The 1933 British Mount Everest expedition was, after the reconnaissance expedition of 1921, and the 1922 and 1924 expeditions, the fourth British expedition to Mount Everest and the third with the intention of making the first ascent.
Like the previous expeditions to climb the mountain, the 1933 expedition was unsuccessful, although in two separate attempts Lawrence Wager and Percy Wyn-Harris, and then F. S. Smythe, set an altitude record for climbing without supplemental oxygen that was not broken until Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1978.Glasby (2008). During Wager and Wyn-Harris's attempt, the ice-axe belonging to Andrew Irvine, who disappeared with Mallory on the 1924 attempt while going for the summit, was found on the flanks of the north face.
Background
Following the unsuccessful attempts to climb Mount Everest in 1922 and 1924, the diplomatic Affair of the Dancing Lamas prevented further British expeditions for eight years. In August 1932 the 13th Dalai Lama granted permission for the mountain to be approached from Tibet in the north, on the condition that all the climbers taking part were British.Thompson (2010), p. 180. This permission was won by the combined work of the India Office, the government of India and Lt-Col J. L. R. Weir, the British political agent in Sikkim.Ruttledge (1941), p. 28. There was an urgency to their work owing to a British fear that the Germans, who had recently mounted expeditions to Kangchenjunga and Nanga Parbat, might next be targeting Mount Everest.Thompson (2010), p. 180.
Preparations
Participants It fell to the Mount Everest Committee, the body that funded all pre-war attempts on Mount Everest, to appoint a leader for the expedition. The most obvious choice, General C. G. Bruce, was unavailable; two other suitable men, both of whom – like Bruce – had been on earlier expeditions to Mount Everest, were approached but declined the offer: Brigadier E. F. Norton, who had recently been appointed to a position in Aldershot, and Major Geoffrey Bruce, who was on the point of assuming a post in Quetta. Hugh Ruttledge was chosen as leader, with the proviso that, at forty-eight years of age, he was not to undertake any climbing on the upper reaches of the mountain.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 28–9. His choice surprised everyone, including Ruttledge, who, although a veteran Himalayan explorer, had not done much in the way of cutting-edge mountaineering; he also suffered from a limp as a result of a "pig-sticking accident".Thompson (2010), p. 180.
Ruttledge was instructed to recruit the British climbing personnel for the expedition, assisted by an advisory sub-committee of Norton, T. G. Longstaff and Sydney Spencer, with Geoffrey Winthrop Young also giving assistance. Ruttledge was keen on inviting Mount Everest veterans; neither Noel Odell nor T. H. Somervell were available, but E. O. Shebbeare, who had been transport officer in 1924, was again selected in the role, this time also being appointed deputy leader – at forty-nine, he was the oldest member of the expedition; Crawford had also been to Mount Everest, in 1922. Other members of the party had previous Himalayan experience, too, in particular Shipton, who had climbed Kamet (as well as Mount Kenya), Dr Raymond Greene, the expedition senior physician who had also climbed Kamet, and Smythe, who had not only climbed Kamet but had been on the international expedition to Kangchenjunga with Professor Dyrenfurth. Birnie had also been on the Kamet expedition, as transport officer.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 30–3. Notable in their omission were several of the top British rock-climbers of the period – Alf Bridge, Colin Kirkus and Maurice Linnell – reflecting the traditional approach of the sub-committee, as well as Ruttledge himself, who said: "I am coming more and more to the opinion that we must beware of the north British school of rock-climbers if we are to succeed on Everest. Individually they are probably good men, but they are a close corporation, with, it seems to me, a contempt for everyone outside their own clan."Thompson (2010), p. 181.
The following sixteen men comprised the British component of the team that attempted the ascent of the mountain, and were, according to Ruttledge, with the exception of himself, Shebbeare and the two wireless operators, chosen "with the definite idea that they were potentially capable of taking part in the final assaults on the mountain".Ruttledge (1941), p. 33. NameFunctionProfessionRuttledge (1934). Hugh RuttledgeLeaderCivil servant (Indian Civil Service) E. O. ShebbeareDeputy leader and transport officerIndian Forestry Service Captain E. St. J. BirnieMountaineerSoldier (Sam Browne's Cavalry) Major H. BousteadMountaineerSoldier (Sudan Camel Corps) T. A. BrocklebankMountaineerCambridge graduate C. G. CrawfordMountaineerCivil servant (Indian Civil Service) Dr C. R. GreenePrincipal medical officer and mountaineer Doctor J. L. LonglandMountaineerEnglish lecturer at Durham University Dr W. McLeanSecond medical officer and mountaineerStaff of the Mission to the Jews, Jerusalem E. E. ShiptonMountaineerSettler in Kenya W. R. Smijth-WindhamWireless operatorSoldier (Royal Corps of Signals) F. S. SmytheMountaineerFreelance adventurer E. C. ThompsonWireless operatorSoldier (Royal Corps of Signals) L. R. WagerMountaineerLecturer in geology G. Wood-Johnson Mountaineer Tea planter P. Wyn-HarrisMountaineerCivil servant (Kenyan Civil Service)
All members of the expedition who lived in Britain were expected to submit themselves to a physical and psychological test by the RAF Medical Board, followed by a final test by Dr Claude Wilson.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 34–5.
