Chapter 25 Chapter 22 Saving People

Now that the path to the North Col had been prepared by Norton and Malory, it was time to establish the Fourth Battalion on the North Col.The job will be carried out by Somerwell, Harred and Irwin.And because time was short, and the monsoon rains were coming soon, they set off on May 21st, the day after Norton and Malory had marked the route.Somerwell was better, or pretended to be, and he, along with two other climbers, and a dozen pickers with tents, stoves, and supplies, would build a fourth on the ledge at the spot Norton had chosen. camp.He would help the porter up the chimney and secure the ropes where they were most dangerous, especially the last two hundred feet of terror just below the ledge; Reid and twelve pickers spent the night in the newly built camp.Then O'Dell and Geoffrey.Bruce will follow up on May 22 and spend the night in the fourth battalion; the next day he will climb up with pickers to establish the fifth battalion.

It was a simple plan, but difficulties were immediately encountered.On the morning of May 21st, the weather was unnaturally warm, with many light clouds floating in the sky.Soon, wet and soft snow fell.The road that Norton and Malory had painstakingly carved or trodden was now buried.The snow is deep, and it is very difficult to walk. Climbers must nail stakes and tie ropes in the most dangerous places so that they can walk with the pickers behind.The worst part was the chimney.Climbing to such a place, one can hardly carry anything, and other expedients must be tried.There was a vertical ice cliff just nearby, and if the bales were pulled from the bottom of the cliff to the platform above, the pickers could climb up the chimney unloaded.So Somerwell and Irving climbed up to the platform and hauled the bales up, while Harold stayed at the base of the ice cliff to oversee the operation.Somerwell and Irwin were struggling to do that pull-up, and a bulging portion of the ice cliff made the job even more difficult.But twelve bales, ranging in weight from twenty to thirty pounds, were finally pulled up one by one.Seeing Harold and the twelve pickers on the ledge where they would camp in the snow, the two of them returned to the third camp, arriving at 6:35 in the afternoon.The day's work was exhausting, but fortunately the fourth battalion was completed.

It was the twenty-first of May.It snowed all night and more heavily the next morning until three o'clock in the afternoon.Geoffrey.Bruce and O'Dell were therefore unable to set off for the North Col. The snow stopped in the afternoon, but the cold suddenly increased.That night, May 22-23, the thermometer dropped to minus twenty-four degrees Fahrenheit (minus thirty-one degrees Celsius).And minus 24 degrees is quite different at 21,000 feet than it is at sea level.Twenty-four degrees below zero in a dingy tent where you have to sleep on the floor is not the same as what you see from the comfort of a house.Of course there are many lower temperature records in many other places around the world, but few have endured such low temperatures in such a difficult environment as the Himalayan climbers.The temperature encountered by the Tibetan Mission was low enough, but it was only minus 18 degrees, the altitude was only 15,000 feet, and the officials at least had beds to sleep in.So those who have experienced extreme cold at great altitudes will most admire what Norton and his mates experienced at this time.

On May 23rd, it was a sunny day with no wind and no clouds, although the air was as sharp as a knife.It looks like the fresh snow on the slopes of the North Col will hopefully be safe.So, Geoffrey.Bruce and O'Dell followed the plan and set off at 9:30, accompanied by seventeen provocateurs. But what happened to Harold and his twelve provocateurs now?They had been left at the North Col since May 21; it snowed almost all day on May 22.During the night between May 22 and 23, the lowest temperature records in these areas were broken.Their tents were not pitched on gravel piles like the third battalion, but on snow, and the altitude was two thousand feet higher than that of the third battalion.What happened to them during these times?Norton cared deeply about the matter.When it was almost a little closer, the snow began to fall steadily again, and all around was white, and then he saw a row of black spots, like flies on a whitewashed wall, slowly coming down from the fourth battalion.Norton was relieved to see this.That must be Harold's team returning to the 3rd Battalion.He's glad they're back.

