The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-01-26

government OF bet las Given soldier
Explorer Permission to Attempt As
cent of Roof of World" 29.141 Feet
High.
NEW YORK, Jan. 26.-Mt. Everest,
the Himalayan peak called ''the roof of
the world which Sir Francis Younghus-
band, the British soldierexplorer. will at
tempt to climb next summer, has never
yet been scaled by man.
Towering above the frontiers of the
hitherto forbidden land of Tibet and the
remote province of Nepal, India, another
land of mystery, the difficulties in even
approaching Mt. Everest have been sutfi-
clent to battle explorers.
The worlds highest peak lies in Tibet
north of the British Indian border yet, sol
far as known, no European has ever ap-l
preached nearer than 60 miles from its
base and few travellers have ever seen it's
upper slopes.
The attempts which have been made to
ascend some of Mt Everest,s sister peaks
OF the Hlmalayas have usually been made
through Nepal because access to them
through Tibet was not open. The APP
proach to Mt. Everest through Tibet isl
said to be more accessible and present
greater prospects OF success than from the
Nepal side
Sir Francis Younghusband announced
that the 1Ibstan government had granted
him permission to attempt the ascent
route 1t was Sir Francis, who as colo
mel commanding a British mission to thel
forbidden city of Lhasa in 10000, opened
Tibet to civilization.
Mt Everest named for Sir George Ever
est, famous British surveyor general Of In
dia. is the highest known mountain in the
world. Its trigonometrical altitude is %,
0G2 feet; its probable height is % l4l feet
The next known highest of the Himalayan
peaks are knchniunga, 2S,22J feet and X
2, or Bride peak, whose altitude Is 2S,l9l
! feet.
The intrepid duke of the Abruzzi, who
reached the top of Mt. st. Elias in Alaska
| l8024 feetl ana who at one time held
| the record of ''farthest north" in Arctic
| exploration. tried to climb K-2 or Bride
peak in 1909 but failed because from
whatever point Of the compass he adj
vanced he could find no way up to attain
! the summit At "a 600 feet he and his com
panions were IN good physical condition
| although progress was slow and labOIIOus:
! 4 thick mist warned them that to 90 on
would have been madness This achieve
mcnt of the Italian explorer, however, IS
| the worlds record for mountain climb
ing Bride peak is in the karakoram Him
alayas. Besides it and its two higher Sis
ter peaks, there are IN the Hlmalayas no
less than IS peaks above $4,000 feet, 4S
above $4,000 feet. l6 above $4,000 feet and
five about y 900 feet.
! Mountain climbing Is one Of the most
ancient as well as fascinating forms of
adventure It's chief dangers are avalan-
chcs. landsidcs. falling rocks, Billiards,
! falling ice, hand slides. falls from precipi-
ccs OF into crevasses. fans from ice slopes
| or down snow slopes.
Sir Francis's announcement of his in
tention TO attempt tins mountain climb
| lug feat recalls the exploits of two Amer
| lean women-Alrs. Fannie b. Workman
and Miss Annie s Peck-and their con
quest of some Of the highest peaks in Asia
and South America.
Mrs. Workman in 1899. 1903. 1906 and
| 1903 made asccnts in the Himalayas. in
| GLIDING one of the Nun Kun peaks whose
| summit is $1,000 feet high, or more than
! half a mile above the apex OF that forbid
| dino sentinel of the Alaskan silences. Mt
| Mckinley. Miss Peck in 1908 negotiated
| the ton of Mt Huascaran in the Peruvl-
an Andes, a height of y 8l2 feet and three
years later she climbed the two peaks OF
| the volcano Coropuna.
Some Of the notable mountain climbing
peaks of history and the year IN winch
| the peaks of the various mountains were
attained follow:
i74tthe Titlis. the first true snow
mountain; 1856. Mt. Blanes summit
reached for first time; 1911, the Jungtrau;
| 1872. the Finsteraarhorn: 1913, the Ter
matt Breithorn: 1870. Pixies Peak;
| 1884, the Wetterhorn; 1855, the Mounte
| Rosa: 1865. the Matterhorn: 1879. Chlm-
| horace: 1888. the Cordillera; 1888, the Sci
| kinks: 1897 Aconcagua; 1893, the BOLIVIAN
| Andes. 1890, Sikllim& in the Himalayas;
| 1900 Mt Rnwen7ori. There have been
| no preeminent achievements by explorers
ba In named date