The Epic of Mount Everest. Francis Edward Younghusband
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a mountain would have remarked anything very special in him. And if the man in the street had had the selection of the climbers he would have chosen robuster, more vigorous-looking men than Mallory.
Nor did Mallory give the appearance of bursting himself with enthusiasm to join the Expedition. When the Committee had made their choice he was asked by Farrar to meet the Chairman at luncheon. The situation was to be discussed and the Chairman was to make him the definite invitation to join. But when the invitation was made he accepted it without visible emotion. He had the self-confidence of assured position as a climber. He had neither exaggerated modesty nor pushful self-assertiveness. He was conscious of his own powers and of the position he had won by his own exertions; and he had, in consequence, a not obtrusive but quite perceptible and quite justifiable pride in himself as a mountaineer.
Only one indication was there of the fire that all the time was burning within. A question had arisen about the inclusion of a certain other climber in the party. As a mountaineer this other was all that could be desired; but he had characteristics which several members of the Committee who knew him thought would cause friction and irritation in the party and destroy that cohesion which is so vitally necessary in an Everest Expedition. At high altitudes it is well known that men become irritable. And at the altitudes of Mount Everest they might find it wholly impossible to contain their irritation; and an uncongenial member might break up the party. It was an urgent matter; and to put it further to the test the Chairman consulted Mallory and asked him whether he would be prepared to sleep in the same bag with this man at 27,000 feet. Mallory, in that quick sudden way he used when he was intent on a thing, said that he “didn’t care who he slept with as long as they got to the top.”
From the manner in which he said this there was no question of his keenness. And, if he was not of the conventional bulldog, heavy-jawed, determined type; and, if he was not boisterously enthusiastic, he was evidently keen enough at bottom—keener than the most boisterous.
He was then a man of thirty-three, slim and supple if not broad and beefy. He was a Winchester boy and had, while still at school, been inspired with the love of mountaineering by that well-known mountain-loving master, Mr. Irving. He had responded from the first, and was now both an ardent and a skilful mountaineer.
George Finch was the next choice. He had the reputation of being a most competent and determined mountaineer. And his keenness was evident from the first moment. When the Committee had decided upon selecting him he was asked to come and see the Chairman. The Chairman then made to him the formal invitation. For a few seconds he seemed unable to speak from the intensity of emotion that was surging within him. Then he said, “Sir Francis, you’ve sent me to heaven.” He was a tall, well-made athletic man with a determined look about him. But clearly he was not in good health. And when he went to the doctor—as all members of the Expedition had to—he was turned down. And a bitter pill it was for him to swallow—though in the following year he was able to join the next Expedition.
A substitute had hastily to be found and Mallory suggested his old schoolfellow and mountaineering companion, Mr. Bullock, then (and now) in the Consular Service, but at home on leave. A reference to Lord Curzon, then Foreign Secretary, at once produced the required extension of leave and Bullock joined the Expedition. He was much more of the build the inexperienced would expect of an Everest climber; squarer and stronger than either Mallory or Finch; and at school he had been a long-distance runner and had great staying power. One further qualification he had: a placid temperament and the ability to sleep under any conditions
As naturalist and medical officer an excellent man was available—A. F. R. Wollaston. He had already made a reputation as an explorer in New Guinea, Ruwenzori, and elsewhere. He was also a good mountaineer, a keen naturalist, a cheery companion, and a man who could deal sympathetically with natives.
Others who would join the expedition in India were Dr. Kellas, and the surveyor officers, Major H. T. Morshead, D.S.O., and Captain E. O. Wheeler, M.C.
Kellas had made many expeditions in Sikkim and other parts of the Himalaya. He was a lecturer in chemistry who had for years made a study of the use of oxygen for climbing at high altitudes. And he was one of those indefatigable men who cannot be torn away from their special pursuits. In the previous summer he had made a ascent to 23,000 feet and should during the cold weather have taken a rest. But he spent all the time climbing in Sikkim, living on very poor and insufficient food.
Morshead was known for his exploration with Major F. M. Bailey of the course of the Tsang-po, or Brahmaputra, as it cut through the Himalaya; and both he and Wheeler were eminently competent to make the required map of Mount Everest and its surroundings; though Morshead had not the training in the technique of climbing or the experience of snow and ice which were so necessary for the actual climbers.
This was the party, and as leader of it Colonel C. K. Howard Bury was selected. He was only a “walker”: he was not a “climber” in the Alpine Club sense. But he had done a good deal of shooting, both in the Alps and the Himalaya, and, what was more necessary for the leader, he knew how to deal with Asiatics, and could be trusted to lead the Expedition without friction through Tibet.
While the party was being formed numerous applications were received for inclusion in it. Men from nearly all over the world wrote saying that they were ready to go in any capacity. Many of these applications were curious productions, setting forth the candidate’s claims and limitations in the most appealing fashion. A particularly quaint one which reached the Chairman he put before the Committee as perhaps about “the limit,” and it caused much merriment, until his daughter asked him to observe the date. It had arrived on April 1st! Except this the others were undoubtedly genuine—and testified to the keenness for adventure there is in men. They also brought out in glaring relief the value of training and experience. Every single one had to be turned down when such men as Mallory and Finch were available. The untrained and inexperienced, however keen, had not a ghost of a chance beside proved mountaineers.
The collection of money and the selection of men had to be supplemented by the purchase of supplies and equipment and instruments. Farrar and Meade dealt with supplies and equipment: Jacks and Hinks with instruments.
If Farrar had not been on the wrong side of sixty he would have been the very man to get to the top of Everest. Of marvellous energy, full of pluck and go, of wide and long experience and of that combination of care and daring which is essential for great enterprise he would indeed have put Everest on her mettle. As he could not go with the Expedition he concentrated his energy on collecting money and efficiently equipping it. And in this he was assisted by Meade, who the year before had climbed to 23,000 feet in the Himalaya and knew the requirements.
Jacks, who was the Chief of the Geographical Section of the War Office, and Hinks, the Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, were of course peculiarly well fitted to choose the cameras, theodolite, compasses, etc., which were required, and to look after all geographical requirements.
The Committee were always able to have the best advice on any line. For the aim being to attain the highest, and nothing but the best, whether in men or material, being good enough for that purpose, the best men in every line were interested in the adventure. And among them Dr. De Filippi, the very capable and experienced Italian explorer and scientist, who had accompanied the Duke of the Abruzzi.
None were more interested than Their Majesties the King and Queen, and H.R.H. The Prince of Wales.
The Expedition started, therefore, the best manned and equipped expedition which had ever tackled the Himalaya, and with the good wishes of the highest in the land.
CHAPTER III
THE START
Mallory actually leaving for Everest was a different man from Mallory somewhat impassively receiving the invitation. The joy of great struggle was clearly arising. Friends were wishing him “Good Luck” and wanted to be with him. The life and stir of great action were beginning to thrill. And then there was the possibility—the bare possibility—being whispered about that perhaps that very summer he might conquer Mount Everest. Who knows? The ascent might be easier than expected. All that could be seen looked easy. And if the mountain sides below what