The problem of the ascent was two-fold--part physiological, part
physical. Could human beings survive at an altitude of 29,000
feet--human beings who were forced to carry loads and to move their
limbs? Aviators, of course, had risen to greater heights, but they
had not been compelled to exert themselves. Could a man in action
support life in that rarified air? Above 20,000 feet a cubic foot of
air contains less than half the oxygen which it holds at sea-level.
As the working of the body depends upon the oxygen supplied through
the lungs, this fact was bound to lessen enormously man's physical
energy. On the other hand, it had been found that the human frame
could adapt itself to great altitudes by increasing the number of red
blood corpuscles. Dr. Kellas had been able to climb 600 feet an hour
above 21,000 feet, and Mr. Meade had camped in comparative comfort at
23,600 feet. Still, the highest altitude yet reached had been only
24,600 feet, and no one could say what difference the extra 4,500
feet might make. Clearly, before the final climbing began it would
be necessary to acclimatize the party. In the last resort oxygen
might be artificially supplied to the climbers. The physiological
problem was of the kind which could only be solved in practice.
The second was the physical. A man might live and even move slowly
above, say, 26,000 feet, but it was quite certain that no human being
would be capable of the severe exertions required by difficult
climbing. If the last stage of Everest proved to be like the last
stages of many Himalayan mountains, then the thing was strictly
impossible. The hope was that on the Tibetan side the _arêtes_ might
be easy going. It all depended upon finding an easy route, and being
able to make an ultimate camp at some point like 26,000 feet. There
was good hope that the first might be possible, judging from
Rawling's survey at a distance of sixty miles and the known
geographical features of the Tibetan side of the range. The other
physical difficulties would be the gigantic scale of Himalayan
obstacles, the hugeness of the ice-fields and glaciers, the immensity
of the rock-falls and avalanches. Also at a great height there would
be the bitter cold to lower vitality, and the likelihood of violent
winds. Much would depend on the weather, which was still an unknown
quantity. Indeed, all the physical factors were in the region of
speculation; only a reconnaissance could determine them. It might be
that the expedition would have to turn back at once, confessing its
task impossible.
General Bruce, who was the chief living authority on Himalayan
travelling, was unable to accompany the party, so Colonel Howard-Bury
was selected as leader. An elaborate scientific equipment was
prepared, and steps were taken to get the full scientific value out
of the journey. But the primary object was mountaineering: first a
reconnaissance, and then, if fortune favoured, an effort to reach the
summit. The four climbers chosen were Mr. Harold Raeburn, who, in
1920, had done good work on the spurs of Kanchenjunga; Dr. Kellas,
who had reached 23,400 feet on Kamet; and two younger men, Mr. George
Leigh Mallory and Mr. Bullock, distinguished members of the Alpine
Club, who had been together at Winchester. In India they were to be
joined by Major Morshead and Major Wheeler, of the Indian Survey.
Early in May 1921, the party assembled at Darjeeling.
II
The start from Darjeeling was on 18th May. The first stage through
Sikkim, and by way of the Chumbi valley to the Tibetan plateau, was
over familiar ground, which need not be described. There was a good
deal of trouble with the mules, which had been badly chosen, but no
incident of importance happened till Dochen was reached, the point
where their road left the main road to Lhasa. At Kampa Dzong, Dr.
Kellas died suddenly from heart failure--an irreparable loss to the
expedition, for he had been one of the mountaineers from whom most
was looked for, and he was the only member of the party qualified by
his medical knowledge to carry out experiments in oxygen and blood
pressure. There, too, Mr. Raeburn fell sick, and had to return to
Sikkim.
[Illustration: The Route of the Mount Everest Expedition.]
The expedition made its way almost due west behind the main chain of
the Himalaya, until one evening its members saw, almost due south of
them, a beautiful peak which was apparently very high. The natives
called it Chomo-Uri, which means the "Goddess of the Turquoise Peak,"
and from observations next morning it was clear that it was Everest.
They passed some wonderful monasteries perching on the face of
perpendicular crags, and eventually, on 19th June, they reached
Tingri Dzong, after a month's travelling from Darjeeling. This was
the spot they had decided upon for their base camp.
