school at Pangboche (13,500 feet) and a third at Thami (13,200 feet)—only 12 miles from the border with Chinese Tibet Our plans this year are more diversified. We are building new schools in the villages of Junbesi, Chaunrikarka and Namche Bazar—at heights between 9500 feet and 12,000 feet The three school buildings are relatively simple structures, only 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. Their walls will be of rock, and timber for the framing is cut from the local forests.

Corrugated aluminium sheeting for the roofs has been laboriously carried on men’s backs for the 15-day walk from Katmandu, the capital. Men have also carried corrugated plastic sheeting for skylights, large quantities of glass for windows, and ample tools and nails. The villagers give their

labour free and thus contribute substantially to the school construction.

A second major project is the building of an airfield at Lukla. The lack of roads in Nepal makes any travelling

through this mountainous region prohibitively slow. Few people can spare a month to walk into Khumjung and out again. The importance of short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft in Nepal is becoming widely recognised, and the airfield at Lukla will be of the STOL type. The site lies cupped between giant mountain ridges, but the approaches are wide and unhindered. The airfield will be 1150 ft long and will have a gradient of one in 10. Sloping Airfield Local weather prophets say the wind always blows up the valley. Landings will be down-wind and fast—but the steep slope will soon bring the aircraft to a halt. Take-off will be easy. The downhill slope and the headwind will enable most STOL aircraft to be airborne in 600 feet, in spite of the 9600-foot altitude. The Lukla airfield will make it easier to establish such necessities as schools and hospitals and will simplify Government administration of the remote areas. Perhaps less palatable to the mountaineer is the possibility that it may attract the eager tourist to feast his eyes on the beauties of the Everest area. To get from Lukla to the higher villages around Khumjung is not easy. The main obstacles are the Dudh Kosi and Bhote Kosi rivers. The track winds up and down steep bluffs, sometimes on trickily perched wooden ladders. It is a considerable trial for heavily laden men. Improving Track We will try to improve the track by building two bridges over the rivers, by-passing the difficult sections. The bridges will be the basic Sherpa cantilever wooden structures, which are excellent bridges in their own right—but they are somewhat limited in span. We will increase the span by suspending the middle of the bridges from steel wire ropes. This is a cheap and simple method and if it proves successful, as we confidently expect it will, the bridges will provide an example for the Sherpas to follow in other places—and they will be within the Sherpas’ limited financial capacity. Science is not neglected oh the expedition. Three experienced physiologists are already established at 16,000 feet on a steep and rugged pass almost directly above our base camp. Their programme is an extension of our work in 1960-61, but the emphasis is different Usually we have concentra-

ted on studying the effects of altitude on expedition members who generally come from homes not too far above sea level. Such expedition members have to make major physiological adjustments in order to live and operate effectively at great altitudes. Sherpas’ Physiology

But the Sherpas are already partly acclimatised and in the thin air above 16,000 feet are always stronger than we are. This year our study is of the physiology of the Sherpas themselves.

What is it that enables them to perform so well at high altitudes? In what way do they differ physiologically from the expedition members? Can we ever hope to achieve their degree of acclimatisation?

By careful testing with delicate equipment for two and a half months, our scientists hope to discover the answers to these and other questions.

Our programme may seem to cover mostly construction and scientific work, but mountaineering is not neglected. Only a day’s march from Base Camp is the magnificent spire of Tamserku — 21,730 feet of towering rock and ice with saw-toothed ice ridges, overhanging ice bulges, and vertical rock buttresses. Tamserku had not been climbed and it is a very formidable challenge.

My climbing party is strong and resourceful, and the battle between men and mountain should be long and fierce. After much careful examination of Tamserku with binoculars, seeking for a chink in the armour of its defences, I incline to the view that the chances are all in favour of the mountain. But this is as it should be; there is little virtue in easy victory. If determination and skill can triumph we may still put men on the virgin summit of Tamserku. The 15 members of the expedition come from many countries—from New Zealand, America, England, India and Nepal. We share a common love for the mountains and a deep affection for the Sherpa people who live among them. In the three months ahead we will experience hard work, adventure, good fellowship and perhaps the spice of danger. When we depart, we hope to leave behind something more lasting than just a memory.

This is the first of a series of articles by Sir Edmund Hillary on his Himalayan Schoolhouse Expedition.