geoffrey bruce and i arrived back at the base camp early in the afternoon of may 29. the next few days were spent in resting, and i then underwent the same experience as the members of the first climbing party; that is, instead of recovering my strength rapidly during the first three or four days, if anything a further decline took place. however, as the weather appeared fine, and there seemed promise of a bright spell prior to the breaking of the monsoon, it was decided to make another attempt on the mountain. of the remaining climbing members of the expedition, somervell was undoubtedly the fittest, with mallory a good second. both had enjoyed some ten days’ rest since their first assault upon mount everest, and therefore had a chance of recovering from the abnormal strain to which they had been submitted. medical opinion as to my condition after so brief a rest was somewhat divided, but in the end i was passed as sufficiently fit to join in the third attempt. on the 3rd of june we left the base camp. the party consisted of wakefield as m.o., crawford, and later morris, as transport officers, mallory, somervell and myself as climbers. the attempt 252was to be made with oxygen, and i was placed in command. it required a great effort for me to get as far as camp i, and i realised there that the few days’ rest which i had enjoyed at the base camp had been quite insufficient to allow of my recuperation. during the night the weather turned with a vengeance and it snowed heavily, and i knew that there could be no object in my proceeding farther. after giving somervell final detailed instructions regarding the oxygen apparatus, i wished them all the best of luck, and on the 4th returned to the base camp. as strutt, longstaff, and morshead were leaving next day for darjeeling, i was given, and availed myself of, the opportunity of accompanying them.
that return journey constitutes one of the most delightful experiences of my life. within a week of leaving the base camp, i had entirely regained my strength, although a certain tenderness in the soles of my feet made itself felt for some considerable time. for the most part the weather was warm, and everywhere the eye feasted on the riotous colouring of blossoms such as we had never before seen. the only fly in the ointment was the ever-present sense of defeat coupled with the knowledge that with only a little better luck we should have won through.
in spite of our failure, however, i felt that we had learnt much; and perhaps the most important lesson of all was that we had been taught the real value of oxygen. prior to the formation of the 1922 expedition, the oxygen 253problem had already been the subject of much discussion round which two distinct schools of thought had arisen. the first, headed by professor g. dreyer, f.r.s., professor of pathology at the university of oxford, was staunch to the belief that, without the assistance of a supply of oxygen carried in containers on the back of the climber, it would be impossible for a man to reach the summit of mount everest. the second body of scientific opinion held that, not only would it be possible for a man to attain the summit of everest unaided by an artificial supply of oxygen, but that the weight of such a supply would only hamper the climber in his efforts, and thus completely counterbalance any advantages likely to accrue from its use. to arrive at an impartial conclusion as to the correctitude of these two divergent opinions, it is only necessary to give careful consideration to the results achieved on the two high climbs of may 22 and may 27 respectively. the former was made without an artificial supply of oxygen, the latter with. the first climbing party, consisting of mallory, morshead, norton, and somervell, left the north col at 7 a.m. on the 20th of may, and that afternoon, at an altitude of 25,000 feet above sea-level, pitched a camp just off the great north ridge leading down from the shoulder. morshead had suffered from the cold and was evidently unwell. one of norton’s ears had been badly frostbitten, and mallory had frostbitten finger-tips. somervell alone was, to all intents and purposes, as yet untouched. snow fell during the night, 254but they were untroubled by wind. at eight o’clock next morning they left their camp—all save morshead, who, apparently at the end of his tether and unable to go farther, had to remain behind. after over six hours’ climbing, mallory, norton, and somervell succeeded in reaching an altitude of 26,985 feet; so that, since their departure from their high camp, they had gained a vertical height of 1,985 feet at a rate of ascent of 330 feet per hour. the point at which they turned back lies below the shoulder on the great north ridge, and is, in horizontal distance, about 1? miles from the summit, and rather over 2,000 feet below it in vertical height. they began to retrace their steps at 2.30 in the afternoon, and regained their high camp at four o’clock; their rate of descent therefore was 1,320 feet per hour. shortly after 4 p.m., accompanied by morshead, they started on the return journey to the north col, where they arrived at 11.30 that night, a rate of descent of 270 feet per hour. we had seen them on their way down from their high camp, and acting on instructions from colonel strutt, we went up towards the north col on the 23rd to render them assistance. we met them just above the foot of the steep slopes leading up the col. they were obviously in the last stages of exhaustion, as, indeed, men should be who had done their best on a mountain like mount everest.