The obvious route to Everest seemed to be by way of the Rongbuk
valley, where the great Rongbuk Glacier flowed from its northern
face. There, accordingly, the two climbers, Mr. Mallory and Mr.
Bullock, established themselves. The preliminary reconnaissance,
however, proved to be a somewhat intricate matter. It was soon plain
that there were no easy approaches from the west, so Colonel
Howard-Bury moved his headquarters to Kharta, on the east side, close
to the Arun. That river, which there is about one hundred yards
wide, a little farther down enters great gorges, in which, within a
course of twenty miles, it drops from 12,000 feet to 7,500 feet, or
over 200 feet in a mile--a far more wonderful spectacle than anything
on the Brahmaputra.
On 2nd August, Mr. Mallory and Mr. Bullock started their exploration
of the eastern approaches to the mountain. This was no easy
business, for the valleys were separated by ridges, the lowest point
of which was higher than any mountain in Europe, and every route had
to be explored personally, for no information could be had from the
natives. The two main valleys running down on the east side of
Everest are the Kharta and, farther south, the Kama. The latter
valley was first explored, and it was found that it ended under the
precipitous eastern face of the mountain, and that there was no way
from it of reaching the North-East ridge. It was a marvellous valley
for scenery, but for mountaineering impracticable.
A move was accordingly made to the Kharta valley to the north. Mr.
Mallory and Mr. Bullock proceeded up this till they reached the
glacier of the Kharta River, and at last found a valley which seemed
to lead them straight to the North-East ridge. It was now, however,
early August, the monsoon was blowing, and everywhere there was deep,
soft, fresh snow. They returned accordingly to the camp at Kharta to
wait till weather conditions became better.
What was called the Advance Base Camp was established in the Kharta
valley at a height of 17,350 feet, in a grassy hollow well sheltered
from the wind, and amid a glory of Alpine flowers. Meantime Mr.
Mallory and Mr. Bullock spent their time in carrying wood and stores
to a camp higher up the valley. This was finally established at a
height of some 20,000 feet, well up the Kharta Glacier. At the
glacier head was a pass called the Lhakpa La, or "Windy Gap," and the
next step was to form a camp there at a height of 22,350 feet. It
was in this neighbourhood that the tracks, probably of a wolf, were
found, which the coolies attributed to the "Wild Men of the Snows."
From the Lhakpa La the mountaineers were now looking straight at
Everest, and at last were able to unriddle its tangled topography.
The attention of the reader is called to the map. It will be seen
that the great Rongbuk Glacier, which descends from the western side
of the northern face, receives as a feeder the East Rongbuk Glacier.
The entrance to the latter is so small that Mr. Mallory and Mr.
Bullock had failed to notice it in their exploration of the main
glacier. This lesser Rongbuk Glacier ends on the eastern part of the
northern face of the mountain, and between its head and that of the
main glacier is the pass called the Chang La, or North Col. From the
Lhakpa La one looks into the East Rongbuk Glacier with the North Col
straight in front. If the North Col could be attained, it seemed to
the mountaineers to be possible, by working up the easy northern
face, to attain the North-East ridge at a point above the main
difficulties.
The camp on the Lhakpa La was not a comfortable place, with a howling
wind, 34 degrees of frost, and little stuffy tents which gave dubious
protection and inevitable headaches. It was decided that the two
expert Alpine climbers, with a few picked coolies, should alone
attempt the North Col, and, if fortune favoured, prospect the farther
route, while the others returned to the 20,000-feet camp.
We are now concerned with the doings only of Mr. Mallory and Mr.
