History of Everest from the 1800s to 1960

Peak XV, Chomolungma 'goddess mother of the universe' (Tibet) or Sagarmatha, 'goddess mother of the sky' (Nepal) are synonyms for the mountain now universally known as Everest. It was formed about 60 million years ago and was first geographically defined in 1856, by Colonel Andrew Waugh who was Superintendent of the Indian Trigonometrical Survey. At that time, its reported height was 8,839.8 metres (29,002 feet). In 1865, Everest was proposed and officially accepted by the Royal Geographical Society as the name for this Himalayan giant. Sir George Everest, Waughís predecessor, had been responsible for the ambitious initiation of a grid survey of the entire British Empire, in 1823. This project was fraught with difficulties, as access to the Himalayas was denied by several countries, and measurements had to be taken from as far as 250 km from the mountains.

In the 1800s, Alpine climbing was still a young sport and nobody knew the limits of human endeavour. However, over subsequent years, with successes in the Alps, British climbers began to develop an interest in reaching the top of the world and Himalayan climbing came into its own. In 1920, authorisation for an Everest expedition was granted to Sir Francis Younghusband by the Dalai Lama. The cost of this expedition, which went ahead in 1921, was £3-4000. The team were ill-equipped, without special clothing or footwear to withstand the inevitable cold and altitude. Furthermore, the ground above 5,000 metres was completely unknown. In spite of this, the team persisted on the mountain for 4 months in the face of extreme weather conditions, ill health and the absence of cartography.


The members of the 1921 reconnaissance expedition

The following year, 1922, the British again had a team on Everest,
this time lead by General Charles Granville Bruce. They were better
equipped in terms of food, footwear, clothing and supplementary
oxygen. Although physiologists had demonstrated the undisputed
benefit of oxygen in conditions simulating high altitude, this benefit
was countered by its weight, which at 15 kilos per apparatus was considerable. This team made it to 8,320 metres.

General Bruce again led the expedition in 1924. The team's
accumulated knowledge and experience inspired confidence and planning was now becoming much more detailed. The second-in-command on this expedition was Edward Norton, who took charge
when Bruce was forced to return to base with malaria. Somervell,
Mallory and Irvine continued their ascent. Despite treacherous weather conditions and the loss of team members to ill health, the expedition proceeded and on June 8th, Mallory and Irvine were ready for their summit bid; they were visualised at an estimated altitude of 8,450metres, but this was their last sighting. The expedition was abandoned following an unsuccessful search.

The subsequent 8 years saw a slump in British Himalayan climbing, because of the refusal by the Dalai Lama to grant visas to climbers. It was 1933 before the next expedition was organised. This was lead by Hugh Ruttledge, commissioner for British administration in India. The maximum height reached by this team was 8,350metres. Extreme weather conditions, hypoxia and exhaustion were just some of the hazards forcing the teamís return.

In 1934, an ex-British Army officer attempted a solo ascent, but his
body was found at 6,300 metres a year later.

Eric Shipton led the 1935 British expedition. Shipton was an explorer and was more focussed on acquiring an in-depth knowledge of the Himalayas rather than a successful ascent. Ruttledge led another expedition in 1936, but his team was forced to return prematurely because of bad weather and unacceptable danger. Bill Tillman headed the 1938 expedition, but again the elements forbade advancement beyond 8,320 metres.

The war years delayed further progress until 1947, when a Canadian, Earl Denman, attempted Everest without a permit; he was turned by a blizzard at the North Col. The war also resulted in closure of the Tibetan borders, and North-side access to Everest,-which had been the route for all expeditions to date. Nepal then unexpectedly opened its doors to the West. However, as the Nepalese side of the mountain was unexplored the access-routes were again unknown and this inevitably delayed progress. An American, Charles Houston, directed an exploratory expedition on the south side and reached the foot of the ice fall.

In 1951, a Danish explorer, with no previous climbing experience, attempted Everest. His initial approach was from the South side, but when turned by difficult glacier terrain, he crossed a col to the North side and resumed the route of the pre-war days. Violent winds and reports of Chinese officials looking for foreigners forced retreat.

Shipton lead the 1951 British expedition, of which Edmund Hillary was also a member. The committee refused to allow a well-known Swiss climber (Dittert) to be part of the team, wanting it to be entirely British. They successfully crossed the ice fall to the Western Cwm. Here, their way was blocked by 2 enormous crevasses and Shipton turned the party. Public interest in the expedition was keen.

A planned British attempt in 1952 was refused by the Nepalese government, because the Swiss had been granted permission first. Some bitterness remained over the British refusal to allow Dittert to be part of the team the preceding year. It was agreed that the Swiss would attempt Everest and the British were granted a permit for Cho-Oyu. The Swiss team were very strong and succeeded in reaching 8,600m - a
new altitude record. A second Swiss attempt in the post monsoon season but had less luck.

The race to summit Everest continued and the British put all efforts into their 1953 expedition. It was lead by Colonel John Hunt, following Shipton's refusal of joint leadership and his subsequent voluntary withdrawal from the team. Hunt was driven by an ambition to succeed and planned everything with careful attention. The team he chose included Charles Evans, Alfred Gregory, Tom Bourdillon, Michael Ward, George Lowe, Edmund Hillary, Mike Westmacott, George Band and Wilfred Noyce. Their Sherpa team included Tenzing Norgay, who had earned an excellent reputation through his participation in a number of expeditions in the preceding years. The team left Kathmandu on March 10th and progressed slowly through the Icefall, the Western Cwm, and the Lhotse Face. Camps were supplied, climbers acclimatised and in May, Hunt began to make formal summit plans. The team advanced to the South Col and began to aim for the Southeast ridge. Bourdillon and Evans set a new record when they made it to the South Summit, at 8,760m, but returned to the South Col exhausted. Bourdillon deteriorated further overnight, and Hunt accompanied him down himself.

The final bid, on May 28th , was in two groups; Lowe, Gregory and Ang Nyima and Hillary and Tenzing. They each carried 23 kilos, apart from Hillary who had 28 kilos. Hillary and Tenzing remained at 8,500m overnight, while the others retreated. They headed the following morning for the South Summit, the Summit Ridge, the Hillary Step and finally made the summit, at 11.30hrs on 29th May 1953.

The remarkable achievement of these two climbers at this point in
history is difficult to conceive. They climbed in leather-soled boots, with nails attached to the under-surface (rather than crampons). They used wooden ice-axes and a heavy, cumbersome oxygen apparatus. The modern day advantages of clothing, footwear, light-weight oxygen systems, tents and accurate cartography and photography all help to make Everest relatively more achievable, although still regarded as one of the most elusive physical challenges to mankind.


Tensing on the summit of Everest in 1953

In 1958, climbing began again on the North side; communication reaching the West at this time was limited and nobody was sure what was going on. In 1960, a Chinese team was reported to be on Everest. The lack of technical details recorde d during this climb created some scepticism, however, the route followed Malloryís old plan along the ridge line from the North Col and the few photos taken during the ascent do appear to correspond to reality. The Chinese reached the summit from the North side at 4.40 on 25th May 1960.

The Japanese climber, Junko Tabei became the first female to summit Everest in 1975; a further 74 females have summitted since then
(to 2002).

In 1978, Reinhold Messner became the first to summit Everest without oxygen; a feat since accomplished by only 87 other climbers.


Climbing through the Khumbu Icefall in 1972