Palisadian., 1923-06-22
HE-MAN'S JOB TO
CLIMB EVEREST
Member of Former Expeditions
Tells of Difficulties Involved
in Reaching Top.

was asked of George Leigh Mallory,
who was with both expeditions toward
the summit of the worlds highest
mountain, In 1921 and 1922, and who
Is now in New York. He plans to go
again in 1924, and he gave as the rea-
son for persisting in these repeated
attempts to reach the top, Because
it's there"
But hadn't the expedition valuable
scientific results?''
"Yes. The first expedition made a
geological survey that was very valu-
able, and both expeditions made OBJ
servations and collected specimens,
both geological and botanical. The
biologists want q stone from the top
Of Everest. That will decide whether
1t is the top OF the bottom OF fold.
But these things are by-products. Do
you think Shackleton went to the
South pole to make scientific observa-
tons? He used the observations he
did make to help finance the next trip.
Sometimes science Is the excuse for
exploration. / think 1t is rarely the
reason.
Everest Is the highest mountain in
the world, and no man has reached Its
summit Its existence is challenge.
The answer is instructive, a part, l
suppose, of mans desire to conquer the
universe"
This is pure romance, call 1t what
else you will, and every man recognizes
it's touch. 1t leads into Jungles and
over deep waters and up through the
high, thin reaches Of the air. Its CLAM
orous trail goes through the doors Of
moving picture houses and up one
flight to the chop suey restaurant. 1t
Is inherent In the "dares" Of child
hood. 1t makes the timid boy dive
from the pierhead, and it sent the Brit
ish Royal Geographical society's and
the Alpine clubs expedition nearer the
sky than any man had climbed before
without taking unto himself wings.
100 Feet Yet to Go.
The first expedition sent out by the
Royal Geographical society and the AL
pine club cost $4,000 and only got as
high as 21,0OO feet The second at
tempt cost Ell, 900 and reached 27,235
feet. That leaves LOO feet to go, and
there is no telling how much 1t will
cost to make the last squirt. Moreover,
1t takes long time to reach the place
where climbing begins. The last stage
of the journey is a five weeks tramp
across the Tibetan plains from Darjee-
ling, mile after mile of bare earth and
rock, with meager patches of dried
growth in the lee of ledge or in a
slight depression, showing where lit
tie moisture collected in the spring and
summer. The pack animals live on
this poor fare. The human natives,
whom Mr.. Mallory believes to be the
least virile of the Mongols, pushed into
this desolate corner by their stronger
kin, fare hardly better on tsamfa, a
coarse sort Of barley meal.
Plans for assault on Everest are laid
as carefully as for a military cam
paign. That, aside from the grit and
stamina of the climbers, is the most
important factor for success. The lack
of a cooking pot, an oxygen tank,
canteen or rope, at the right spot at
the right moment may doom the ex-
pedition. The party was able to go as
high as they did by the establishment
of a succession of base camps. the high
est being at 21,OOO feet. This meant
that each camp must have supplies suf-
ficient not only for the climbers, but
also for the pOrters, who were to carry
the equipment necessary to make the
next camp. In all, the expedition car
ried something over twenty tons OF
equipment, baggage and stores. Pack
animals, mostly yaks, were used across
the plain and up the slopes as far as
the glacier. Beyond that point the
work was done by fifty porters, men
from the native state Of Nepal, whose
splendid strength and endurance hold
out the hope of establishing camp at a
still greater height.
Must Be Perfect Physically.
Other things besides time, money and
executive ability were demanded Of
the expedition; the utmost quality of
the climbers, for instance. Perfect
physical condition Is. of course, essen
tial. for under the most favorable con-
ditions the strain of effort in those aw-
full attitudes is such that normal fitness
is not regained for months after the
ordeal. Good heart and lungs are the
most important prerequisites. Even
perfect organs would not avail without
long mountaineering experience. The
men were picked on their Alpine rec
ords not so much on the written record
of so many feet climbed in so many
hours as on the regulations that grow
up through the gossip of mountaineers !:
That so-and-so is a fearful fellow to
keep up with, that another is fast and
sure and never tires. They had need
for every bit of their skill, experience
ard strength in this struggle.
Perpendicular travel Is slow at best.
but on the higher slopes Of Everest it
slowed down to $50 feet an hour
about the length of short city block,
the distance that a good runner can
make in ten seconds. Twenty-Five
thousand feet of that is no week
sport.
For instance no mountaineer expert
ences vertigo. He wouldn't be one long
II he did. The reason the unframed
mortal feels dizzy on the brink Of a
thousand-foot drop Is that his eyes find
nothing to rest on. The mountaineer's