In the 1920s the Himalayas were one of the most inaccessible places on earth. Both the North and South Poles had been successfully reached before any Westerner lay a foot near Mount Everest. Although Western climbers, such as Edward Norton, George Mallory and Howard Somervell were climbing into the unknown, the mountain was far from unknown to the Indigenous Himalayans who called the region their home. For those living in the shadow of the mountain it was an object of reverence and a source of spirituality.
The 1924 Mount Everest Expedition was an important moment in the history of Himalayan mountaineering. It was the culmination of the 1921 and 1922 expeditions and cemented a global public fascination with the world’s highest mountain. The unparalleled coverage of the 1924 expedition – memorably captured on film by the expedition’s official photographer, John Noel, and shown across the world in the resulting feature film The Epic of Everest – combined with the drama surrounding the disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, placed the mountain squarely in the Western public mind.
Marking the centenary of the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition, this exhibition draws on the full breadth of the Society’s Collection material relating to the Everest expeditions of the 1920s and attempts to set the expedition in its historical context, showcasing the photographs of John Noel, Bentley Beetham, Andrew Irvine and others, and drawing attention to the stories and invaluable contributions of the indigenous intermediaries – the translators, negotiators, officials, porters and climbers – without whom the expedition just would not have been possible.
Early Himalayan Surveying
Indigenous Himalayans have known and interacted with Everest for centuries. Tibetans knew the peak as Chomolungma, while it was Sagarmatha to the Nepalese. The Chinese were also familiar with the region; they surveyed the area between 1708 and 1716 and the mountain appeared as part of a group called Jumu Lungma Alin on a Jesuit map (1717–18) based on these observations. Jean-Baptiste D’Anville, a French geographer and cartographer, later integrated the information into the first European map of the area, ‘Carte Générale du Tibet ou Bout-tan et des Pays de Kashgar et Hami’ (1733).
In the late eighteenth century, James Rennell, Surveyor General of Bengal, carried out a comprehensive survey of eastern India and suggested that the Himalayan mountains could be the highest in the world. His survey led to the Great Trigonometrical Survey (GTS), a project that aimed to survey the entire Indian sub-continent, described by Clements Markham, President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1893 to 1905, as “one of the most stupendous works in the whole history of science”.
The GTS was not allowed to carry its work beyond the frontiers of India so could not directly survey the Himalayas, but they were able to make accurate observations of the mountains from multiple stations in India. The chief computer, Radhanath Sikdar, a Bengali, reported that their observations indicated that ‘Peak XV’ was probably the tallest in the world. Local names for the mountain were ignored by the survey, resulting in Andrew Waugh, the current Surveyor General, naming the mountain Everest, after Sir George Everest, Waugh’s predecessor and former Superintendent of the GTS.
The GTS was still keen to survey the foothills of the Himalayas and so Thomas Montgomerie, who joined the GTS in 1851, realised the solution was to train a team of Indians in surveying techniques. Disguised as traders or lamas (holy men), the pundits, travelled for years, often in dangerous situations, surveying thousands of miles of routes through the Himalayas. They not only helped to fill in the details on the Survey of India maps but provided valuable geographical and cultural knowledge of the region. For Everest, one of the most important of these surveyors was Hari Ram.
In the early twentieth century, small groups of Europeans managed to approach the mountain and its surroundings. In 1904, as part of the military expedition to Lhasa led by Sir Francis Younghusband, Charles Henry Dudley Ryder, Cecil G. Rawling, Frederick M. Bailey and Henry Wood surveyed the Kara La Pass, photographed the mountain and confirmed Everest’s status as the highest peak in the world. The immediate environs of the mountain, however, remained unrecorded.
The first large-scale concerted effort to reconnoitre the mountain occurred in 1921 when the Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition mapped an area the size of Switzerland, performing a general survey at four miles to an inch and a detailed survey of the approach at one mile to an inch. The expedition produced a high-resolution map in three sheets at one mile to an inch, showing the mountain’s glaciers and possible routes to the top from the north, and created a detailed photographic record of the approaches to Everest.