About three o'clock, he saw Geoffrey.Bruce and Audrey were back, too, and the provocateurs joined them.They reached a place where the snow was treacherous, and above them Harold's party was climbing down the chimney, so they concluded that it would be wise to turn back. Everyone began to wait for Hared's arrival with great anxiety.He reached the 3rd Battalion about five o'clock, but only eight men followed him, and the other four stayed behind.They could not face the dangerous slope, the last two hundred feet just below the ledge where the Fourth Battalion had camped.Harold went first to test the fresh snow, and eight followed, but the other four turned and turned back.Perhaps they were ill. Two of them did have chilblains.It is more probable that one of them tried the fresh snow, slipped, and was too frightened to go on; they must not have forgotten what had happened down these slopes on their last expedition.

Whatever the reason, they were stranded on the North Col.Now the snow was falling like soft feathers, making it increasingly dangerous to go up and down the North Col. What should be done now, Norton didn't seem to hesitate for a moment.Some may have hesitated, some may have thought the situation was irreversible, not Norton.He might have argued with himself that, in such bad weather, it was hopeless to venture up those ice slopes, and that was a valid argument.It was sad to have those men left to fend for themselves on the North Col, but he had to think about their lives as well as the lives of others, and the purpose of the expedition as a whole.If he sends a rescue team, the people in the rescue team may also die; if they do not die, they will also be exhausted by the rescue operation, so that they cannot be used in the summit push later, and the entire mountaineering team will lose their strength. Chance to reach the top.

Norton might reasonably have argued this with himself, but he didn't think about it, he just acted on instinct.He is determined not to let any provocateurs die or be injured this year no matter what.There's only one thing to do, and that's to rescue them, save them no matter the cost.Besides, he himself had to join the rescue team, and two others, the best climbers in the regiment, Malory and Somerwell, had to join.Only the best climbers are up to the job.He made the decision, and the other two shared his heart, even though all three were exhausted from the 21,000-foot camp and the strenuous work of exploring the North Col.

He had risked his own life, and the lives of Malory and Somerwell, just to save those people.Although they belong to different races, different religions, and have low status in life, they are partners, what is more, they are partners in a common adventure.They have always been ready to give their lives for their leaders, so it is time for their leaders to risk their lives to rescue them. The friendship of companionship spoke; and it must have grown deep in Norton, Somerwell, and Malory, for in their present cold and sick and miserable condition, when life was like a candle in the wind, Generally flickering and erratic, only the deepest motives can motivate them.All superficial things had disappeared long ago, if this sense of fellowship was rooted in their hearts, if they felt that their domestic partners (citizens) expected them to act as men, this scene is now seen less than.

However, the three patients were alive and well in the process of saving lives.Both Malory and Somerwell were coughing and had a terrible sore throat.They knew this would seriously hamper their ascent.Norton himself was not really fit for the rescue operation according to Malory.The weather continued to be severe.When the three of them were sitting in the tent for secret business, the snow was still falling on the tent.Malory wrote: With this kind of snow, it seems that the chance of climbing the North Col is only one in ten, let alone the possibility of the whole group of people descending the mountain smoothly.He himself had been buried by an avalanche and fallen into a crevasse at the North Col.

Fortunately, the snow stopped at midnight; the next day, May 24th, they set off at seven-thirty in the morning.They made their way up the slopes of the North Col and found that the snow wasn't too bad because it hadn't had time to get sticky.Yet their advance was laborious, the arduous and monotonous march through snow ranging from a foot to waist-deep, and they were all sick from the cold and the effects of the altitude.They shuffled through the fresh snow on the glacier basin and then gradually up, walking slowly and alertly, panting and coughing.First Malory led, and then Somerwell led the other two to Geoffrey.Where Bruce and Ordell had left their bundles the day before, Norton led them later, wearing crampons, and was able to lead them up to the great crevasse of the glacier without gouging; they stayed there for half an hour.At about one-thirty they came to the ice wall below the chimney.Every step previously hewn was filled with snow, but the twine Somerwell had nailed still hung there; and they seized it with both hands and pulled themselves up the chimney.On the other two dangerous sections, Norton and Somerwell took turns climbing to the front of the long rope, protected by the other two below.Then they came to the very dangerous last two hundred feet; over the uppermost ledge they saw one of the helpless provocateurs standing on the edge of the ledge.Norton asked him aloud if he could still walk.Questions are thrown from above: up or down?Down, idiot!So the man disappeared and called his three companions.

