EVEREST EXPEDITION

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 110, 5 November 1925, Page 5

EVEREST EXPEDITION

STORY OF AN EPIC STRUGGLE

TOLD BY DR. SOMEBVELL.

Dr. Howard Somervell's thrilling story of the last expedition to Mount Everest was told recently to an audience at his native town of Kendal, reports the "Manchester GuardiaD." The lecture, illustrated' by magnificent views of mountain scenery, gave further information concerning the success attained by the expedition and with regard i to the fate of Mallory and Irvine, the two members who lost their lives in I tha final attempt to reach the 29,000 feet summit. After describing the route followed by the expedition, Dr. Somervell said that the base camp was made at the foot of Everest, some 16 miles from the moun- | tain, and beyond it Camps 1, 2, and 3 j were made, being about two miles apart. ] The first attempt to make the third j camp was defeated by the severity of the weather, and the party had to re- j treat and wait for better conditions. There were 56deg. of frost, a furious wind, and a blizzard of snow. From the' top of Everest extended an enormous cloud, showing the power of the wind. Later, the expected fine wea- j ther returned, and Camp No. 3 was es- j tablished, as well as one farther up on the North Col. At 23,000 feet, however, further bad weather was encountered, and most of the party were rendered more or less unfit. Oat of 12 Europeans and 70 coolies.only six Europeans and 15 coolies were of sufficiently good physique for the final attack, and this necessitated alterations in their \plans. The Europeans sat as a committee to devise a new plan, and it was agreed that three parties, of two Europeans and three coolies each, should make the last effort, each party to try to climb the mountain, being one day apart from one another, and thus able to back one another up. At No. 2 camp they divided, and Mallory and Captain Bruce made the first effort. The following day, M'Naughtan and Dr. Somervell started. They went up the North Col on to the north-east shoulder of Everest, and made camp at 25,000 feet. When Mallory and Bruce reached this height one of their coolies refused to go. farther, and this caused the abandonment of their attempt.' ■ Mallory and Bruce passed Dr. So'nervcll and M'Naughtan on their way down and 1 wished them luck. Continuing", they ware able to sleep well and make another .camp at 27)000 feet, where they again •slept well, starting off again the next morning for the final attempt to reach the summit. After clearing. a succession of difficult iledges, they found progress so. slow that they could take onlj' one step for every ten breaths, and at 28.200 fefifc they were breathing so fast and walking bo' slowly that' they were progressing .only 100, feet an hour. They were then 800 feet from the summit. It was eight hours' work to get to the top, and it.was 2 o'clock in the afternoon. They realised that they, could not get to the top before midnight, and that would mean almost certain death from exposure. Within a quarter of a mile of the 'summits which rose 800 feet above them, they had to turn back. "We realised the futility of going on," said Dr. Somervell,- "and we had to ob«y the, dictates of common-sense." On their return to camp arrangements were made for the third,, and last, party's . effort. Mallory and Irvine agree to make it. Dr. Somervell said he could not show pictures of this climb because Mallory and Irvine, never came back. . "They started away," said Dr. Somervell, in a graphic description of the most moving story of the expedition, "and were seen later on at a point higher ,than M'Naughton and I bad reached—only. 700 feet from the top. At that time a cloud came across the top of Everest, and for about an hour the top of the -mountain was hidden frpm sight. After the cloud had cleared sfway, nothing could be seen of them, and, in fact, nothing ever was seen of them again. We could only guess what their fate was. There was a difficult piece of rock they had to cross, and, personally, I think that. in crossing it, either on the way up or on their return after conquering Everest, -they met with an accident. Nothing else had been revealed to show whether they got lo the or not. We c;iunot claim that the expedition was successful in getting to the top, but it is just possible the summit was reached. The expedition tried oriu of the hardest tasks man had ever set himself, and, although Everest has exacted a heavy toll of lives for a mountain which has been attempted only six times, I think the climbing of Everest •was something worth doing.' On my way back, when about 30 miles from the mountain, I looked back and was seized with a great desire that if ever it should be climbed it should be a British party to accomplish it."