AN APPRECIATION OF THE RECONNAISSANCE

By Professor NORMAN COLLIE, F.R.S.
President of the Alpine Club

The chance of wandering into the wild places of the earth is given to few. But those who have once visited the Himalaya will never forget either the magnificence or the beauty of that immense mountain land, whether it be the valley country that lies between the great snow-covered ranges and the plains, where wonderful forests, flowers, clear streams and lesser peaks form a fitting guard to the mighty snow-peaks that lie beyond, or the great peaks themselves, that can be seen far away to the North, as one approaches through the foot-hills that lead up to them. The huge snow-covered giants may be a week's journey away, they may be far more, yet when seen through the clear air of the hills, perhaps 100 miles distant, they look immense, inaccessible, remote and lonely. But as one approaches nearer and nearer to them, they ever grow more splendid, glistening white in the mid-day sun, rose-red at dawn, or a golden orange at sunset, with faint opalescent green shadows that deepen as the daylight fails, till when night comes they stand far up in the sky, pale and ghostly against the glittering stars. Those who have been fortunate enough to see these things, know the fascination they exert. It is the call of the great spaces and of the great mountains. It is a call that mocks at the song of the Lotus-eaters of old, it is more insidious than the Siren's call, and it is a call that, once heard, is never forgotten.

One may be contented and busy with the multitudinous little events of ordinary civilised life, but a chance phrase or some allusion wakes the memory of the wild mountain lands, and one feels sick with desire for the open spaces and the old trails. The dreams of the wanderer are far more real than most of the happenings that make up the average man's life. It may be the memory of some desolate peaks set against an angry sky, or of islands set in summer seas, or some grim fight with deserts of endless sands, or with tropical forests that have held their growth for a thousand years; it may be the memory of rushing rivers, or lakes set in wild woods where the beavers build their houses, or sunsets over great oceans—the spell binds one, the present does not exist, one is back again on the old trail—“The Red Gods have called us out, and we must go.”

There is no part of the world where lofty mountains exist at all comparable with the Himalaya. Elsewhere the highest is Aconcagua, 23,060 feet. But in the Himalaya there are over eighty peaks that tower above 24,000 feet, probably twenty above 26,000 feet, six above 27,000 feet, and the highest of all, Mount Everest, is 29,141 feet.

The huge range of mountains, of which the Himalaya forms the chief part, is by far the greatest mountain range in the world. Starting to the North of Afghanistan, it sweeps Eastwards, without a break, to the confines of China, over 2,000 miles away. Yet in this vast world of mountains, very few have been climbed. For many years to come the Himalaya will provide sport for the mountaineer when most of the other mountain ranges of the world will have been exhausted, as far as exploration and new ascents are concerned.

Mountaineering is a sport of which Englishmen should be proud; for they were the first really to pursue it as a pastime. The Alpine Club was the first mountaineering club, and if one inquires into the records of climbing and discovery amongst the mountains of the world, one usually finds that it was an Englishman who led the way. It is the Englishman's love of sport for its own sake that has enticed him on to battle with the dangers and difficulties that are offered with such a lavish hand by the great mountains.

As a sport, mountaineering is second to none. It is the finest mental and physical tonic that a man can take. Whether it be the grim determination of desperate struggles with difficult rocks, or with ice, or whether it be the sight of range after range of splendid peaks basking in the sunshine, or of mists half hiding the black precipices, or the changing fairy colours of a sunrise, or the subtle curves of the wind-blown snow, all these are good for one. They produce a sane mind in a sane body. The joy of living becomes a real and a great joy, all is right with the world, and life flies on golden wings. It is, of course, true that there are many other beautiful and health-giving places besides the mountains. The great expanses of the prairie lands, the forests, the seas set with lonely islands, and in England the downs and the homely lanes and villages nestling amongst woods, with clear streams wandering through the pastures where the cattle feed—all these are good; but the mountains give something more. There things are larger, man is more alone, one feels that one is much nearer to Nature, one is not held down by an artificial civilisation. And although the life may be more strenuous (for Nature can be savage at times, as well as beautiful), and the struggle may be hard, yet the battle is the more worth winning.