Up to this point, the snow conditions had proved less dangerous than they had anticipated, but the real danger loomed on the final traverse.On this dangerous slope, Somerwell insisted on the first traverse, while Norton and Malory fixed the rope behind them. They brought a 100-foot climbing rope for emergency situations.They drove ice axes into the snow straight to the handle to tie the rope; the rope passed around these ice axes and was ripped yard by yard by Somerwell while Somerwell was on the steep transect of the ice slope. , while climbing, knocking out big and safe steps hard. He was getting closer and closer to the four men waiting at the top of the ramp, but when he was almost reaching them, the rope that bound him was at its end.Ten yards (about nine meters) to go!How to do it?It's four o'clock, and time is running out.The climbers immediately decided: the four must try to walk the ten yards without steps.They had to come one by one, over the dangerous part; and when they got to Somerwell, they could follow the taut rope to Norton and Malory. The first two arrived safely at Somerwell's place, and the second did not start until the one was at Norton's side; but the snow slipped under the feet of the remaining two, as they came foolishly together.The two immediately flew down the slope.In a moment of paralysis, Norton watched them fall two hundred feet below the blue ice cliff.But they came out suddenly. It turned out that when they slid down, they fell into a snow depression, which was formed by the interaction of the severe morning cold and the midday sun.Somerwell bade them sit still, and calmly and self-possessively he led the second along the ropes to Norton, and turned back to concern their unfortunate companion. Now, rescuing these two men in dire straits will require mountaineering skills of the highest order.First, Somerwell had to reassure the two, so he joked with them until they were almost laughing.Then he plunged the ice ax deep into the soft snow, untied the end of the rope around his waist, looped it around the axe, and pulled it so tight that Norton and Malory could feel every foot of it, as the latter two were doing their best. Hold the other end of the rope at arm's length.Thus, having pulled most of the rope, Somerwell went down the rope to its end, and then, holding the end of the rope with one hand, he stretched out his other arm to touch the other of the two men. one person.He firmly grabbed the opponent by the back of the neck and pulled him to the place where the ice ax was driving.He also handled the second one in the same way.The rescue finally came to fruition. The two poor souls returned to a safer place, but they were so frightened that they slipped along the rope as they walked towards the paradise formed by Norton and Malory. Fortunately, the rope was used as a handrail to prevent them from falling into danger again. .When they finally passed the steep slope, Somerwell tied the rope around his waist again and followed them.Norton said that watching him balance and straight across the already collapsed mountain road, without slipping or making mistakes, was simply a superb lesson in mountaineering skills. The race against darkness was on, for it was four-thirty in the afternoon when they began their descent.Malory and a picker led the way at the head of the rope, and Somerwell followed with two other pickers.Norton was in the rear with a picker who had badly frostbitten his hand; the picker's hand was useless, so Norton had to carry him on certain parts of the road, such as the chimneys. At seven-thirty in the afternoon, as they left the snowy slopes of the North Col, three-quarters of a mile from home (home, as Norton called it, but that was only the 3rd Battalion), a figure emerged from the darkness; Noel and O'Dell were waiting for them with hot soup.Once again, Noel was there when he was needed most. The climbers rescued the four, but the three of them were already out of shape.Somerwell coughed and suffocated to the worst degree when he had to scuttle over the steep slope.Malory's cough kept him up all night, and Norton's feet ached.These three saved the lives of four provocateurs, but at what cost they themselves would not know until they were a thousand feet from their target. After experiencing these things, the expedition team could no longer attack Mount Everest immediately.A second retreat to the lower camp on the glacier to recuperate was imperative.Just when Norton and his teammates were trying to rescue the trapped provocateurs, he first gave instructions for the retreat.It was a painful blow to have to turn away from the goal again just when the seasonal rains were predicted to be imminent, but there was nothing to be done about it.Not half of the members are fit to move forward under the current circumstances.The cold, combined with the struggles, made the team totter, especially the best climbers who had done most of the hard work.It is necessary to recuperate at a lower altitude for a few days. Geoffrey.Bruce, Harold, and Irwin, and most of the provocateurs, had gone down to the