EVEREST EXPEDITION

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 14 June 1935, Page 10

EVEREST EXPEDITION

NEW ZEALANDER IN INDIA. LIHTEX? FROM MR L. V. BRYANT. In a letter to Mr Rod Synie during bis voyage to Bombay to join the advance party preparatory to the forthcoming Mt. Everest expedition, Mr L. Y. Bryant says that at Melbourne he was entertained by the president of the Ski Club and that he had plav■od golf with Captain Twcedic, late A.D.C. to Lord Bledisfoe, at the famous Metropolitan course. The captain of the vessel Strathmore (Captain Harrison) had been most kind to him. lie had invited him on to the bridge anil given him the forerun of the ship, | invited him to use the bridge for his physical exercises and wanted to know whether he could not arrange a special diet for him. He had also given him full use of his library. Mr Bryant, in his letter, went on to say that tho first- application in his interests to join the expedition was made in September, 1932, but a reply was received that the party was then virtually completed. Following this, Mr Bryant went to Switzerland, his main object being 'to obtain some climbing experience there anil to file an application with the Mt. Everest committee in London. Little hope was held out of success and a factor that was against him considerably was that lie had no Himalayan experience, whereas there were so many of the others who- had. Mr Bryant returned to New Zealand and records his feelings when a- week beforo lie received! his invitation, he saw a cable in the newspapers stating that- permission liad. been given a- British expedition to go through Tibet and a. further cable that an advance body was leaving England shortly. Mr Bryant told liow he forwarded a number of cables to England expressing liis keenness to join the expedition and in a day or two received a reply: “Tho committee invites you join Sliipton at. Darjeeling for Everest region,” and adding that members of the party who did well would be .considered for the main expedition in 1936. Mr Bryant replied immediately accepting the invitation and said that lie would meet Sliipton as arranged. In a* subsequent letter Mr Bryant said he was looking forward to the journey across India and that he was doing a good deal of physical training to be in tolerably good shape.