23,000 FEET UP

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 186, 4 May 1933, Page 9

23,000 FEET UP

Everest Expedition CAMP ON NORTH COL Awaiting Better Weather BLIZZARD OVER SUMMIT Perils of the Final Assault Uy Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. (Received May 3, 9.20 p.m.) London, May 3. Mr. Hugh Ruttledge, leader of the Mount Everest expedition and his party, have reached camp No. 4, on the North Col, 23,000 feet up, and are sheltering under the great ice wall, states the “Daily Mail’s" special correspondent at Gangtok. They are awaiting an improvement in the weather before beginning their increasingly precipitous climb. The summit at present is obliterated by a raging blizzard. Two higher camps are essential before the party will attain the north ridge from which the final assault will be made. This is the most perilous of the whole climb. The distance is 2000 feet, which must be covered in one day, as It is unsheltered. Death is certain at this altitude if the climber is overcome by snows at night time. In a wireless message from his base camp, via Gangtok, dated Rongbuk, Tuesday, Mr. Ruttledge describes the movements since the beginning of the expedition on April 2. He refers to the arrival at Rongbuk Valley, with its desolate scenery. The party camped at the monastery, where the head Lama was very friendly, and blessed the entire personnel of the expedition. The Lama was extremely sympathetic with the previous expeditions. "We arrived at the base camp on Easter Monday,” says Mr. Ruttledge. “Mount Everest was only twelve miles away. All the members are In the best of spirits. The. weather, except for a few days, was better than previous expeditions experienced, although we are travelling earlier in the year. We are now beside a frozen lake. The neighbourhood is devoid of life except for a hermit, who is existing in solitude on a moraine behind the camp. He has been here for two years, and intends to stay for the rest of his life. “The memorial cairn built in 1924 in memory of the three previous expeditions is now in ruins, but we managed to piece together part of the inscription. "The personnel is now busy sorting rations, overhauling tents, and tending to the wireless apparatus.” THE FOURTH ATTEMPT Personnel of the Expedition ROMANCE OF EVEREST The conquest of Everest, the highest mountain in the whole world, 29,140 feet, is the supreme crown of mountaineering. Up till now (he highest peaks of the great Himalayan Range have foiled the greatest efforts of the most carefully selected climbers. The present expedition, the fourth, to Mount Everest, may, however, prove that the heroic effort of George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine in 1924 was, in fact, crowned with success, although it cost them their lives. Since the war, not only have the three attempts to conquer Mount Everest apparently failed, but a similar fate has happened to three other expeditions to attack Kangchenjunga, the world’s second highest mountain, states the London “Morning Post,” In this vast range of the Himalayas there are 30 summits of over 25,000 feet, one of which. Mount Kamet. of 25.447 feet, was conquered by the British Himalayan Expedition under Mr. F. S. Smythe, in 1931. 1 The story of the attempts on Mount Everest since the war constitute one of the great romances of the century. In 1921 a reconnaissance expedition set out under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel' C. K. Howard-Bury. This was closely followed by a far more formidable attempt iu the following year under the command of Brigadier-General the Hon. C. G. Bruce. First Use of Oxygen. Experiments were then made for the first time in the artificial administration of oxygen as assistance in counteracting the effects of low atmospheric pressure at high altitudes. Two members of the party. Captain G. I. Finch and Captain J. G. Bruce, reached a height of over 27,060 feet. Brigadier-General Bruce also led the 192-1 attempt, with Lieutenant-Colonel E. F. Norton as second in command. Colonel Norton and Dr. Somervell pitched a camp at 26,500 feet. On the following day they climbed to 28,200 feet. Colonel Norton awoke the following morning suffering from snow blindness, and Dr. Somervell endured intense suffering from "high altitude throat.” an extremely dangerous affliction. But these adverse conditions in no way deterred the expedition. Later in the same year a further attempt was made when two of the greatest young climbers in England essayed tlie last perilous climb. These two were George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine. Mallory had had considerable previous experience on this unconquerable mountain. Ho had been a member of the original reconnaissance expedition of 1921. So well did he then acquit himself that he was at once selected to take part in the attempt of the following year. On that occasion he broke all records iiy leading a party, without any artificial aid from oxygen, to a height of 26,800 feet. The return descent had to be made _ by candle-light. Irvine, who was only twenty-two years old, had had no previous experience of Everest, although ho was well known as a European climber.

On June 21, 1924. the whole of England was shocked to learn that Mallory and Irvine liad lost their lives in this gallant attempt. It was established beyond doubt that they reached 28.000 feet. If they actually reached the summit. or how tiiey died. lias ever since remained a secret. Theirs was the third and Inst attempt of the expedition. Until this year no further attempt has been made. Many Lives Lost. • Not Mallory and Irvine alone have paid tlie supreme sacrifice in Man’s greatest attempt to overcome Nature. Thirteen lives in all have been given in the three attempts. On one occasion seven porters were killed, swept away by an avalanche. But their example has not been in vain. The information obtained from the last expedition, and the accumulated experiences of all tlie previous attempts, give every ground for hope that this year's expedition will succeed. Every problem that can be luiniiiiily foreseen has been prepared for. But even then much must depend upon tlie luck which the expedition encounters. Will the weeks of approach to' the mountain bring tremendous hurricanes and extremes of cold? Nothing can so quickly auck away the

strength of the strongest man as the atmosphere at such great altitudes. Personnel of Expedition. The Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club who are the sponsors of this expedition have appointed Mr. Hugh Ruttledge co be its leader. Mr. Ruttledge would not consent until he knew that both Brigadier-General Bruce and Colonel Norton (now Commander of the Royal Artillery, Aldershot) were unable to be available. Mr. Ruttledge is a climber of great Himalayan experience. His last and most famous climb was the Nanda Devi peak last summer. He has just retired from the Indian Civil Service, where, since 1925, he has served as Deputy Commissioner of the Almora District of Kttmaon in tlie Himalayas. His local knowledge as well as his outstanding climbing ability will be invaluable to the success of the assault. With hint will be the most carefully selected team, combining youth and experience. Among them will be one of the outstanding figures of the 1924 expedition, Mr. Noel Odell, Mr. Wynn Harris, one of tlie foremost young mountaineers. Mr. J. Longland, one of tlie best-known climbers in the North of England, Captain J. E. Hugh Boustead, who has represented Great Britain as a boxer in the Olympic Gaines, Captain J. Burney and Mr. E. E. Shipton, who were associated with Mr. Smythe in tlie Kamet success. Mr. E. O. Shebbeare, whose great knowledge of the natives not only in Sikkim but also in Thibet makes him an ideal controller of transport. One of the two doctors attached to the expedition will be Dr. Raymond Greene, the medical officer of the Kamet expedition. The choice of the personnel is, quite obviously, the fundamental and determining factor. This as much applies to the native l porters as to the actual mountaineers. Mr. Smythe so definitely realised what liis successful expedition owed to the courage, tenacity, and fidelity of his men that he insisted that his chief porter, Lewa, should have the honour of being the first to tread the summit of Kamet