Nowhere in any mountain land does Nature offer the good things of the wilds with more prodigal hand than in the Himalaya. On the Southern slopes, coming down from the great snow-peaks, are the finest river gorges in the world, wonderful forests of mighty trees, open alps nestling high up at the head of the valleys, that look out over great expanses of the lesser ranges; and as one ascends higher and higher, the views of the great peaks draped in everlasting snow, changing perpetually as the clouds and mists form and re-form over them, astonish one by their magnificence.

All things that the Himalaya gives are big things, and now that the mountaineer has conquered the lesser ranges, he turns to the Himalaya, where the peaks stand head and shoulders above all others. Up to the present, however, owing to the difficulties of distance and size, none of the greater peaks have been climbed.

In climbing the great peaks of the Himalaya, the difficulties are far greater than those of less lofty ranges. On most of the highest the mere climbing presents such difficulties that it would be foolish to attempt their ascent. Thousands of feet of steep rock or ice guard their summits. Unless climbing above 24,000 feet is moderately easy, and no strenuous work is required, it could not be accomplished. For in the rarefied air at high altitudes there is insufficient oxygen to promote the normal oxidation of bodily tissue. Above 20,000 feet a cubic foot of air contains less than half the amount of oxygen that it does at sea-level. As the whole metabolism of the body is kept in working order by the oxygen supplied through the lungs, the obvious result of high altitudes is to interfere with the various processes occurring in the system. The combustion of bodily material is less, the amount of energy produced is therefore less also, and so capacity for work is diminished progressively as one ascends.

But that one is able still to work, and work hard, at these altitudes is evident by the experiences of Dr.Longstaff and Mr.Meade. On Trisul, 23,360 feet, Dr.Longstaff in ten and a half hours ascended from 17,450 feet to the summit. Whilst on Kamet, Mr.Meade's coolies carried a camp up to 23,600 feet. Dr.Kellas also in 1920 found his ascent on moderately easy snow above 21,000 feet approximated to 600 feet per hour. All these climbers were, however, acclimatised to high altitudes. The effect on anyone making a balloon or aeroplane ascent from sea-level would be different. Tissaudier in a balloon ascent fainted at 26,500 feet and on regaining consciousness found both his companions dead. Even on Pike's Peak, 14,109 feet, in the United States, many of those who go up in the railway suffer from faintness, sickness, breathlessness and general lassitude. Yet there are places on the earth,—the Pamirs,—where people live their lives at higher altitudes than Pike's Peak, without any effects of the diminished pressure being felt. They are acclimatised; their bodies, being accustomed to their surroundings, are good working machines.

Although it is true that at high altitudes there is less oxygen to breathe, the body rapidly protects itself by increasing the number of red blood corpuscles. These red corpuscles are the carriers of oxygen from the air to the various parts of the body. An increased number of carriers means an increase of oxygen to the body. It is just possible, therefore, that anyone properly acclimatised to, say, 23,000 feet would be able to ascend the remaining 6,000 feet, to the summit of Mount Everest. Moreover, if oxygen could be continuously supplied to the climbers by adventitious aid there is little doubt that 29,000 feet could be reached.

The physiological difficulties met with in ascending to high altitudes are doubtless of a very high order, but can to a certain extent be eliminated by ascending gradually, day after day, so as to allow the body to accommodate itself by degrees to the new surroundings.

There are, however, other difficulties that must be reckoned with, such as intense cold and frequent high winds. In any engine where loss of heat occurs, there is a corresponding loss of available energy. A bitterly cold wind not only robs one of much heat, but lowers the vitality as well. At altitudes above 24,000 feet, the temperature is often arctic, and the thermometer may fall far below zero. On the other hand, the rays of the sun are intense. The ultra-violet rays, that are mostly cut off by the air at sea-level, are a real source of danger where there is only one-third of an atmosphere pressure, as in the case at the summit of Mount Everest.

The mountaineer also encounters dangers in the Himalaya, on the same scale as the difficulties. A snow-slide on a British mountain or in the Alps is an avalanche; often in the Himalaya it becomes almost a convulsion of nature. The huge ice-fields and glaciers that hang on the upper slopes of the mountains, when let loose, have not hundreds of feet to fall, but thousands, and the wind that is thereby produced spreads with hurricane force over the glaciers below, on to which the main body of the avalanche has fallen. Sometimes even the broken dÉbris will rush across a wide glacier.