Early Himalayan Photography
Following Radhanath Sikdar’s calculation of the height of Peak XV and Andrew Waugh’s subsequent announcement to the Royal Geographical Society, naming Everest as the world’s loftiest peak, Western interest in the Himalayan region grew. However, it would be more than 50 years before an organised Western expedition was sent to Everest with the aim of climbing the world’s highest mountain. Everest and the Eastern Himalayas were simply too inaccessible, both geographically and politically.
During the latter part of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century Europeans travelled to the more accessible Western Himalayas, capturing some of the earliest photographs of the landscape and culture of the region. One of the earliest photographers to visit the area was Samuel Bourne, who spent six years photographing the landscape and architecture of India and the Himalayas in the 1860s. Other early records include photographs of Kashmir and the Spiti Valley, commissioned by Frith & Co, an English photographic publishing company.
Some of the earliest photographs of the Himalayas in the Society’s Collections are those of John Claude White (1853-1918). Originally working as an engineer in Bengal, Nepal and Darjeeling, White later served as Political Officer in Sikkim from 1889-1908. White was also involved in British political relations in Tibet and Bhutan, joining Lord Curzon’s 1903-4 military mission to Lhasa. Through his work, White travelled widely, meeting the officials and people of the region.
An amateur photographer, White was able to capture stunning photographs of the people and landscapes of Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet at a critical juncture in the history of the region. His photographic work, taken on its own merit, is a striking political record of the times and those he encountered.
'Group of nuns at the nunnery at Taktsang'. Photographer: John Claude White, 1904. rgs030163, S0000699
‘Kampa Dzong’. John Claude White spent several months at Kampa Dzong during the initial stages of the controversial 1903-04 British military mission to Tibet, led by Francis Younghusband. Whilst there he took a series of striking photographs of the fortress of Kampa Dzong. Photographer: John Claude White, 1904. rgs030160, S0005951
'Kampa Dzong'. Photographer: John Claude White, 1904. rgs030159, S0001033
‘The Abbot of Kampa Dzong’. An amateur photographer, John Claude White spent 21 years in the foothills of the Himalayas as a Political Officer. Writing in his book ‘Sikhim & Bhutan: twenty-one years on the North-east Frontier, 1887-1908’, White warmly reflected how he ‘became acquainted with every head man and ... every villager’ and how, as the years passed, he ‘grew to love the work, the country and the people.’ John Claude White, 1904. rgs030154, S0012136
Another notable contributor to early Himalayan photography was Alexander Kellas (1868-1921), a chemist and mountaineer, who in the early twentieth century knew more about the physical approaches to Everest than anyone else. Kellas made a remarkable series of climbs between 1909 and 1914, achieving some notable first ascents. His ascent of Pauhunri (23,386 ft/7,128 m) in 1911, with two Sherpas named Sona and Tuny, remained an altitude climbing record for many years, although not realized at the time due to an underestimation of the mountain’s height.
Kellas’ photographic record of his climbs contains some of the earliest images to document the contribution and role of Indigenous Himalayans in supporting expeditions. The Society holds Kellas’ Sanderson plate field camera used on his Himalayan travels and over 500 of his photographs within its Collections.
“I, who knew Kellas well, believe that if he had not died, Everest would have been conquered by now, and by nothing other than this – the combination of Kellas’s Himalayan knowledge and Mallory’s dash.”
– JOHN NOEL, Through Tibet to Everest (1927)
The 1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition
With both the North and South Poles reached in the early part of the twentieth century, all eyes turned to the so-called “Third Pole”: Everest. Having lost the race to both Poles, the British were keen to claim the third.