on the 25th of may the second party, consisting of geoffrey bruce, tejbir and myself, left the north col. our porters, who did not use oxygen, left at eight o’clock; 255we, using oxygen, left at 9.30 a.m., and in an hour and a half succeeded in overtaking them at an altitude of 24,500 feet, where, somewhat fatigued with their three hours’ effort, they paused to rest. a moment’s calculation will show that we had been climbing at the rate of 1,000 feet per hour. leaving the porters to follow, we eventually gained an altitude of 25,500 feet, where, owing to bad weather, we were constrained to camp. it was not until two o’clock in the afternoon that the porters rejoined us, despite the fact that our own progress had been hindered by the necessity for much step-cutting. that night in our high camp was a night of trial and no rest, and the following day, the 26th, was little better; in addition, our supply of food was exhausted. then followed a second night, when the advantages of using oxygen to combat fierce cold were strikingly evident. at six o’clock on the morning of the 27th, having had practically no rest for two nights and a day, half starved and suffering acutely from hunger, we set out from our high camp in full hopes of gaining the summit of mount everest. half an hour later, at an altitude of 26,000 feet, tejbir broke down—an unfortunate occurrence that may be largely attributed to his lack of really windproof clothing. on arriving at a height of 26,500 feet we were forced to leave the ridge, so violent and penetratingly cold was the wind to which we were exposed. the thousand feet from our camp up to this point had occupied one and a half hours, some twenty minutes of which had been employed in re-arranging 256the loads when tejbir broke down. our rate of progress, therefore, had been about 900 feet per hour, in spite of the fact that we each carried a load of over 40 lb. after leaving the ridge we struck out over difficult ground across the great north face of the mountain, gaining but little in altitude, but steadily approaching our goal. eventually we decided to turn back at a point less than half a mile in horizontal distance from, and about 1,700 feet below, the summit. thus, although we had climbed in vertical height only some 300 feet higher than the first party, nevertheless we were more than twice as close to the summit than they had been when they turned back.
to summarise the two performances. the first party established a camp at an altitude of 25,000 feet, occupied it for one night, and finally reaching a point 26,985 feet in height, and 1? miles from the summit, returned without a break to the north col. the second party established a camp at an altitude of 25,500 feet, occupied it for two nights and almost two days, and eventually reaching a point of 27,300 feet high and less than half a mile from the summit, returned without a break to camp iii. the weather conditions throughout were incomparably worse than those experienced by the first party. the difference between the two performances cannot be ascribed to superior climbing powers on the part of the second party, for the simple reason that all the members of the first party were skilled and proven mountaineers, while geoffrey bruce and lance-corporal tejbir, though at home in the 257hills, had never before set foot on a snow and ice mountain. no matter how strong and willing and gallant an inexperienced climber may be, his lack of mountaineering skill and knowledge inevitably results in that prodigality of effort—much of it needless—which invariably and quickly places him at a grave disadvantage when compared with the trained mountaineer. the strength of a climbing party is no greater than that of its weakest member. judged on this basis the second party was very weak compared with the first, and the superior results obtained by the former can only be ascribed to the fact that they made use of an artificial supply of oxygen.