Bullock, who were to attempt the North Col. In the weeks since their
arrival in the neighbourhood of Everest they had been studying its
contours with the eyes of trained mountaineers. They saw that it was
a great rock mass, "coated often with a thin layer of white powder,
which is blown about its sides, and bearing perennial snow only on
the gentler ledges and on several wide faces less steep than the
rest." They saw that from the point of the North-East shoulder a
more or less broad _arête_ fell northward to the snow col called the
Chang La. If they could reach that snow col the road to the
North-East ridge looked reasonably simple. They had seen that the
Chang La would be very difficult of attainment from the Rongbuk
Glacier, and that was why they had turned their minds to an eastern
approach. Here is their conclusion, in Mr. Mallory's words, reached
about the third week in July: "If ever the mountain were to be
climbed, the way would not lie along the whole length of any one of
its colossal ridges. Progress could only be made along comparatively
easy ground, and anything like a prolonged sharp crest or a series of
towers would inevitably bar the way, simply by the time it would
require to overcome such obstacles. But the North _arête_, coming
down to the gap between Everest and the North Peak, Changtse, is not
of this character. From the horizontal structure of the mountain
there is no excrescence of rock pinnacles in this part, and the steep
walls of rock which run across the north face are merged with it
before they reach this part, which is comparatively smooth and
continuous, a bluntly rounded edge.... The great question before us
now was to be one of access. Could the North Col be reached from the
east, and how could we attain this point?"
We have seen the two climbers as far on their journey as the Lhakpa
La, looking over the East Rongbuk Glacier to the North Col. The
chief difficulty, it was soon evident, would be the wall under the
col, which must be over 500 feet high, and appeared to be very steep.
On the morning of 23rd September, Mr. Mallory, Mr. Bullock, and Mr.
Wheeler started from the camp on the Lhakpa La with ten coolies, some
of whom were mountain-sick, and all of whom were affected by the
height. They started late, and resolved to make an easy day,
pitching their tents that night in the open snow under the North Col.
They had looked for a sheltered camp, but the place proved to be a
temple of the winds, and no one that night had much sleep. Next
morning, the 24th, a few hours after sunrise, they began to climb the
slopes under the wall, and found them easier than they had feared.
By 11.30 the party was on the col. Only three coolies had
accompanied them, two of whom were already very tired. Of the three
sahibs, only Mr. Mallory was in anything like good condition. The
place was scourged by icy blasts, and frequently in a whirl of
powdery snow, but there could be no doubt that the _arête_ in front
of them was accessible. In that gale, however, they dare not attempt
it, so they struggled back to their camp below the wall. Next
morning, the 25th, a council of war was held. It was clear that they
must either go on or go back. In their plan they had dreamed of
making a camp at 26,000 feet, but that was now out of the question.
It was too late in the season, the weather was too bad, and the party
was too weak. There was nothing for it but to return, and
accordingly they struggled over the Lhakpa La, back to the Kharta
valley and the road to England.
The reconnaissance of 1921 had established certain facts of the first
importance. The first was as to the proper season for the attempt.
The rainfall in the Himalaya that year was abnormal, and the monsoon
began and finished later than usual. But it was clear that between
its end and the coming of winter there was not sufficient time to
give the climbers a chance of good weather. The next attempt must
obviously be made before the coming of the monsoon--that is, in May
or June. The second fact established was the best way of attempting
the summit. The only feasible route lay from the Chang La up the
subsidiary ridge to the shoulder of the North-East _arête_. The
distance from the Chang La to the top was not more than two miles,
and the rise not more than 6,000 feet. So far as the climbers on the
pass could judge--and their conclusion was supported by numerous
photographs from other points--there seemed to be no very great
difficulties on this route in the shape of steep rocks. It looked as
if it might be practicable to find a site for a camp at about 26,000
feet. By this route the North-East _arête_ would be reached at about
28,000 feet. The thousand feet from that point to the summit looked
slightly more difficult, and appeared to possess certain rook towers,
which, however, might be circumvented. The actual top seemed to be a
cap of snow with a steep blunt edge on the side of the ridge.
[Illustration: The _massif_ of Mount Everest.]
The transport question must always be difficult. The thousand feet
from the East Bongbuk Glacier to the Chang La, half of which was very
steep, might give trouble to laden coolies, especially earlier in the
season when the ice was uncovered by snow. An advanced base camp on
the Chang La would, of course, be essential if a high camp were to be
made at 26,000 feet. But the physical problem might be regarded as
solved--at any rate as far as the shoulder of the North-East _arête_.
On the physiological question little light had been thrown. The
climbers in September 1921 were all more or less tired from spending
long periods in high camps, and could not be regarded as at the top
of their form. Yet in the case of most members of the party the
process of acclimatization had been rapid, and Mr. Mallory on the
Chang La was remarkably fit. What would happen, however, at the
higher altitudes? The effect of these upon the human body had not
been decided.