The beginning of a serious British attempt to climb Mount Everest can be said to date to 1905 when Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, contacted Douglas Freshfield, who at different times was President of both the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society, with the offer of £3,000 from the British Government of India towards the cost of mounting an expedition to either Everest or Kangchenjunga. Unfortunately, the Secretary of State for India, John Morley, vetoed the expedition and for the time being plans were put on hold.
In 1920 Sir Francis Younghusband, President of the Royal Geographical Society (1919–1922), assisted by Charles Howard-Bury, and Sir Charles Bell, the British Political Officer for Bhutan, Sikkim and Tibet, received permission from the Tibetan authorities for an expedition to Mount Everest in 1921.
A joint committee, named the Mount Everest Committee, formed of senior members of the Alpine Club and Royal Geographical Society, was set up to co-ordinate and finance a reconnaissance expedition. In recognition of his assistance, leadership was given to Howard-Bury. The climbers chosen for the expedition were Harold Raeburn, a 56-year old veteran of the Cairngorms and Alps; Alexander Kellas, who at 52 had already climbed higher than any other European climber; George Mallory, considered the best climber of his generation; and Henry Bullock, a friend of Mallory who replaced George Finch, who had been originally selected but later rejected on medical grounds. The surveying team, from the Survey of India, consisted of Henry Morshead, Edward O. Wheeler, Lalbir Singh Thapa and Gujjar Singh.
The expedition rendezvoused in Darjeeling and engaged the services of a young Tibetan schoolmaster named Karma Paul, who was fluent in many languages, including Tibetan, Nepali and English. He served as the translator for this and future British expeditions and also assisted with the recruitment of the expedition porters, including Sherpas for the high-altitude porterage.
In mid-May they set off on the 300-mile march to Everest, mapping as they went. Towards the end of May, near Kampa Dzong, Kellas was taken ill and tragically died.
Four weeks after Kellas’s death the expedition reached the Rongbuk Monastery and began to look for a way to approach the mountain.
‘The Abbot of Shekar Chote’. Copies of this photograph of the Abbot were often given as gifts by later expedition members to Tibetans, who placed the image in shrines to worship. Photographer: C. K. Howard-Bury, 1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition. MEE21/0327, S0015143
‘Monks and the Administrator at Shekar Tschöde Monastery.’ Photographer: C. K. Howard-Bury, 1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition. MEE21/0339, S0027925
‘Advanced Base Camp looking east’. Photographer: C. K. Howard-Bury, 1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition. MEE21/0179, S0020940
‘Camp at 20,000 feet - Everest in the distance with wind on summit’. Photographer: A. F. R. Wollaston, 1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition. MEE21/0109, S0020981
The 1922 Mount Everest Expedition
Following the success of the reconnaissance expedition, the Mount Everest Committee launched a second expedition in 1922. It was led by Charles Granville Bruce, an officer in the Gurkha Rifles, and included George Mallory; Tom Longstaff; Howard Somervell, a surgeon and amateur artist; Edward Norton, a career soldier and experienced climber; Geoffrey Bruce, cousin of Charles; and John Noel, who was to create a photographic record of the expedition. Also included on the expedition was George Finch, an Australian physical chemist who had conducted experiments in a high-altitude chamber in Oxford with Georges Dreyer and P. J. H. Unna. Finch had helped to develop a practical oxygen set for high-altitude climbing and was determined to prove its worth on the expedition.
The use of supplementary oxygen was a matter of debate for the climbing community in the 1920s with some believing it to be unsporting and some believing it was unsafe. The first recorded use in the Himalayas was in 1907 during Tom Longstaff’s ascent of Trisul.
A decade later, Alexander Kellas presented a paper to the Royal Geographical Society which discussed the physiological and physical challenges of climbing the highest Himalayan peaks. Kellas’ research with supplementary oxygen during his ascent of Kamet in 1920 helped to inform the planning of the 1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition and bottled oxygen was taken in 1921 but due to Kellas’s death on the approach to Mount Everest it was never used.