the contention, therefore, that the disadvantages of its weight would more than counterbalance the advantages of an artificial supply of oxygen, may be dismissed as groundless, and the assumption may be made that on any further attempt upon everest oxygen will form a most important part of the climber’s equipment. the question next arises as to the exact stage in the proceedings at which recourse should be made to the assistance of oxygen. the strongest members of the expedition felt fit and well, and recuperated readily from fatigue, at camp iii, 21,000 feet above sea-level, but at the north col this was no longer the case. thus it would seem that the upper level of true acclimatisation lies somewhere between 21,000 and 23,000 feet. i would therefore advocate commencing to use oxygen somewhere between these two levels, preferably at the foot of the steep slopes leading 258up to the north col. the use of small quantities would allow the climber to reach the col without unduly tiring himself. from the north col to a high camp situated at an altitude of about 26,500 feet, a slightly increased quantity of oxygen would suffice to enable the climber to progress almost as rapidly as he would in the much lower levels of the alps. we know from experience that a camp at the above-mentioned altitude can be readily established, and in all except the worst of weather conditions a party can make its way down again. between the camp and the summit there would be a vertical height of only 2,500 feet, and it is conceivable that with a full supply of oxygen this distance could be covered in as little as four hours. i am strongly of the opinion that only one camp should be used between the north col and the summit. no matter what precautions are taken, man’s strength is rapidly sapped during the stay at these great altitudes, and the plan of campaign most likely to ensure success would appear to be leisurely and comfortable progress as far as the north col, the establishment of a high camp at 26,500 feet, and a final dash to the summit. this last part of the programme, however, would not be feasible unless a small dump of oxygen were made at a height of about 27,500 feet. to do this it would be necessary for a specially detailed party to spend one night at the high camp, and on the following day employ their strength in making a dump somewhere above the shoulder. this done, they would then be able to return to the north col with the satisfaction 259of knowing that they had made it possible for the actual climbing party to win through.
it is by no means yet certain which is the best line of approach to the north col. the route hitherto followed, via the east rongbuk glacier, is tedious and roundabout, but it has the advantage of being well sheltered from the wind, and, except for the final steep slopes beneath the col, safe under any conditions. much more direct, however, and probably less arduous, is the approach from over the main rongbuk glacier. the line of ascent thence to the summit of the col presents no real difficulty, and, provided it is not found to be too exposed to the wind, is undoubtedly much safer, even after heavy snowfalls, than that previously followed. in the light of past experience one can hardly hope to count on good weather as an ally; adequate protection in the form of windproof clothing will enable the climber to face all but actual snowstorms.
climbing parties making the final assaults on the summit should be small, consisting of two men and no more. in the event of one man collapsing, his comrade, if at all up to scratch, should be able to get him down in safety. by so limiting the size of the parties, a number of attacks, each one as strong as if effected by a large and cumbersome team of, say, four, could be carried out. again, in the case of small parties as suggested, mutual attention to each other’s oxygen outfit is possible and any necessary repair or adjustment more expeditiously made.
the type of climber who should go farthest on mount 260everest would appear to be similar to that which best suits the alps. of the physical attributes necessary, the following points, in addition to what is usually termed perfect physical fitness, may be emphasised. in the rarefied atmosphere of high altitudes the larger the vital capacity the better. by the term “vital capacity” is meant the maximum amount of air an individual is able to expel from the lungs by voluntary effort after taking the deepest possible inspiration. compared with the lean, spare type of individual, the thickset, often musclebound man, though possibly equal to an immense effort provided it is of short duration, is, as a rule, at a great disadvantage. the expedition has also shown beyond all possible doubt that the tall man is less prone to become fatigued than one of shorter stature. again, as is well known amongst mountaineers, the long-legged, short-trunk type of body is immensely superior to the short-legged, long-trunk type.
perhaps more important than perfect physical fitness to the would-be conqueror of everest is the possession of the correct mentality. absolutely essential are singleness of aim, namely, the attainment of the summit, and unswerving faith in the possibility of its achievement. half-heartedness in even one member of the attacking party spells almost certain failure. many a strong party in the alps has failed to reach its objective through the depressing effect of the presence of one doubting thomas. like an insidious disease, a wavering, infirm belief is liable to spread 261and cause the destruction of the hopes of those who come into contact with it. the man who cannot face mount everest without at the same time proclaiming that the mountain has the odds in its favour would do better by himself and others to leave the proposition severely alone. of almost equal importance is the possession of what may be called mental energy or will power, or simply “go.” mountaineers may be divided into two classes according to their behaviour when, tired and well-nigh exhausted, they are called upon to make yet one more supreme effort. there are those who, lacking the will power necessary to force their jaded bodies on to still further action, give in; others, possessed of an almost inexhaustible fund of mental energy, will rise to the occasion, not once, but time and again. physical pain is the safety valve which nature has provided to prevent harm being done to the body by exhaustion. but nature’s margin of safety is a wide one. on everest, this margin must be narrowed down, if necessary, to vanishing-point; and this can only be done by the climber whose fund of mental energy is sufficient to drive his body on and on, no matter how intense the pains of exhaustion, even to destruction if need be.
