Evening star., 1936-03-30
BY ERIC E. SHIPTON.

DARJEELING India by MaiD -
For our purpose there was no need
to 60 straight to Mount Everest, and
on our Journey westward We were
able to see good deal of the beau
tiful, unexplored ranges lying around
the peaks of Nyonno Ri and Anna
Drimi. However, the Tibetans were
not favorably disposed toward this
diversion from the usual route and
out of respect for their wishes we did
not pursue our explorations further
In this direction
Now, as in 1898, We were received
with the greatest possible courtesy
and hospitality by the Tibetans. The
head men of the various villages
through which we passed entertained
us lavishly.
From them we learned much OF
their charming philosophy and now
most of us feel very strongly that
their wish to hold themselves aloof
from the amenities" of Western CIV
ilization should be respected.
The monsoon of 1885 appeared
to be a late one. for it was June
2s before the heavy rains broke over
the plains of Tibet.
We reached the Rongbuk on July
4 and we're delighted to find that our
old friend the abbot of the monastery
was alive and we'll He received us
with his usual good humor and gave
us much sound mountaineering advice.
Thick Snow Mantle.
Mount Everest. as we had expected.
was covered from head to foot In its
thick mantle of monsoon snow, but
as we made our way up the glacier
We experienced some brilliantly fine
weather and we began to hope that
We might find good conditions on
the mountain by the time We
reached it.
We left Spender in the main Rong-
buk Valley to carry out his survey
of the north face of the mountain
while the rest of us went up the East
Rongbuk Glacier.
A few hundred yards above camp
No. 3 we came upon the body OF
Maurice Wilson. who, it will be re-
membered. made journey across
Tibet to Mount Everest in 1884 un-
accompanied by any other Europeans.
It so happened that one of his porters,
Rinzing. was with us at the time of
the discovery. He told us that Wilson
had set out from camp No. 3 and had
made repeated efforts to climb the
ice slopes below the North Col.
He had been amply provided with
food. having found big dump which
We had left there in 1888 and which
was still by no means empty when
We reached it. 1t appeared that he
had been asleep inside his tent when
he died. though the tent had been
torn from over his body by the wind
and only the guy ropes attached to
bits of rock remained. He must have
died simply from exhaustion and ex-
posure. We buried him in a neigh
boring crevasse.
A great deal has been said about
the danger of snow avalanches on the
North Col Exactly why these slopes
should differ from any others at a
similar altitude 1t Is difficult TO say.
but the memory of the disastrous
avalanche of 1922 is partly response
BILE for the extreme caution with
which subsequent parties have tackled
them. We regarded the North Col
with the same respect, and were de-
termined not to run any risk with
snow. which we considered to be in
the least bit doubtful
Conditions Found Ideal.
Kempson had had very consider
able experience of Winter snow con-
ditions in the Alps, while I imagined
was familiar with fairly wide range
of Himalayan SHOWS. The weather
conditions for the past week had been
ideal for packing the new, and although
We examined carefully each section
of our route, We could not detect
anywhere the slightest tendency to
avalanche.
In detail the aspect of the North
Col had changed considerably since
1888. The middle section of our old
route, known to us as the Punch
Bowl" and the 30-foot wall above it,
were contorted beyond recognition
into mass of tottering seracs, which
would have rendered the 1888 route
exceedingly difficult. If not imprac-
ticable.
A tongue of ice a few hundred feet
to the right had protruded somewhat
and now provided us with compare
lively easy access to the old site of
camp No. 4. The ledge on which this
camp had been had completely dis
appeared. and the ice was far too
steep to think of pitching tent.
In the upper section great bulges
Of ice forced us to traverse right !
across the face before we could climb
to the crest of the col, which we
reached at a point very close to the
site Of our old camp No. "A The big