“I would remind the accuser that, by the inhalation of a little life-giving gas, the climber does not smooth away the rough rocks of the mountain or still the storm; nor is he an Aladdin who, by a rub on a magic ring, is wafted by invisible agents to his goal. Oxygen renders available more of his store of energy and so hastens his steps, but it does not, alas! fit the wings of Mercury on his feet. The logic of the anti-oxygenist is surely faulty.”
- GEORGE FINCH, The Geographical Journal, December 1922
The first attempt on the summit was made on 21 May 1922, by Norton, Somervell and Mallory, without supplementary oxygen. They reached 26,985ft (8,225m) and became the first to climb higher than 8,000m. Using the supplementary oxygen and aided by Sherpa porters, Finch and Geoffrey Bruce, along with a young Gurkha soldier named Lans-Naik Tejbir Bura, made a second attempt.
A storm forced them to spend the night and following day sheltering in their tent before they were able to continue. Soon, Tejbir Bura, carrying a greater weight than the other two climbers, was forced to turn back, exhausted, but Bruce and Finch went on, reaching 27,300ft (8,321m) and setting a new altitude record. ‘English air’, as it was called by the porters, had proved a success, demonstrating that climbers using supplementary oxygen had an advantage over those that didn’t.
‘Everest breakfast stop’. Photographer: J. B. Noel, 1922 Mount Everest Expedition. MEE22/0557, S0000015
‘Seracs - East Rongbuk Glacier above Camp II’. Photographer: G. Finch, 1922 Mount Everest Expedition. MEE22/0663, S0004978
George Mallory and Edward Norton approach their record setting high point of 26,985 feet on the north-east ridge of Mount Everest. Photographer: T. H. Somervell, 1922 Mount Everest Expedition. MEE22/0427, S0001265
‘The Second Climbing Party descending from their record climb’. The photograph shows George Finch and Geoffrey Bruce as they head back to Camp IV at approximately 23,000ft (7,010m) on 27 May 1922. Photographer: A. Wakefield, 1922 Mount Everest Expedition. MEE22/0667, S0001019
‘Descending Chang La after second attempt’. Photographer: T. H. Somervell, 1922 Mount Everest Expedition. MEE22/0424, S0020997
‘Bringing down Geoffrey Bruce through the seracs to Camp ll’. This photograph shows Geoffrey Bruce (middle), with his badly frostbitten feet, being helped down by George Finch (left) and Tejbir Bura (right). The photograph is credited to Finch, but most likely taken by another team member, 1922 Mount Everest Expedition. MEE22/0660, S0001020
On 3 June, a third attempt by Mallory, Somervell and Colin Crawford ended in disaster when at 21,800 feet on the North Col an avalanche swept the climbers and their porters over an ice cliff. Tragically, seven of the porters died. Their names were Dorje, Lhakpa, Norbu, Pasang, Pema, Sange and Temba. These deaths provided a sombre end to the 1922 expedition, the tragedy becoming the first recorded deaths on Mount Everest.
“The regret of all members of the Expedition for the loss of our seven porters will have been elsewhere expressed. It is my part only to add this: the work of carrying up our camps on Mount Everest is beyond the range of a simple contract measured in terms of money; the porters had come to have a share in our enterprise, and these men died in an act of voluntary service freely rendered and faithfully performed.”
- GEORGE MALLORY, Assault on Mount Everest, 1922
Indigenous Intermediaries
The work of Indigenous Himalayans was hugely important to the success of the Mount Everest expeditions. The British depended heavily on their physical labour, skills and local knowledge, not only to transport provisions, negotiate with local authorities, and assist on climbs at the higher altitudes, but also to safely navigate them through the unfamiliar Himalayan environments. The contributions and roles of indigenous people were extremely varied and could be seen across the expedition’s workforce and included interpreters, cobblers, tailors, plant collectors, photographic porters and cooks.
