Chapter 13 Chapter 10 The Second Departure

On March 1, 1922, Bruce arrived in Darjeeling.In order to prepare in advance, he left England earlier than others.Now he was really at his place: he was back on the hills of India, among his mountain folk.Mr. Wetherall, trade officer, had already undertaken much of the preparatory work, repairing the tents used for the previous expedition, procuring supplies of flour, rice and native produce, and calling together one hundred and fifty mountain people, including The Sherpas, the Bhutanese, and other ethnic groups living on the border between Nepal and Tibet, Bruce will select personnel from among them to form the Heavy Corps according to his own reasonable ideas.These mountain people compete to join the expedition, as long as they have a trusted uncle (Sahib) ① to accompany them, they are very hardworking and adventurous.So Bruce got a pretty useful bunch.He then slowly instilled in them a sense of honor and the fame they would build if the expedition was successful.This is very encouraging to their spirits, coupled with the high salary, good clothes and very rich food promised by the organizer, they are very interested in this career and feel happy to participate in a large-scale expedition .

Note ① Sahib is an honorific term for India and other places in the colonial period.Editor's note Despite their high spirits, they have their weaknesses.Bruce understood that very well.They are carefree and irresponsible like children, and they are deeply addicted to alcohol whenever they have it.Therefore, Bruce not only personally gave a stern warning, but also invited their priests to warn them.Before they set off, both Brahman and Buddhist priests came to pray for them, which was a very important thing for them.Perhaps their religion is not very refined, but, like all who live in and in close contact with nature, they have a sense of the mysterious, great power behind things.They held priests and clergymen in high esteem, for those who, for some obscure reason, represented that mysterious, great power.When representatives of this mysterious, great power show kindness to them, they take pleasure in being spiritually nourished.

The selection of the chef is another matter that Bruce pays special attention to.In this and many other things he was like the father of the expedition; having seen the previous expedition suffer from poor, unclean cooking, he recruited many cooks and brought them into the mountains Test them out and pick the top four. In these matters he now had Geoffrey.Colonel Bruce and CJ Moriss assisted CJ Morriss, another officer in the Gurkha unit, who spoke Nepali and knew how to lead the mountain people.Four unappointed Gurkha non-commissioned officers and a Gurkha service officer were also recruited by the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, Lord Laurinson, to serve in the expedition.

Accompanying the team was a young Tibetan who had been educated in Darjeeling named Kalma.Paul (Karma Paul), who will be the interpreter.It turned out to be a very successful arrangement; Bruce said he was always a good company and always in high spirits.He handles the advances and retreats very well and interacts well with the Tibetans.This is important because, like all Orientals, the Tibetans themselves have excellent manners and are easily responsive to the good manners of others; an interpreter who is careless in manners can jeopardize the entire expedition. In addition to the climbers who came to Darjeeling from England in March, Mr Croft has now traveled from Assam to take part.Mosshead, who was full of enthusiasm, was also able to take leave of absence from the army and join the expedition as a member of the expedition, no longer just a surveyor.

This is how the second expedition team formed an army, only the equipment for supplying oxygen will not arrive in a few days.The Buddhist Association (Buddhist Association) and the Hillmen's Association (Hillmen's Association) in the police station deputy chief Laden.Under the auspices of Mr. Laden La, the entire expedition was entertained; the elders of the Lamaism and Brahmanism in the area came to bless the expedition and pray for the safety and success of the expedition.On March 26th, the expedition team set off from Darjeeling with everyone's blessings. The journey from Darjeeling through Sikkim, across Tibet to the base camp in the Rongbuk Gorge needs to be described briefly.The route chosen by the second echelon expedition roughly overlapped with that of the first echelon.But because the time was two months earlier, they encountered even worse weather conditions.Rhododendron, the main flower species that constitutes the flower sea in Sikkim, had not yet sprouted buds at that time.When they reached Parry on April 6th, winter was just over.On the eighth they set off again from Pali and crossed Tangla in heavy snow and near-storm winds.They took a shorter route to Gangbazong, but they had to pass through a gap at an altitude of 17,000 feet; the wind blowing straight down from the Himalayan ice field howled on the defile.