The conclusion from the year's work was that while no insuperable
difficulty had been proved in the problem, yet for success there must
be a combination of happy chances in the shape of weather, the
condition of the snow, the endurance of the transport coolies, and
the bodily fitness of the climbers. A second attempt would be
justified, but it could not be regarded with anything like
confidence. The enterprise was seriously and responsibly envisaged,
and no better expression of the spirit of those who undertook it can
be found than in Mr. Mallory's own words: "It might be possible for
two men to struggle somehow to the summit, disregarding every other
consideration. It is a different matter to climb the mountain as
mountaineers would have it climbed. Principles, time-honoured in the
Alpine Club, must, of course, be respected in the ascent of Mount
Everest. The party must keep a margin of safety. It is not to be a
mad enterprise, rashly pushed on regardless of danger. The
ill-considered acceptance of any and every risk has no part in the
essence of persevering courage. A mountaineering enterprise may keep
sanity and sound judgment, and remain an adventure. And of all
principles to which we hold, the first is that of mutual help. What
is to be done for a man who is sick or abnormally exhausted at these
high altitudes? His companions must see to it that he is taken down
at the first opportunity, and with an adequate escort; and the
obligation is the same whether he be sahib or coolie. If we ask a
man to carry our loads up the mountain, we must care for his welfare
at need."
III
The 1922 party had as its leader Brigadier-General the Hon. C. G.
Bruce, the supreme authority upon the Himalaya, to the exploration of
which he had devoted much of his life. He knew the hill people, too,
as no other man knew them, and his advice was invaluable in the
selection of porters. The climbers were Mr. Mallory, Mr. Finch (who
had been selected for the expedition of the year before, but had been
unable to accompany it), Mr. Norton, and Mr. Somervell--all of whom
were trained mountaineers; and Captain Geoffrey Bruce, who had never
done any serious climbing before. Major Morshead was also of the
party. The 1921 expedition had discovered what seemed a possible
route to the summit by the North Col, and the new expedition proposed
to follow its tracks. It was stronger in _personnel_ than its
predecessor, and much stronger in equipment, for it had learned many
lessons from the experiences of the year before. Among other things,
it carried a supply of oxygen in bottles, and the necessary apparatus
to use it.
The party, being resolved to make the attempt before the monsoon
broke, made straight for the old advanced base camp in the Kharta
valley. Thanks to General Bruce's consummate skill in the
organization of mountain travel, it reached that point on the date
fixed and with everybody in good health. The next duty was to
establish an advanced camp one stage before the North Col, up to
which porters could be brought without undue fatigue. The summit of
the Lhakpa La was abandoned, and an advanced base, known as Camp No.
3, was established under the west side of the pass, close to the East
Rongbuk Glacier.
The next step was to ascertain whether the road to the North Col was
practicable, for when Mr. Mallory's party had travelled it the year
before there had been fresh snow, and at this early season there was
a danger of bare ice. Mr. Somervell and Mr. Mallory, on 13th May,
with one coolie, set forth from Camp No. 3 on a reconnaissance, and
found that the route they had followed the year before was one sheet
of glittering ice. They saw, however, that they could cut their way
into a corridor filled with good snow, which would lead them up to
the foot of the final slope, and that final slope proved also to be
snow and not ice. On the North Col they found a difficulty they had
not looked for. Between the point at which they reached it and
Everest itself was an ice cliff, which the year before they had
circumvented. Now they found their way barred by a hopeless
crevasse. Ultimately they discovered a route at the far end of the
ice cliff, and reached the level snow from which the north ridge of
Everest springs.
The next few days were occupied in bringing up supplies to Camp 4 on
the North Col. They had only nine porters available, and this
decided them that it would not be feasible to make two camps on the
face of the mountain. They resolved to attempt to make one camp at
about 26,000 feet, and from that to make their final effort.