Some proved indispensable, such as Karma Paul; first recruited on the 1922 Mount Everest Expedition, he went on to take part in subsequent expeditions up to 1938. Although his main role was to act as interpreter in the expedition’s negotiations with local authorities, Paul’s role expanded with each expedition and his status on the expedition rose accordingly. By the 1936 expedition he can be seen in photographs dressed in Tibetan robes, deliberating with the British climbers.
‘General Bruce arranging transport with Jongpens’. Karma Paul can be seen seated between Bruce and the dzongpen (district governor). Photographer: J. B. Noel, 1922 Mount Everest Expedition. MEE22-0577, S0020991
‘Karma Paul with the Dzongpen of Shekar’. Karma Paul’s interpretation skills and knowledge of Tibetan customs was vital in negotiations with local governors. Photographer: C. J. Morris, 1922 Mount Everest Expedition. Image later hand-tinted by John Noel. MEE22/0275, S0028666
Western attitudes towards porters and other Indigenous Intermediaries reflected the cultural attitudes of the times; recognition of their invaluable work was limited and they were often regarded as inferior members of the team. However, some climbers were quick to realize their value. Alexander Kellas, who made several successful expeditions to the Himalayas in the first two decades of the twentieth century, was one of the first Europeans to recognise the Sherpas’ abilities and championed them as porters on future Everest expeditions.
Edward Norton, leader of the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition, wrote in his account of the 1924 expedition, The Fight for Everest: 1924, that the high-altitude porters were:
“[a] splendid body of men, on whose shoulders we literally climbed Mount Everest.”
Attitudes were increasingly challenged through the 1920s and 1930s and by the 1950s, Sherpas such as Tenzing Norgay were increasingly being regarded as equal climbing partners. However, today, Sherpas are still calling for improvements to working conditions and increased wages to better reflect their essential contribution to expeditions and to protect themselves and their families from the risks involved in the dangerous and demanding work.
The 1924 Mount Everest Expedition
The tragic end to the 1922 expedition did little to dampen British enthusiasm for climbing Mount Everest and another expedition was organized for 1924. Leadership was again given to Charles Granville Bruce. However, Bruce fell ill with malaria at the start of the expedition and Edward Norton took over the role. Also included were Geoffrey Bruce, Noel Odell, Howard Somervell, Edward Shebbeare, Richard Hingston, Bentley Beetham, John de Vars Hazard, George Mallory, Andrew Irvine and John Noel, who made a substantial donation to the expedition in exchange for sole rights to the cinematic and photographic output. A notable absentee was George Finch.
“… no trouble has been spared to equip this Third Expedition after fullest consideration of the experiences of previous years, and the Committee feel confident that if only the weather is kind we shall learn this year the extreme of human possibility, which it may be predicted will not fall short of the summit.”
– ‘The Mount Everest Expedition of 1924’, The Geographical Journal, April 1924
Although he was one of the first selected for the 1924 expedition, George Mallory expressed some misgivings about returning to the mountain. He would need to obtain leave from his work as a lecturer with the Cambridge University Extramural Studies Department and he was also concerned about leaving his wife Ruth and three young children again; out of the past three years more than 12 months had been spent on expedition. However, the pull of the mountain was strong and with the intervention of various people, Mallory’s doubts were allayed. In November 1923 he wrote to Arthur Hinks, Secretary of the Mount Everest Committee:
“Just a line to let you know that I’m now quite determined to go out again. Rather a try altogether, but I’m very happy now it is decided. The doctors think me A1 …”
At 22, the youngest member of the expedition was Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine, a champion rower, who helped Oxford to victory in the Boat Race in 1924, and a gifted engineer. Irvine had recently returned from an expedition to Spitsbergen, where he had impressed fellow expeditioner, Tom Longstaff, who sat on the selection panel for the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition. Irvine’s engineering ability also went in his favour, and along with Odell he was assigned responsibility for the supplementary oxygen.