When they arrived at Gangpa Dzong on April 11, they found Kailas's tomb; it was in good condition, and a stele was erected on it, with neat English and Tibetan inscriptions.They erected several large stones in his honor as a token of his condolences.They then set off for Shegar, arriving on April 24, to meet the elder lama there again.But Bruce didn't like the elder like the people who came before.He thought him an extremely cunning old man and a first-rate businessman.He collected a large collection of Tibetan and Chinese art treasures and knew their prices as well as any professional dealer.And the rest of the lamas were the dirtiest bunch Bruce had ever met in Tibet. That means, they were very dirty, because he had been to Pali.

On April 30, they arrived at Rongbuk Monastery; Bruce had quite a different impression of the elder lama here.This monastery is only 16 miles away from Mount Everest, and you can have a panoramic view of it.The elder lama is believed to be the reincarnation of a deity.He was about sixty years old, very dignified, with one of the brightest, wisest faces, and an uncommonly charming smile.Those who accompanied the party were treated with the utmost respect, and he specifically asked Bruce to treat them well.He also took special care of the animals; in this region no life was hunted, and wild animals were fed, so that the wild sheep, which are inaccessible on the Indian side of the Himalayas, are not tamed here and will Go very close to the tent.

But why the British would want to climb Mount Everest, the lama was puzzled.He asked in detail what the purpose of the expedition was, and Bruce gave him a fairly understandable answer.They were on a pilgrimage, he said.In fact, this expedition has no material purpose, such as finding gold, coal or diamonds, but a spiritual goal: to activate the human spirit.How to express such a simple fact to these people can only be adopted by Bruce.He explained that there is a mountain-worshiping sect in England, and they come out to worship the highest peak in the world.If worship means admiration of intensity, nothing better describes the purpose of the trip than Bruce's statement.

Above the canyon, there are six or seven residences of hermit monks.Those dwellings were very small, and the pious monks never used candles or drank hot drinks.They are supported by the monastery and spend years and months meditating on God Om.They must have suffered enough in this Tibetan winter at an altitude of more than 16,000 feet, but the Tibetans have incredible stamina; Walked out of the practice house with harsh conditions, and faced the worldly people very kindly and tactfully. The hermitages of these monks were the last places inhabited by humans.On May 1st, Bruce led the team to set off according to the scheduled itinerary; the team included 13 British, 40 to 50 Nepalese, and about 100 Tibetans, plus more than 300 head of cattle.This group of people and animals set off towards the nose of Rongbuk Glacier, where the base camp will take shape; from there, Mount Everest will be in full view.

The mountain may well have been taken aback by this massive invasion.Humanity's battle against it is now officially underway.With the exception of Finch, all members of the expedition are in good health.Care for cooking has received good results.This month's march across Tibet, while exhausting with constant winds and a constant landscape of dry plateaus and hills, also gave the team a chance to hone their stamina and adapt to the environment.In this high-altitude area, too much physical exertion will only reduce rather than increase people's adaptability. Therefore, Bruce encouraged them to ride cattle for most of the distance instead of walking.Still, they had traveled enough to keep them in good shape; and now they could expect to fight that mountain in that short three-week gap, before the monsoon rains came after the bitterly cold winter, Because that is the only possible chance to attack.The only weakness of that mountain lies in a narrow space and a short period of time.Only in that space and time can it be captured.But at that moment, at that moment, attacking difficulties meant trying their best, devoting themselves to death, and dying.