Rock falls also assume gigantic proportions in the Himalaya. But all these dangers can be largely avoided by the skilled mountaineer, and he can choose routes up a mountain where they are not likely to occur. Some risks, however, must be always run, but they can be reduced to a minimum.

On Mount Everest, as we now know, most of these dangers will be less than on any of the other very high mountains in the Himalaya. Also there are no difficulties in the approach to Mount Everest from India. In this respect it differs from such peaks as K² and others. As a rule the highest mountains in the Himalaya always lie far back from the plains in the main chain, beyond the foot-hills and the intervening ranges. To approach them from the South in India, weeks of travel are often necessary, up deep gorges, and over rivers, where it is next to impossible to take baggage animals. Fortunately the approach to Mount Everest by the route from Darjeeling to Phari Dzong and thence over an easy pass into Tibet avoids all these difficulties. In Tibet a high tableland, averaging 13,000 feet, is reached.

Travelling in Tibet, North of the main range of the Himalaya, is entirely different from that on the South of the range. Instead of deep-cut gorges, a rolling, bare, stone-covered country exists, over which it is easy to take baggage animals, the only obstacle being the rivers that sometimes are not bridged, and are often swollen by the melting snow. From Kampa Dzong to Tingri Dzong, the base of operations for the Expedition, is an open country. Mount Everest lies 40 to 50 miles South of Tingri Dzong; the approach also is without difficulty.

The ascent of Mount Everest was not the primary object of the Expedition of 1921. A mountain the size of Mount Everest cannot be climbed by simply getting to it and starting the ascent immediately.

A reasonable route has to be discovered to the summit; which usually can only be done by a complete reconnaissance of the mountain. This has been admirably done, and a most magnificent series of photographs has been brought back by the members of the Expedition.

Mount Everest consists of a huge pyramid, having three main arÊtes, the West, the South-east, and the North-east. It is the last, the North-east arÊte, that is obviously the easiest, being snow-covered along most of its length. Nowhere is it excessively steep, and nowhere are there precipices of rock to stop the climber. We now know that it can be reached, by means of a subsidiary ridge, from a col 23,000 feet, the Chang La, that lies to the north of the North-east arÊte. This col was the highest point on Mount Everest reached by the Expedition, and had it not been for savage weather a considerably higher altitude would have been attained; for above the col for several thousand feet lay an unbroken snow-slope.

It was only after much hard work, and over two months' exploration, that a route to this col was discovered. As is usually the case even with mountains far smaller than Mount Everest, it can be seen that if a point, often a long way below the summit, can be reached, not much farther difficulty will be encountered. But the puzzle is, how can that point be arrived at from below?

Quite early in the exploration of Mount Everest it was obvious that if the 23,000-foot col could be reached, most of the physical difficulties of the approach to the mountain would have been surmounted. But it was not so obvious how to win to the col. It lies on the South-east at the head of the main Rongbuk Glacier; it was therefore to this glacier that the mountaineers, Messrs. Mallory and Bullock, went from Tingri Dzong on June 23. They spent a month exploring the country to the North and the West of Mount Everest from the Rongbuk Glacier. Much valuable information was accumulated. A peak, Ri-Ring, 22,520 feet, was climbed and a pass on the West ridge of Mount Everest was visited, from which were seen views of the South-west face of the great mountain and also many high peaks in Nepal. Unfortunately, however, no feasible route from the main Rongbuk Glacier to the 23,000-foot col could be found. The next attempt was made by leaving the Rongbuk Glacier and exploring the Kama Valley that flows South-east from Mount Everest. Here a most magnificent ice-world was discovered. For a chain of giant peaks running South-east from Mount Everest to Makalu, 27,790 feet, guards the whole of the South-west side of the valley. But as an approach to the North-east arÊte of Mount Everest this valley was found to be useless. From the point of view, however, of exploration it was most fortunate that this valley was visited. The photographs of Makalu and its satellite ChomolÖnzo, N.⁵³, 25,413 feet, are superb; moreover the lower reaches of the Kama Valley, as it dips down to the deep Arun Valley, was full of luxuriant vegetation, totally different from the wind-swept wilderness of Tibet.