Once the British climbers arrived in Darjeeling recruitment began for the varying roles filled by Indigenous Himalayans, including cooks, porters, bootmakers, interpreters and high-altitude climbers. The expedition retained the services of Karma Paul and Gyalzen Kazi, both recruited as interpreters and Kazi as sirdar (co-ordinator) of the porters. Also selected were Moti, the cobbler, and Rhombu, the naturalist, both of whom had taken part in the 1922 expedition. Four Gurkha non-commissioned officers were also seconded to the expedition.
Journey through Tibet and establishment of camps
The expedition party departed Darjeeling on 25 March 1924, heading north and rapidly gaining altitude as they went. Crossing the Jelep La (Pass) at 14,390ft (4,386m), they arrived in Tibet and followed the Chumbi Valley to the town of Phari. They were now on the Tibetan Plateau and, turning west, they followed the route familiar from the previous expeditions.
Between Shekar and Rongbuk, just over 150 Tibetans, including men, women and children, were recruited with permission from the Dzongpen of Shekar to transport the provisions from Base Camp to Camps I and II. The expedition party arrived at Rongbuk Monastery at the end of April and shortly after established Base Camp at 16,800ft (5,120m).
On 30 April, they began the next stage of the expedition: establishing three camps on the East Rongbuk Glacier and a camp on the North Col (Camp IV).
Supervised by the Gurkha NCOs, the Tibetan porters provisioned Camps I and II without any issues. Camps III and IV were to prove a much harder proposition and on 11 May, after several days of severe cold and ferocious winds, Norton decided on a general retreat, with all climbers and porters returning to Base Camp to recuperate.
On the way down, Man Bahadur, one of the cobblers, died of pneumonia following severe frostbite in both feet, and Lance-Naik Shamsherpun, one of the Gurkhas, suffered a brain haemorrhage. Only major surgery could have saved them, and they both tragically died and were buried in a sheltered spot near to Base Camp. Following the loss of Shamsherpun, Norton wrote:
“By his death the expedition were the poorer of a gallant and loyal young man, who had worked with the most conspicuous and whole-hearted zeal throughout.”
After a few days rest at Base Camp the weather improved sufficiently for the reoccupation of the glacier camps and by the end of 19 May, the expedition was now in full occupation at Camp III.
The expedition’s next challenge was to find a safe route up to the North Col and establish Camp IV. George Mallory and Edward Norton led the way with Noel Odell and Lhakpa Tsering, followed by relays of Sherpa porters.
Camp IV was successfully established on 21 May, however, the weather conditions again deteriorated, forcing the climbers to retreat for the second time.
“… we struggled to establish ourselves on the North Col. Looking back on it all now one realizes that it was really the decisive one. In a sense we won, for we did succeed in establishing Camp IV on its selected position, yet the effort left the party so weakened that our ultimate failure became almost a foregone conclusion.”
– EDWARD NORTON, The Fight for Everest, 1924
After recuperating, fifteen of the fittest and strongest Sherpa porters, nicknamed the “Tigers”, were chosen to finish establishing the higher camps, including Norbu Yishe, Lhakpa Chjedi, Semchumbi, Dorjay Pasang and Lobsang Tashi.
With the monsoon looming, a plan was also made for an attempt on the summit at the earliest possible opportunity: Mallory and Bruce were to make the first attempt, Norton and Somervell the second, with Odell and Irvine in support for both at Camp IV.
The climbers had now reached the point where their plans and dreams could be fulfilled.
The North Face
The initial push for the summit was made on 1 June 1924 by George Mallory and Geoffrey Bruce, supported by eight of the “Tigers”. However, once beyond the jumble of ice seracs and crevasses above the North Col, they were buffeted by a strong northeasterly wind.
They eventually positioned Camp V at 25,200 feet (7,681 m) on the lee side of the ridge but the following morning, the porters were too exhausted to continue and Mallory and Bruce had no choice but to abandon the attempt and return to the North Col.
