THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1936 THE CHALLENGE OF EVEREST

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22332, 1 February 1936, Page 12

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1936 THE CHALLENGE OF EVEREST

The fifth Everest Expedition has been organised and its advance party has sailed from England for India. Command for the second time is held by Mr. Hugh Ruttledge, nine of his party have Everest experience, and, what perhaps is more important still, ten have proved themselves to an altitude of at least 23,000 feet. It may be confidently anticipated, therefore, that for the final assault over the last 2000 feet, there will be an adequate number of fit men to face with reasonable luck the challenge! of that lofty region, where the air contains one-third less than the normal amount of oxygen. Even so there will be long odds against their ascending to the peak of the pyramid. Mallory, who died on the mountain, considered that the odds were fifty to one against the chances of a given party in a given year. Ruttledge reduced this estimate of odds, because he believed that the all-important psychological factor had changed. Ascent to at least 28,000 feet, he said, is almost to be regarded as a matter of course. The rest will always lie in the lap of the gods, for each assault party of two is limited to the period between sunrise and sunset. Even with the essential aid of transported oxygen those who climb the last 1000 feet will, in the words of F. S. Smythe, "tread the physical limits of the World." If caught away from their flimsy shelter by a blizzard they will certainly perish. A slip on the traverse of the slab face which often is made more treacherous by powdery snow, may prove fatal, as it did in the case of Mallory and Irvine. The chances of this year's expedition,, ■so far as they lie in human power, are greater than those of any of the previous ones. The personnel ha-a the advantage of past experience and on that account the hope of rapid acclimatisation. A camp stocked with food and fuel for 15 dayu has been established at the foot of the north-east ridge by an advance party under Shipton, one of the high climbers of 1933, and thus the march of 350 miles from Darjeeling to Everest" over the lofty plains of Tibet wilt be expedited and there will be more time for the final preparations 'on the mountain itself. The enduring Sherpa and Bhutia porters who have served past expeditions, and who in 1933 showed that they had begup to absorb the spirit of the adventure, will no doubt be eager to offer their services again, excepting, perhaps, the one who, after the final carry, became possessed of the delusion that he was: dead and required what Dr. Green called purely therapeutic propulsion from the rear to get him down to (safety. Ruttledge has immense faith in the porters, particularly in the team oi ."tigers'? who carried the equipment for Camp VI. at 27,400 feet. This year a further camp will be established 400 feet higher to give a little extra time for the last "dash"—a dash in which the climbers require three breaths for each step, in which the best ascending time ever made was 200 feet to the hour. The first assault party of 1933 practically eliminated their own chance of making the peak through investigating the possibilities of the precipitous "second step." Their judgment was that it was impossible, so that no time will be. wasted on that question this year. Already the only route has been fixed. There may be many British people who, like the majority of the Tibetans, are perplexed at the urj?e which drives British mountaineers forward toward the conquest of Everest. They may ask what scientific knowledge can be gained. They may argue that the achievement is not worth the risking of valuable lives. The first reply of the mountaineer is that the attack on Everest is more than an adventure, but that even if it were only an adventure, it would be justified for its own sake. The expedition is based on accumulated knowledge, and being well organised is not a reckless venture. There is room in a world largely dominated by material considerations for exploits demanding extreme physical and mental effort for which there is no material reward. Actually the conquest of Everest will be as great an achievement as the foot journeys to the Poles. Ruttledge has said that mountaineers should bo scientists as well as philosophers. Another authority places the quest in the realm of the spiritual, describing Everest as "a symbol of the loftiest height of man's imagination." To him the struggle of the climbev is the thing, the unique opportunity for mind to dominate matter. Early in the day the Tibetan authorities looked for an ulterior motive. They now know that these tenacious Englishmen are not seeking precious metals nor are they endeavouring to enlarge the power of their race. Success will bring them fame, but as philosophers they are not pursuing fame. For them what began as a sport in Switzerland or elsewhere has become a deep-rooted purpose and men of their ilk the world over will wish them well.