The goal they had to set was to take two small tents up the north wall and find some hollows near the northeast ridge at 27,000 feet.If this can be done, four climbers can spend the night there and push forward the next morning, so that they have a better chance of covering the remaining 2,000 feet (about 610 meters). ) to reach the peak.More than 2,000 feet from the summit, they were unlikely to be able to cover it in a day.The higher the altitude, the slower the climber's rate of ascent.So the key to the whole situation was the challenger's load capacity: whether they could transport two tents, along with the necessary sleeping bags, food, and light cooking utensils, to the 27,000-foot-high camp for backup. For them, that's a big ask.So far, even unarmed people have never climbed more than 24,600 feet.The extra 2,400 feet, climbing with weight, will probably be the last straw for the exhausted camel's camel.But unless provocateurs can do that, climbers have little chance of reaching the summit.There may be only one tent that can be brought up, not two; there may be only two people, not four, who can persist to the top of the peak. That is the truth.But if you only bring a tent, it is too risky to send two climbers up alone.One person is sick or has an accident, the other may not be able to bring him back.Therefore, sending four climbers at the last 2,000 feet was the goal that should be set at that time, so it was necessary to send two tents to an altitude of 27,000 feet. If this is to be achieved, there must be a camp at 25,000 feet, between the highest camp and the North Col at 23,000 feet, and there must also be a series of perhaps three camps between the North Col and Base Camp. There are three camps, scattered on the East Rongbuk Glacier, and the East Rongbuk Glacier is the access to the North Col.To carry tents for those camps, flour, meat, and other supplies for climbers and pickers, as well as yak dung for fuel, and various other gear needed for camp life, multiple modes of transportation had to be used.Bruce's special load-carrying units would only be used above the glacier; that alone would stretch their strength.Therefore, Bruce was particularly anxious to find some local people or animals to work on the glacier, so that the forty Nepalese provocateurs could maintain their energy for the more difficult mountain climbing work itself. This is a theoretically ideal arrangement.Goals are set accordingly, but in this case nothing ever goes exactly as planned.But you must at least have an idea in mind, and then try to stick to the plan.During the final stretches of the march near Base Camp, Bruce was able to follow his plan.He once tried to persuade a hundred Tibetans to continue walking up the glacier after reaching the base camp.He had thought he had persuaded the ninety.But by the time they got to Base Camp, that number had dwindled to forty-five; even these men had only worked two days before going home.The fact is: May coincides with spring plowing in Tibet, and there is a shortage of manpower on the fields.The generous remuneration given by the expedition group did not constitute enough attraction, and the lure of fame and fame did not arouse their interest. After all, carrying tents and supplies for the expedition group on the glacier did not build much reputation. Failure to keep these locals was the fatal blow of the expedition.If Bruce hadn't been wise enough to bring his own load-carrying troops, climbing Everest would never have been possible.Due to the trend of the trend, the original plan had to be greatly reduced.The whole project would be curtailed even more if he failed to get men from the nearest village to continue the deliveries for a day or two at a time.These were recruited from the nearest villages by men and women, often with babies on their backs.Thus, there was a large group of local transporters who could work for the first and second camps on the glacier, but they would not go any further up the glacier.Once again, we marveled at the hard work of these Tibetans. At an altitude of 16,000 to 17,000 feet, even women and children can sleep outdoors next to the rocks. Meanwhile, Strutt, Longstaff, and Moss Head have been sent out to survey the East Rongbuk Glacier.Because, we must remember, Malory only saw its head, and Wheeler only saw its tail, and no one has ever actually traveled all the way up.A way up, and the best one at that, had to be found; the best place to camp had to be found. It is a strange, eerie world that Strut and his companions enter.The middle section of the East Rongbuk Glacier is broken, or rather melted.Huge chunks of ice melted into myriad incredible, dreamlike cones whose surfaces gleamed white in the sun, and the melted holes within that glowed transparent blue or green. The best location for the first camp has been found.Geoffrey.Bruce built many huts of difficulty out of stone, and used the spare parts of the tent for the roof.The stone