The Kharta Valley, that runs North-east from Mount Everest, was the next exploited, to see whether from it an easy approach to the North-east arÊte existed. But by this time the monsoon weather was at its worst. Days of rain and mist, with snow higher up, succeeded one another, making climbing impossible. However, towards the end of September a high camp at 22,500 feet was made at the head of the Kharta Valley. From this camp the 23,000-foot col, Chang La, was finally reached, by crossing the head of a glacier that ran to the North. Higher climbing was out of the question; a furious North-west gale lasting for four days drove the party off the mountain.

The glacier mentioned above, running to the North, was found to be a tributary of the main Rongbuk Glacier, and has been named the East Rongbuk Glacier. There is no doubt that the easiest route to Chang La, the North Col, will not be all the way round by the Kharta Valley, but up this East Rongbuk Glacier.

Several other interesting expeditions were carried out by other members of the party. Colonel Howard Bury visited the group of five great peaks (25,202 to 26,867 feet), that lie about 15 miles North-west of Mount Everest. He explored the Kyetrak Glacier to its summit the Khombu La, also crossed the PhÜse La with the Rongshar Valley that drains down into Nepal. Later he visited another pass on the ridge that connects Mount Everest with Makalu. From this pass most interesting views of the country South of Mount Everest were obtained.

Major Wheeler's and Major Morshead's map of the country that lies between the Himalaya and the Bramapootra River will be of the highest value, and the results of Dr. Heron's geological survey and Mr.Wollaston's collections of birds, beasts, insects and flowers, when they have been thoroughly examined, will certainly yield much new scientific information. The Expedition therefore has accomplished all that was expected of it, and has brought back material of the greatest interest, from a part of the world about which almost nothing was known, and into which Europeans had never been.

The attempt to ascend Mount Everest itself necessarily had to be postponed, but this year the Expedition that is being sent out will have for its primary object the ascent of the mountain. There will be easy access to the base of the peak from ChÖbuk, where a base camp will be established, and from thence a feasible route on to the summit of the great North-east arÊte has been discovered.

Most fortunately this year General Bruce was able to undertake the leadership of the Expedition. His unrivalled experience of climbing in the Himalaya and particularly his special capacity for handling Himalayan people will be invaluable to the Expedition. Not only will he be able to organise and instil the right spirit into the coolie corps upon whom so much will depend for ultimate success, but he will also be able to give much wise advice to the actual climbers who are to take part in the ascent of the mountain.

Moreover, with his long experience of dealing with Asiatics he can be trusted to deal with the Tibetan people and officials in such a way as to retain their present good-will.

As the main object of the Expedition this year is to make a definite attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest, it has been decided that the actual climbing party should be as strong as possible. But a limit to the size of the Expedition was imposed by the necessity of respect for the feelings of the Tibetans, and a warning had been received from Lhasa to keep the numbers as small as possible. For, although the authorities at Lhasa might be friendly enough, and although there might be no difficulty in obtaining transport from the district round Tingri Dzong, where animals were plentiful, yet a large party might press hardly on the inhabitants in the matter of food, such as wheat and barley. This consideration had therefore to be regarded. Still it was thought that the district would not be unduly pressed by a party of twelve Europeans. This number will include a climbing party of six chosen mountaineers, with two in reserve, making eight in all. With General Bruce, a doctor (who would also be a naturalist), a photographer and a painter, the expeditionary force of Europeans will be complete.

Colonel E. L. Strutt, C.M.G., has been chosen as second in command. He possesses first-rate mountaineering experience, and has been Vice-President of the Alpine Club.

Mr.Mallory fortunately has been able to accept the invitation of the Committee to return to Mount Everest again this year. The remainder of the climbing party are: Captain George Finch, who was unable to join the Expedition last year on account of his health; Mr.T. H. Somervell, a surgeon, a member of the Alpine Club and an extremely energetic climber; Major E. F. Norton (Royal Artillery); and Dr.A. W. Wakefield, renowned for his strenuous climbing in the Lake District and work in Labrador. Besides these six mountaineers, Captain Geoffrey Bruce and Captain C. J. Morris, both of Gurkha Regiments, and able to speak the language of the Himalayan coolies, will assist General Bruce both in looking after and encouraging the coolies, and also help in the general arrangement and organisation of the Expedition as a whole. They also are accustomed to mountaineering and will act as a reserve to the six climbers.