glacier; Norton and the rest followed the day after the rescue operation.They were a miserable little band of lame and blind men who had to make their way back to 2nd Battalion in a northeast blizzard.On the following day, May 26, Norton and Somerwell reached the 1st Battalion.The current composition of the mountaineering group is as follows: O'Dell, Knoll, and Shebier, along with about twenty provocateurs, remain in the second battalion; Malory, Somerwell, Bruce, Irving, and Norton stay in the first battalion Harold has returned to base camp to join Hinston and Beatan. The purpose of elongating the team into echelons in this way is to get back into operation with the least number of days of delay when the weather should be fine.Those who were going to reach the North Col on the next forward move were now placed with the 2nd Battalion so that when the order came they could re-reach the 5th Battalion within a day. On the afternoon of the day they reached the 1st Battalion, another operational consultative meeting was held; ways and means were examined, and a new, simpler plan was drawn up.When they studied the transportation problem, they found that they were in a very difficult situation.Both Shepherd and Bruce agreed that of the original fifty-five provocateurs, only fifteen were left to rely on.The physically handicapped were few in number, but the extreme cold, combined with the shock of the extreme altitude, had taken the courage out of most of them and made them unreliable.And so far, very little has been done.The 4th Battalion barely managed to build four tents, of which there were only sleeping bags for twelve pickers and one climber.All food and fuel still had to be brought up, along with every oxygen kit and cylinders one would need on the mountain, as well as tents and stoves for the higher camps.A Fifth Battalion must also be established and provided with the necessary supplies and provisions. According to the original plan, fifteen pickers were required for the formation of the Fifth Battalion alone. The issue of time must also be considered.They were now only six days away from the onset of the monsoon rains of 1922.A rest of two or three days was necessary, and it took another day to get to the third battalion.Obviously, once the climbers resumed their climbs, the plan had to allow them to make a major summit attempt with the least delay. The problem of oxygen also surfaced again.Some people began to question what real benefits oxygen brings to users. The combat consultative meeting was lengthy and inconclusive, so Norton convened a fuller consultative meeting the next day, inviting Odell, Shebier, and Harold from 2nd Battalion and Base Camp to attend.During this second meeting, every possible combination of the seven available climbers was considered and every detail of the entire operation was thoroughly considered.Finally, the simplest possible plan came out.Oxygen will be dropped and a series of tandem climbs will be set in motion.They would leave the Fourth Battalion in pairs on consecutive sunny days and sleep two nights above that camp, one night at the Fifth Battalion at 25,500 feet and the other at 27,200 feet. Sixth Battalion. Norton insisted that the 4th Battalion must always have two climbers there as support.In organizing climbers into these various climbing groups, Norton stipulated that Malory had the right to join the first group if he wanted.His throat is much better, and, while he's done most of the drudgery so far, Norton says the man's energy and fire are still reflected in his every pose, and he can no doubt climb as well as anyone else. be the same height.Of the rest, Bruce was clearly the strongest.So Malory and Bruce formed the first team.Somerwell's throat was still a long way from healing, but was comforted by the warmth of the first battalion.His fame since 1922 is enhanced this time by rescuing trapped provocateurs.He will be assigned to the second team.Another member of the second team, chosen by Sowell and Malory, Norton re-authorized them to choose one of himself, O'Dell, Irwin and Harred.They chose Norton; and in deciding who to choose, they had to consider one important thing: in each group there must be one who spoke enough Nepali to be able to speak Nepalese when the challenger's resolve began to falter. , and still be able to carry them around.O'Dell and Irwin will serve as supporters of the Fourth Battalion, while Harold will remain in the Third Battalion. On the 28th of May, as on the 27th, it was a hot, cloudless day, and some in the regiment were in high spirits to go up the mountain again, but Norton, seeing the improvement in their health, decided to stay longer at camp. one day.The day was not wasted: fifteen tigers (as the pickers were nicknamed) assembled at the second battalion, and Odell and Irwin made an alpine climbing rope ladder, and a number of pegs to keep the pickers Enough to climb the steep ice wall below the chimney of the North Col. On the thirtieth day of May, the final push began.Teams of climbers, accompanied by Noel and his camera gear, arrived at Battalion 3.