walls at least keep some wind out, though a nitpicker might think it's a bit too drafty.This camp is at an altitude of 17,800 feet, about three hours' walk from base camp. The second camp was 2,000 feet higher, about four hours away from the first camp.The second camp is located under a wall of ice, in the most dreamlike section of this amazing ice world.After leaving this area and going up, the ice cones gradually merged into billowing glaciers.But its slope is not steep enough to be an icefall. The site of the third camp was set on a rock pile formed by a glacier at about 21,000 feet, four hours away from the second camp.It has the northern peak as a barrier, and because it faces east, it also has the advantage of watching the sunrise.But the sun disappeared at three o'clock in the afternoon, and the night was very cold and desolate. Arriving there so early in May, Strutter and his party experienced severe cold and were battered by wind.Longstaff had been in poor health for some time and was unable to work at higher altitudes during that season.They set up cooking facilities for each of the camps they passed on their way back, for the benefit of the group that was about to continue coming and going from one camp to another.On May 9, the three returned to Base Camp. The prospecting of the glacier is complete, the camp on the glacier is established, supplies are brought to the third camp, and the climbers will be able to actually scale the North Col and camp there; now the climbers are moving forward for the attack.It was a bit early in terms of timing, but the exact date when the seasonal rains will start can never be predicted, and the earliest opportunity to start climbing must be firmly grasped.So, on May 10, Malory and Somerwell left Base Camp and within two and a half hours reached Camp One, where they entered a house where a cook greeted them and offered them tea. , in this more comfortable condition they reached the third camp; their real work began there.Theoretically, these two super mountaineers, the top figures of the entire team, should be reserved until later to start work. Only people who are slightly worse than them should be used to prepare the way up the mountain. Pamper yourself at either Base Camp or Glacier Camp, climbing the surrounding mountains for exercise and acclimatization, but always returning to a comfortable camp to refresh yourself, eat good food, and have shelter for the night.The drudgery and rough work ahead should be prepared for them by others, and then, when the way is smooth, they will probably glide over easily, quickly, and comfortably, in the best possible shape, for the highest state on which it all rests. The goal is to make the final struggle.This is what should be done in theory, but again, theory is forced to the sidelines. As Malory had discovered the previous year, the ascent to the North Col was the toughest and most dangerous of the entire Everest climb.It was a mountain wall and slope made of ice and snow, with cracks in the ice, and it was in danger of collapsing at any time.Only experienced mountaineers can face such obstacles, and only four or five of the entire expedition can be trusted at this juncture.These four were Malory, Somerwell, Finch and Norton.Since the latter two would be reserved especially for the task of climbing the mountain with oxygen, Malory and Somerwell must now immediately face this surmountable but very difficult and sinister obstacle. This is Somerwell's first foray into the high Himalayas.He was full of energy, and in the afternoon when he arrived at the third camp, he set out to climb a mountain col opposite the camp to seek the beauty he had always longed for.On that col, he did find that beauty, because from this col now called Rapiu La, what he looked down was the wonderful Karma Canyon, the The majestic Mount Makalu.He hastily sketched a sketch or a sketch of a sketch, and returned to the camp with Malory at 5:30. The next day, May 13, Malory and Somerwell, with a picker, took a tent, some spare ropes and stakes, and set out from the Third Camp to make their way to the North Col and attempt to reach the North Col. The North Col establishes a camp.At this time, it is necessary to find a safe road or a road that can become safe after improvement, so that subsequent pickers can smoothly go up and down when delivering supplies to the higher camp.Finding such a path and making it safe takes a little thought.Of course, Malory had climbed this ice wall before, but something had changed since his visit last fall.The road he used to walk on the snow now shone with the blue light of ice crystals, telling him that the road had become bare and hard at this time.This kind of road is useless, and another way must be found.To his left were a series of hopeless, impossible-to-climb cliffs; to his right were some very steep icy slopes, some three or four hundred feet high, beyond which a The corridor, obviously covered with