As doctor and naturalist Dr.T. G. Longstaff has been invited to join the Expedition. He has made many climbs in the Himalaya and other mountain regions, including the ascent of Trisul, 23,360 feet. He is not expected to join the climbing party, but his experience will be of great benefit to the Expedition generally.

As photographer, Captain J. B. L. Noel has been selected. He had reconnoitred in the direction of Mount Everest in 1913. For several years he has made a special study of photography in all its various branches.

But besides photographs of the mountains, the Expedition is anxious to bring back pictures which would alone be able not only to serve as a record of the infinitely delicate colouring of that lofty region, but at the same time would show how probably some of the grandest scenery of mighty mountains should be represented from the point of view of an artist.

Difficulty was experienced in finding a suitable painter, for painters capable of doing justice to mountain scenery, and who are also physically fit to travel amongst them at such altitudes as those round Mount Everest, are few. We have, therefore, to depend on Mr.Somervell to paint us pictures.

In the meantime communications were also passing between Colonel Bailey, the Political Agent in Sikkim, and the Mount Everest Committee regarding the enlistment of coolies for the special corps, and the engagement of the very best headman obtainable to look after them. Many of the coolies who were with the Expedition in 1921 had volunteered to rejoin this year. But a stronger corps and more carefully selected men were needed. The Maharaja of Nepal has been asked to allow some of the most famous Gurkha mountain climbers to join the Expedition, and the Government of India has been asked to put two or three non-commissioned Gurkha officers at the service of General Bruce, to assist him generally in looking after the coolies, and seeing that they were properly fed and paid, and that they behaved themselves properly.

The members of last year's Expedition on their return were freely and fully consulted as to equipment and provisioning of this year's party; the experience gained last year has been therefore made use of in every way possible. Suggestions for the improvement of the Mummery-Meade tents have been adopted. Better clothing has been provided for the coolies. General Bruce has purchased leather coats, waistcoats, socks, jerseys and boots from the equipment provided for our troops in North Russia during the war, which will be admirably suited for the majority of the coolies, whilst for the few chosen for high climbing on Mount Everest itself, clothing precisely similar to that worn by the British climbers has been provided.

Captain Farrar and the equipment committee have provided a most varied and ample supply of provisions which was despatched to India in January. The Primus-stoves have been overhauled and retested by Captain Finch.

Colonel Jack and Mr.Hinks have carefully examined all the instruments brought back. The aneroids have been retested, and all broken instruments replaced.

The photographic outfit has been considerably enlarged, including a cinematograph instrument. The question of supplying oxygen has been most thoroughly gone into. All flyers in aeroplanes at high altitudes find oxygen absolutely necessary. In mountain climbing, however, the almost insuperable difficulty is the weight of the apparatus supplying the oxygen. As far as possible, this weight has been reduced to a minimum. A large number of cylinders, the lightest and smallest obtainable, have been sent out full of compressed oxygen, and it is hoped that they will be capable of being used by the party that will attempt to climb to the summit of Mount Everest. If the climbers are capable of carrying them, and so getting a continuous supply of oxygen during the whole of the climb, there is little doubt that climbing up to 29,000 feet is possible. In aeroplanes considerably higher altitudes have been reached with the help of oxygen. Moreover, there is this fact in favour of the climbers on Mount Everest, they will be acclimatised to altitudes of 20,000 feet, whilst anyone in an aeroplane is not so acclimatised, having risen from sea-level. The climbers will have to accommodate themselves only to an increased height of 9,000 feet, whilst those in an aeroplane have to suffer a diminution in pressure equivalent to 29,000 feet.

Finally, arrangements have been made with the Press for the publication of telegrams and photographs from the Expedition. Full information of the progress of the Expedition will therefore be available for the public, and it will be possible to follow the climbing party, after they leave the base camp, which will be somewhere near ChÖbuk, as they ascend the East Rongbuk Glacier to the advanced base under the North col. Afterwards all the preliminary arrangements will be reported, and finally there will be an account of the great attempt to reach the summit.

The Expedition will be starting nearly two months earlier than in 1921. The weather in May and June, before the monsoon breaks in July, apparently is more or less settled, and so the most must be made of it. In 1921 from the end of July till September high climbing was impossible. It is therefore obvious that a determined attempt to climb Mount Everest should be made before the monsoon sets in.

Mount Everest at Sunset
from the 20,000 foot camp, Kharta Valley.