THE EVEREST CLIMB.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18121, 20 June 1922, Page 5

THE EVEREST CLIMB.

26,800 FT. WITHOUT OXYGEN A RECORD OF DARING. GREAT HARDSHIPS ENDURED By Telegrapb—Preas Association— Copyright. Times. LONDON. June 18. General C G. Bruce, leader of the Mount Everest expedition, in a long despatch from the base camp at Rongbuk, gives extracts from his diary covering the recent doings of the expedition. He states that Mr. Mallory and Dr. Somervell reached the North Col on May 1", j and five members of the expedition and a largo number of porters established a camo there on. May 20 at a height of 25.000 ft. Next day Mr. Mallory, Major Morahead, and Major Norton climbed to 26,800 ft. without oxygen, and thereby accomplished thb most successful and daring mountaineering feat yet recorded, and one of the greatest feats of pure human endurance in any field of activity. Since the last despatch waß forwarded great efforts have been made to com- | plete the lines of communication. General \ Bruce gives details of establishing three intermediate camps, one at 17,800 ft., the second at 19,800 ft., and the third at 'the foot of the North Col, 21,000 ft. Enormous difficulties were encountered, and the work was carried out in the face of very stiff i mountaineering difficulties across moraines j and glaciers, and amid deep snow. The party was much hindered by crevasses, bad weather, and intense cold. The third camp forms the advance base where enough food has been stored to supply ten Britishers and many porters, together with a full alpine kit and the bulky oxygen plant. All the camps are now completely furnished with every necessity, including fuel. Time Becomes an Enemy. While the establishment of camps was being completed, Mr. Mallory and Dr. Somervell, a« an advance guard, started to mako the road up the North Col. The weather throughout the operations was unsettled, the thermometer ranging to eight below aero. The country was almost bar© of ] fuel. The porters' work was beyond, praise, considering the difficult country. I In a fortnight they transported sufficient supplies for 60 peoplo for a whole month to a height of between 16,0C0ft. and 21.000 ft. This did not include the camp at 23.000i't. and the camplet at 25,000 ft. The latter was quite unprecedented, as 24,600 ft. was the pre/rious highest record. How soon the whole force can be collected at the advanced base is a question of the supply of the elusive Tibetan coolies, on which the exnedition is obliged to lean. ' These coolies are most difficult to obtain owing to the season of the year. However, the chief difficulties are now ended. The two main enemies are shortness of time and the unsettled weather, consequently Lieutenant-Colonel Strutt, who has first-class mountain knowledge, has been placed in charge of the advanced base. It was considered advisable to take the first opportunity to make a reconnaissance before the oxygen plant was ready, because it was felt that if a camp could be established at 25,000 ft. it would be of the greatest importance when the time came foi the grand assault to bo armed with oxygen. The weather did its best to annihilate this reconnaissance, Mr. Mallory's party having to descend in desperate circumstances after one of the grandest struggles with mountains ever made. Across Crevasse by Candle Light. Mr Mallory adds an account of his dash, which reached a height of 26,800 ft. Ho tells of difficulties as they mounted, with piercingly-cold winds, the men slowly cutting uteps in the frozen snow and ice. They camped at mid-day in a most uncomfortable position, as it was necessary to send back the porters before the weather got worse to prevent them from getting frostbitten. Three of Mr. Mallory's fingers and Major Norton's ear were frost-bitten, while Major Morshead was badly chilled. Snow fell during the night, and next morning Major Morshead stated he would not proceed farther, as hia condition was such that he would only keep his companions back. The other two pushed onward, impeded by s-now, but found travelling less difficult than was anticipated. The chief drawback was difficulty in breathing, owing to rarity of the air. With the aneroid registering 26,800 ft. they descended, and picked up Major Morshead soon after- Then a nasty slip occurred, and the three wero held up by a rope belayed to a single ice axe. They were more cautious afterwards, but were now racing against the darkness. Major Morshead showed great pluok in descending, but was unwell and exhausted, and Norton had to support him on his shoulder. After sunset thoy had to cross a dangerous crevasse lit by a candle. When ascending the candle burned out, and hope seemed extinguished, but, groping Mindly, someone found the rope suspended from an ice axe on the top. They reached the camp only to find the most essential of all things missings—a drink, for which their parched throats had yearned all day. They had to relieve their thirst with a mixture of jam, frozen milk, and snow. Major Morshead declared that thirst alone did him up. Mr. Mallory adds that with a windless day they might have had the summit within reach. The margin of safety was umall, and three of them micht have been out of action by frostbite; they were not fortunate,- but, in view of the severe conditions, not wholly unlucky. HOW THE ROUTE WAS FOUND. WORK OF THE PIONEERS. The members of the expedition which is attempting to reach the summit of Mount Everest (about 29,000 ft.), are Brigadier-General 0. G. Bruce, leader; Lieutenant-Colonel E. L. Strutt, in charge of the climbing party; Dr. T. G. Longstaff, medical officer; Major H. T. Morshead; Majur E. S. Norton; Captain G. Bruce, Indian Army; Captain? Crawford, Indian Army; Captain Noel; Captain George Finch; Dr. Howard Somervell; Dr. Wakefield, of Canada; and Mr. G. Mallory, who took part in the reconnoitring expedition of lyzl. The pioneering work last year was carried out by a smaller expedition under the leadership of Colonel Howard Bury. The Everest mountain group is entirely enveloped by Tibet and Nepal, countries to which Europeans hitherto have not been admitted, and until last year no one had ever been within 40 miles of the mountain and then only a quickly passing caravan of travellers—an off-shoot of the Tibetan campaign. At long last permission for an expedition to go to Everest was obtained from the Tibetan Government, the northern route of approach being, for geographical reasons, the more promising and easier, though much the longer for transport. Colonel Howard