deep snow.To walk up the icy slope, they had to chisel on foot and set up ropes for the bearers to use in the future.But further up to the North Col, although the slope is steeper, there is no obstacle. They reached the North Col safely, and a road for pickers was secured, so they pitched a mini-tent as a souvenir of conquering this section of the road.Now, they have time to enjoy the scenery.They were at an altitude of 23,000 feet, 7,000 feet higher than Mont Blanc, and their field of vision was extremely wide.But Everest pulls out 6,000 feet on one side of them, and North Peak pulls out 2,000 feet on the other, so the view is still limited, but it does have a beautiful northwest view of Everest, including its icy mountain The cliffs and strange cliffs, as well as the beautiful Pumori Peak. Pumori Peak, which is sideways among the towering peaks, is only a dwarf, with a height of only 23,000 feet, but its shape is very beautiful.The snow-covered peak, as Malory said, was supported by a magnificent building.The pyramid-shaped mountain body, the mountain face facing south and west, the steep ridgeline, and the ice-rock cliffs facing east and north are separated by a whole series of mountain ranges; , Fantastic ridge.The cornices and seracs that cling to this ridge give it beauty and elegance unmatched in the region. Such a landscape is the compensation for hard work along the way.But on the whole, the fatigues of Everest climbers are seldom comforted by the beauty of the mountain, as they ascend from narrow valleys whose lower parts are often ugly.They are all well above the life line, and here there are no trees, bushes or green grass, and there are ice, snow, cliffs, or long, uninteresting slopes piled up with debris. After leaving a tent as a mark of capture, Malory and Somerwell returned to the third camp on the same afternoon with the pickers unloaded.They felt a certain degree of high-altitude effect, but they quickly recovered after a day or two of rest, and they wanted to complete the great task of reaching the summit with enthusiasm, and even planned not to camp overnight above the North Col.Fortunately, this has never been done, because it is still a question of whether humans can survive a night on the summit of Mount Everest.In any case, it was only possible on a completely calm night.And a night with no wind at all is usually an extremely cold night.Therefore, even if a person survives the strong wind there, he will suffer from the severe cold.Later experience showed that on the summit of Mount Everest, even if there is a tent to cover it, the wind and cold are almost unbearable for human beings. On the 16th of May, the 3rd Battalion was reinforced by the arrival of Strutt, Moss Head, Norton and Croft, and a large convoy of supplies.The only three weeks of the year when the mountain can be taken have come.Malory reported the weather he saw in Lapiola on the 16th, and even aroused the mountaineering team's desire to act immediately.From Rapiyola he looked down at Karma Valley, and saw that the clouds steaming in that terrible cauldron were not shining white, but sadly gray.There will be a lot of trouble. This is his conclusion.The seasonal rain is coming, and they must race against it; run to the top of the mountain before it's too late. So the next day, May 17th, Strutt, Malory, Somerwell, Norton, and Mosshead headed north with pickers (25 to 30 pounds each) Au, not much delay for a day.But Croft had to return to the base camp due to illness.There was no wind on the slope, and the team even felt the sun's rays and heat directly on them.Malory and Somerwell felt less of the altitude effect than they did when they first climbed the slope.They've gotten used to it.The fact that one can acclimatize to a new environment at high altitude is perhaps a good reason not to set the starting point too low for the last ditch.It might be good to let them stay at 21,000 and 23,000 feet for a few days and work their way up. May 18 was spent in the Fifth Battalion above the North Col, resting on the one hand and building the camp on the other.A second shipment of supplies arrived the next day, and the climbers are now settled in conditions considered comfortable for local conditions.Their tents were pitched on the snow, and there were no rocks or debris to be found, but the shelter of the huge ice block prevented the biting westerly wind from blowing.They had an adequate and varied supply of grain tea, cocoa, pea soup, biscuits, ham, cheese, sausages, sardines, herring, bacon, ox tongue, jams, chocolate, army and navy rations, and pasta.As long as it's solid food, nothing is left out.The difficulty is the water.At the North Col camp, and beyond, the snow and ice never melt; they just evaporate.Therefore, there are neither brooks nor trickles of water.To get water here or in other highland camps, one has to bother to boil the snow. On May 20th, the climb to the real goal of Mount Everest will begin.