Funding and equipment The Mount Everest Committee furnished £5,000 towards the costs of the expedition, which were estimated at £11,000–£13,000. Further funds were secured by means of Ruttledge's book contract with Hodder & Stoughton, a newspaper deal with The Daily Telegraph and a gift of £100 from King George V. Many companies supplied items of equipment free of charge or at a discount.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 35–6.
Five main types of tent were taken: a sixteen-man mess tent made by Silver and Edgington; three Muir Mills of Cawnpore bell tents for the porters, designed for fourteen men but occasionally fitting twenty-one; three Camp and Sports six-man arctic tents (a hybrid design between the Watkins Arctic tent and a yurt), looking, according to Greene, like a "plum-pudding without the sprig of holly" and termed "the real successes of the expedition" by Ruttledge for surviving the blizzards that blew in over the East Rongbuk Glacier at Camp III;Ruttledge (1941), p. 36. and both Silver and Edgington Meade tents, and modified Meade tents made by Burns of Manchester. In addition, a number of lightweight emergency tents were bought by Longland.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 36–7. Burns, and Silver and Edgington, also supplied down sleeping bags, including the superior double-bag model; Jaeger supplied sleeping-sacks; and Sir George Lowndes supplied a bag in which three men might shelter in an emergency if they failed to reach their tents. High-altitude leather double-boots with clinker nails on their leather soles came from Robert Lawrie of Burnley, while approach boots were supplied by John Marlow and Son, and F. P. Baker and Co. Knee-high camp boots made of sheepskin and wool came from Clarke, Son and Morland. Dr T. Magor Cardell and Mr Hamblin jointly designed high-altitude goggles with orange-tinted glass, and ice-axes and crampons were bought from, amongst others, Horeschowsky in Austria. Puttees, made in Kashmir to a design suggested by General Bruce, were also taken. Beale of London supplied 2,000 feet of Alpine Club rope and light line; 2,000 feet came from Jones of Liverpool.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 36–40.
As with previous expeditions to Mount Everest, supplemental oxygen was taken. The decision was made to only use it above the North Col, and then only in case of emergency if acclimatisation had been unsuccessful. Greene worked in tandem with the British Association of Oxygen Supply and Siebe, Gorman & Co. and eventually a model was made, no longer incorporating a flow meter but with a whistle that announced the flow of oxygen through the valve.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 41–2.
Journey
The main party left England by sea on 20 January 1933, stopping at Gibraltar, where the Rock of Gibraltar "offered a climbing problem or two",Ruttledge (1941), p. 53. and Aden. Time at sea was spent discussing the problem of climbing Mount Everest and the establishment of the various camps on its northern side, as well as learning the Nepali language, in which Crawford was proficient.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 54–5. The party alighted at Bombay, where they were assisted by C. E. Boreham, the manager of the Army and Navy Stores. Ruttledge, an India hand, took them on sightseeing tours to Agra and Fatehpur Sikri.Ruttledge (1941), p. 55. Passing through Calcutta, where they were entertained by the Governor of Bengal, Sir John Anderson, the expedition members proceeded to Darjeeling, where Smythe, Greene and Birnie joined them, while Ruttledge went to Siliguri to rendezvous with Shebbeare and discuss transport arrangements. At Darjeeling porters were selected for the march, Ruttledge's Sherpas from his 1932 trip, Nima Dorje and Sanam Topgye, having gone to Sola Khombu to alert prospective applicants to the existence of the British expedition. Lhakpa Chedi, Lewa and Nursang were selected as sirdars. In addition, Nima Tendrup, a veteran of many expeditions to Mount Everest, as well as a number of Sherpas who had been on the recent German expeditions to Kangchenjunga, were brought along. Karma Paul, who had been on the 1922 and 1924 British expeditions, was taken as interpreter.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 57–60. All the porters were screened at the Darjeeling hospital, 34 per cent being found to be infected with internal parasites, and then clothed in blue-and-white striped pyjamas and given numbered identity disks.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 61–2, 71.
On 2 March, in front of the Planters' Club in Darjeeling, the party attended the ceremonial blessing of all those taking part in expedition by the lamas of Ghoom monastery. Ruttledge remarked that "the ceremony was conducted with a quiet dignity which no one who was privileged to be present will ever forget".Ruttledge (1941), p. 62.
The initial plan was to march to Mount Everest via the shortest and most direct route over the Sebu La, but this pass was still snow-covered so the alternative, longer route up the Chumbi Valley via Phari Dzong was taken. The party was split into two groups for the first part of the journey, with the intention of all groups meeting up in Gautsa, although Longland and Shipton travelled ahead to organise stores in Kalimpong. Those with no Himalayan experience departed first, on 3 March; the second group, which included Ruttledge, Shebbeare, Greene, Smythe and Birnie, left on 8 March. At Kalimpong, the Tibetan government trader, Pangda Tsang, stated that the heavy baggage train with mules should go to Kampa Dzong via the Jelep La, so a third group, made up of Smijth-Windham, Thompson and Karma Paul, accompanied the train with the intention of rejoining the second group at Yatung.Ruttledge (1941), pp. 66–7.