Bury's task was to reconnoitre a route for the main, expedition that was to follow. The route of approach to Everest from British India involved a wide and long detour. A start had to be made from Darjeeling. Thence the way was northward through Sikkim's tropical, gorgeous, fever-stricken and insect-infested valleys to the head of the Chuir.bi, and so over a pass, the Tang La (15,200 ft.), v on to the rolling, windswept, comparatively barren and most inhospitable uplands of Tibet. Once arrived there Lhe route turned from north to west, aad proceeded, for a hundred miles or so,, r jifghly parallel to the great mountains vuieh haO thus been turned. Various acto'ly high but, in relation to the tablelan , comparatively low passes, had to be crossed till, the upper reaches of the Aran r.h-er were reached. It is a characteristic of almost all the highest l mountains in the Asiatic backbone that I the range to which each belonps is cut right through by u river in the neighbour- | hood ©f its cuteinating peak. • Everest follows the rule. The Aran River, rising in Tibet, flowg southwards, cuts right through the main Himalaya less than 30 miles east of the peak, and, flowing south through Nepal, empties its waters ultimately into the Bay of Bengal. Colonel Howard Bury's Problem. Thus for a considerable distance the Aran Valley might have been the explorers' way till they came to a series of tributary streams that empty into it the melted snows of the bverest group. By one or other of these tributaries the way to the mountain might Ho. But by (which? That was one of the problems I that Colonel Howard Bury and his men ! had to solve. Instead, however, of bending away at this point down the Arun Valley directly toward Mount Everest, the explorers continued their westward journey another 70 miles Over the Tibetan plateau to Tingsi. a considerable place I for those parts, Dented in the midst of a preai plain which had lotc* aco been decided on as the first base for reconnoitrincr the northern and north-western approaches to the nv»«.t mountain. Colonel Howard Bnrv and his partv b»[r>n bv goinc south from Tintrsi and find'nf the great Rongbnk trlacier. a mngnifWnt torrent of ic» that drains the north-west cirque of Everest. Penetrating into the magnifi"ont fastnesses of the elevated and recondite valley, the exolorers bohpld, first among men, some of the noblest and most stupendous mountain scenery of the world, but thev found them "elves evervwb pre cut off from the bv nnc'imbablo prwiTnces or avalanche-swent slcDes lm which no living thing could pass. Much clondv weather impeded their view, but even if the weath«" had been clear it is donbtf»l whether they would have been attracted to' enter an annarentfv insignificant vallev whose month, hirrh nn on their left hand as they mounted the i main vallev. would not siiflfest that it i led to a vallev trending in the direction lof Everest. Months later thev found I that this was the long-soncht wav, and I it is bv that relativelv insignificant nortal that entry i s n t this moment heing sought by General Brace's expedition. Way to the Summit Found. While one paHy was thus exploring the Rongbuk, others were workine round the mountain mass to the eastward, searching for a place called Kharti. vasruplv indicated to them as a likelv i centre which to nenetrate the heart ]of the labvrinth. They found it, not j without difficulty, and made it their next main base. Hore thev were in ' better country, not Tibutan in type, b"t ! richer in veeretat.ion. But they could I not linger on these comfortable levels. ' Thev pressed up the Kama Valley to its ' glaciers. hH that was not the way. Tlifn j up the Kh-rt.a. to a. splendidly-placed camp at 20.000 ft. The glacier sloned ' upward at nn easy gradient to an easily j reached saddle at its head, which they i called tb» Tb-koa La. or W'r>«?v Gap, a mere 22,. 7; soft. in heieht. Thev nro ; ceeded to this gap, and their nrohlem was solved. From it, they looked down ' npon the neve of the east Ronpbnk glacier—the glacier hidden away in that j valley with the nnimnreesiye mouth — and across that and the ridge to the northern arete and face of Everest. The highest bav ■of the glacier abutted I acralnst a practicable sn<~ slooe, which ! led no to a saddle at the foot, of the poHh ar<*te. The saddle, the Chang La (Worth Gao'i as thev called it, about 23.000 ft. hitfh, was the long-sought cine. and is referred to in General Brace's desnatcbes as the Forth Col. From H to the very summit of the peak led a : ridge evidently practicable, as far a3 I mountaineer;-!?; difficulties were co;->-I oPTiod, a"d it is by this ridge that Gereral Bruce and his partv are enI deavouring to reach the highest point on the face of the earth