IN THE HIMALAYAS

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30633, 26 December 1964, Page 4

IN THE HIMALAYAS

[Reviewed by

N.D.H.J

No Place For Men. By

Peter

Mulgrew, A. H. and A.

W. Reed.

As a result of Sir Edmund Hillary’s 1960-61 Himalayan expedition a large number of scientific and mountaineering articles and one official book have been published. Now a second book has appeared. Peter Mulgrew has written an account of his part in the expedition. From it comes a clearer impression of events than can be obtained from the first book, which was written mainly by a journalist who became embedded in “abominable snowman” details and failed to put other aspects in more reasonable proportion. Mulgrew briefly mentions his years of naval life and touches on climbing in New Zealand and overseas before suddenly arriving at the South Pole on Hillary’s tractor. After five pages the reader is in India then Nepal in 1960, seeing these countries of extraordinary contrasts with clear eyes. The author quickly developed an affection for Sherpas and their country and the book pours out dozens of anecdotes which tell a story in the relaxed manner appropriate to a Himalayan approach march. Some magnificent jibes are made at the “snowman” and at the people and apparatus meant to capture him. Mixed with these are abundant colourful naval comments like: “If it moves salute it, if fixed paint it.” The overall affect is refreshing, very clear and most amusing.

The main physiological objectives of the Expedition are mentioned very briefly and then comes the attempt on Mount Makalu, the fifth highest mountain in the world. Although Makalu had been climbed six years previously by a strong, oxygen-equipped French party, it was included in the 1961 objectives to obtain further physiological information and

to provide a bait for bringing good mountaineers into the expedition. The normal month of buildup at lower camps went reasonably smoothly. During the critical three weeks on the upper mountain the weather was consistently bad and five men, including the leader and his deputy were assisted down, in no condition to make further contribution to the mountaineering objective. The remaining mixed bag of Americans, New Zealanders, Sherpas and one

Australian pushed upwards, until when three were at only 400 ft from the final summit, Mulgrew suddenly collapsed with what later proved to be a clot in one lung. From this precarious position he was brought out barely alive, in an extraordinary rescue operation, with the whole party stretched to the limits of exhaustion. The reader is then taken to a Katmandu hospital and on to New Zealand for a calm summary of the problems of rehabilitation. Mulgrew’s feet had been amputated, some fingers were lost and as a result of hundreds of injections he had become a drug

addict This story is dramatic and moving, told with the utmost restraint. What determination from Mulgrew and what patience from his wife, to get over the excessive dosing of pethidine! When a reviewer locates errors it is his duty to mention them. This book has a few, so trivial that they have no affect on the main narrative. At Makalu Col they were four miles high not six. Water at 27,000 feet boils at 73 deg. C. not 60 deg. C. The party left Katmandu a day after Hillary’s not a day before. Lowe, Barcham and I are credited with having been on Ama Dablam or Makalu. All of us left the Expedition as planned before the attempts on the mountains began. Dawa Tensing’s first expedition was with H. Rutledge, not General Bruce.

The main text omits any reference to Hillary flying down to Katmandu for two weeks and back to Makalu prior to his own collapse on the mountain. Legends concerning Hillary’s illness are the main public misconceptions concerning this expedition. Mulgrew’s account fails to clarify the issue and states that most of Hillary’s problems was a lack of acclimatisation through his stay at low altitude. It is only in the Medical Appendix that there is an obscure reference to this point. John Harrison’s sketches and map give considerable assistance to “No Place for Men.” The quotations from Kipling, Montague, John Hunt and others, heading each chapter, are all very appropriate. The outside cover showing in colour the badly frostbitten author, is disturbing to any one who has been really cold. However the illustration gives a lasting impression of the climax of the book and it is true in every detail. “No Place for Men” will rank highly among the hundreds of good books which have come out of the Himalayas.