On the 19th the four climbers, Mr. Mallory, Mr. Norton, Major
Morshead, and Mr. Somervell, left Camp 3 at a quarter to nine in the
morning, and an hour after mid-day were busy putting up tents and
arranging stores at Camp 4 on the North Col. The sun set at 4.30,
and they turned in for the night in the best of spirits. On the
morrow they proposed to carry up two of the small tents, two double
sleeping-sacks, food for a day and a half, cooking-pots, and two
thermos flasks. They would make four loads of the stuff, which would
give two porters to each load, with a man to spare.
On 20th May, Mr. Mallory got up at 5 a.m., and found that there was
no sign of life in the tents in which the nine porters were
quartered. The coolies had shut themselves in so hermetically that
they were all unwell, and four of them were suffering badly from
mountain-sickness. Only five were able to embark on the day's work.
Breakfast was a slow business, because everything was frozen hard,
and the dish of spaghetti which they had promised themselves could
only be prepared after an elaborate process of thawing.
A start was made at 7 a.m., and everything went smoothly at first,
for ropes had been fixed between their camp and the col itself, so as
to help them on their return. From the col a broad snow ridge went
up at an easy angle, and all the climbers felt that bodily fitness
which is the assurance of success.
Then their troubles began. The first was the cold. The sun had no
more warmth in it than a candle, and a bitter wind began to blow from
the west. They came to an end of the ridge of stones on which they
had been progressing easily, and realized that they must get some
shelter from the wind by moving to the east side of the shoulder.
Step-cutting was now necessary, and at that height the exertion
required was extraordinarily severe. Moreover, the cold was telling
upon them, and the porters especially suffered badly. After some 300
feet of steps they rested about noon under the shelter of some rocks
at 25,000 feet.
It seemed to them that they could not get their loads much higher,
and that they had better look out for a camp, for the porters had to
return to the North Col. But a camping ground was not easy to find.
At last, on the east side of the ridge, they discovered a steep slab,
up to which they could level the ground. It was a poor place, for
the incline was sharp, most of the floor was composed of broken
rocks, and men lying down would inevitably slip on top of each other.
There, however, they placed the little tents, each with its double
sleeping-bag, and melted snow for their makeshift supper. The
porters started back for the North Col, and the climbers, two in each
bed, did their best to keep warm. All four had suffered a good deal
from the cold. Mr. Norton's ear was badly swollen, three of Mr.
Mallory's fingers were touched with the frost, and Major Morshead was
chilled to the bone and clearly unwell.
The wind dropped in the evening, and during the night fresh snow
fell. At 6.50 on the morning of 21st May they crawled from their
sleeping-bags and made a laborious and exiguous breakfast, for only
one thermos flask had turned up. At eight o'clock they started, none
of them feeling their best after the stuffy, headachy night. Major
Morshead was unable to go with them, for his illness had increased,
and most regretfully the other three went on without him.
A good deal of fresh snow had fallen, but the first hours of climbing
were not very difficult. The worst trouble was the perverse
stratification of the mountain, for all the ledges tilted the wrong
way. Slowly they crawled up, first regaining the ridge by turning
west, and then following the ridge itself in the direction of the
point of the North-East _arête_. They decided that they must turn
back at about two o'clock if they were to make the descent in
reasonable safety. Besides, they had to consider Major Morshead left
alone in Camp 5.
[Illustration: The Chang La from the Lhakpa La, with Mount Everest on
the left. (_By permission of the Mount Everest Committee._)]
At 2.15 they reached the head of the rocks, about 500 feet below the
point where the north shoulder joined the North-East _arête_. Here
they had a clear view of the summit. The aneroid gave the elevation
as 26,800 feet, but it is possible that it may have been nearly 200
feet more. Their advance had for some time been reduced to a very
slow crawl, but none of the party were really exhausted. It was
wise, however, to turn while they had sufficient strength to get back
to Camp 4. They tried moving westward, where there seemed to be more
snow, but they found that the snow slopes were a series of slabs with
an ugly tilt under a thin covering of new snow; so they went back to
the ridge and followed their old tracks. At four o'clock they
reached Camp 5, and picked up Major Morshead and their tents and
sleeping-bags. After that the going became more difficult, as the
fresh-fallen snow had made even easy ground treacherous. One slip
did occur, and the three men were held only by the rope secured round
Mr. Mallory's ice axe.