Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921Howard-Bury, Charles
History
Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921
Howard-Bury, Charles
Everest, Mount (China and Nepal); Mount Everest Expedition (1921)
On September 19 I moved up to "No. 1 Camp" with Mallory, Bullock and
Morshead; and shared the fortunes of the rest of the Expedition as far
as Kampa Dzong on the way back to Darjeeling, where Raeburn, Heron and I
left Headquarters to return to Darjeeling via L[=a]chen and the Teesta
Valley. I was delighted to get into the "final push," and enjoyed the
few days' change from surveying to climbing, enormously; except that I
felt the cold very much in my feet, and had it not been for Mallory's
good offices--he rubbed my feet for a solid hour after we came down from
Chang La--I feel sure that the result might have been much more serious
than the slight discomfort I afterwards experienced.
I took three stations in the neighbourhood of No. 1 Camp--one on either
side of the Kh[=a]rta Glacier, and one at 22,300 feet on the "Lhakpa
La." This was on snow, with my instrument resting on, and steadied by,
bags of "tsampa"; which proved to be a most excellent substitute for
rock!
On September 26 I crossed with Colonel Bury and Wollaston to the K[=a]ma
Valley; unfortunately, we only had two clear days there, and I had to
leave it without covering as much ground as I should have liked,
though--as usual--I spent my days in snowstorms, hoping for breaks in
the clouds.
The return to Darjeeling via the Serpo La, L[=a]chen, and the Teesta
Valley, made a pleasant change from the Ph[=a]ri route; but again bad
weather spoiled our views, and we saw nothing at all of Kanchenjunga
and its neighbours. Raeburn went in by the usual road via Gangtok; Heron
and I followed the river--an excellent route in spite of the prevalence
of leeches--and reached Pashok on October 19. Heron went on to
Darjeeling, a further 18 miles, the same day. I followed on the 20th.
I enjoyed the Expedition and my work with it, thoroughly; but in my
opinion, Tibet, at any rate that portion of it in which we were, is a
place to have _been_, rather than one to go to!
APPENDIX III
A NOTE ON THE GEOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE EXPEDITION
BY A. M. HERON, D.Sc., F.G.S., Geological Survey of India.
The area geologically examined is somewhat over 8,000 square miles,
comprising the Tibetan portion of the Arun drainage area, with, in the
West, the headwaters of the Bhotia Kosi and its tributaries.
The circumstances of the Expedition were not favourable for work in any
detail, but an endeavour was made to traverse and map as large an area
as possible on a scale of 1/4-inch to the mile, on skeleton maps very
kindly furnished by Major Morshead and his surveyors as their
plane-tabling proceeded; my work must therefore be considered as a
geological reconnaissance pure and simple.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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