MOUNT EVEREST

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 234, 4 May 1933, Page 7

MOUNT EVEREST

1 23,000 FEET ALTITUDE i REACHED j : FINAL ASSAULT MUST BE ; MADE IN ONE DAY j I Press Asocial ion.—Copyright. j | London, May 3.--The expedition | : led by Air. ' Hugh RiVll ledge j | . which is (O :iI f ''ini>l to roach Iho : ] I Daily Mail’s special correspondent at | Gangtok. readied Camp No. 4 on the | North Col at an altitude of 23,000 feet. I The climbers are sheltered by a great ice j wall and are waiting for the weather to j improve before beginning the increasing- j !y precipitous climb to the summit, which ! is at present obliterated by a raging | blizzard. Two higher camps will be essential be- j fare the climbers can gel to the ■ North j Ridge, from which the final assault will | be made over the last and most perilous | 2000 feet, which must he covered in one | day, as their unsheltered nature means i certain death to climbers at this altitude i if they are overcome by snows at night ; time. A wireless message from the base camp, j via Gangtok, dated Hongbuk. May 2, describes the expedition’s movements since the beginning. The message refers to the arival at Rongbuk Valley, with its do- | solute scenery. The party camped at j the monastery where the head larna had ■ been extremely sympathetic with provi- j ous expeditions. “We arrived at the base j camp on Easter Monday,’ Hie message j says, “Mount Everest is only 12 miles away. All members are in the best ol ■ spirits and the weather, except for a few j days has been better than it was for j | previous expeditions. : I “Although we are travelling earlier In j 1 the year we arc now beside a frozen j ! lake. The neighbourhood is devoid of | j life, with the exception of a hermit exist- ; ; mg in solitude on the moraine behind ! | the camp. He has been here for two ; | years and he intends to stay for the rest jof his life. A memorial cairn built in 1924 in memory of the three previous expeditions is now in ruins but we managed to piece together a part of the in- I | scription. I “The personnel is now busy sorting i ; rations, overhauling tents and tending ; I the wireless apparatus.’’