“Progress up the north ridge of Everest does not lend itself to description. It is a fight against the wind and altitude, generally on rock, sometimes on snow, at an average angle of 45°.”
– EDWARD NORTON, The Fight for Everest, 1924
As Mallory and Bruce headed back, the expedition’s second summit attempt began. This party comprised of Edward Norton, Howard Somervell and six “Tigers”.
Shortly after leaving the North Col they were surprised and disappointed to see Mallory, Bruce, Dorjay Pasang and three other porters descending towards them.
Beyond the shelter of Camp IV, they too were buffeted by very strong winds. Norton later recalled how the bitter wind:
“… took our breath away like a plunge into the icy waters of a mountain lake, and in a minute or two our well-protected hands lost all sensation as they grasped the frozen rocks to steady us.”
However, good fortune was with them and they reached Camp V by about 1pm, and rested for the night.
The weather continued fine the next day and Norton, Somervell, Norbu Yishe, Lhakpa Chjedi and Semchumbi reached 26,800 feet (8,169m), where they pitched a tent for Camp VI before the three porters returned to the North Col.
Norton and Somervell departed camp at 6.40am the following morning, reaching the Great Couloir by midday. Shortly after, Somervell had to stop due to throat trouble so Norton continued alone, eventually reaching an altitude of 28,126 feet (8,573 metres). His altitude record, without supplementary oxygen, would not be broken, with certainty, until 1952.
During their descent Somervell nearly choked to death when he suffered another bout of coughing and a part of the mucus membrane of his larynx broke free, blocking his windpipe. While Norton walked on unaware, Somervell struggled to breathe. Miraculously, he managed to dislodge the obstruction by pummelling his chest and spitting it out.
They continued down, signalling with their torches as they approached the North Col in darkness. Mallory and Odell climbed to meet them and congratulated them on establishing a new height record. However, Norton later recalled:
“We ourselves felt nothing but grievous disappointment at our failure.”
The last climb of Mallory and Irvine
Having helped Norton and Somervell back to Camp IV, Mallory announced to Norton that he was determined to have one more go at the summit.
Norton later recalled how he was:
“… full of admiration for the indomitable spirit of the man, determined, in spite of his already excessive exertions, not to admit defeat while any chance remained.”
Mallory planned to make the attempt with oxygen and chose as his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine. Many climbers, including Norton, thought Odell would have been the preferred choice of climbing partner for Mallory because he was deemed fitter, had more climbing experience and had equal knowledge of the oxygen equipment.
On 6 June 1924, Odell took what was to be the last photograph of Mallory and Irvine as they prepared to set off with eight porters from Camp IV. They departed camp at around 7.30am and reached Camp V in good time.
Four of the porters returned to the North Col while the remaining four continued the climb with Mallory and Irvine to Camp VI. Mallory had never climbed with oxygen before but both he and Irvine used their oxygen sets part of the way, hoping to give their attempt every advantage.
On reaching Camp VI, Mallory wrote two short notes to be sent down with the remaining porters. The first was to John Noel, informing him of the best place to look for Irvine and himself as they headed for the summit the next day:
“Dear Noel, we'll probably start early to-morrow (8th) in order to have clear weather. It won't be too early to start looking out for us either crossing the rock band under the pyramid or going up skyline at 8.0pm. Yours ever, G. Mallory.”
The time 8pm was meant to read 8am.
A second note was sent down to Odell, apologising for leaving the camp in a mess and to inform him that they had used little oxygen to 27,000 feet. Mallory finished on a note of optimism, noting it was “perfect weather for the job”. The porters carrying these two notes down to the North Col were the last to speak to Mallory and Irvine before they set off on what was to be their final climb.
Into the mist
Noel Odell acted as support for Mallory and Irvine on their final push for the summit, following behind the climbers to ensure the camps were provisioned and assistance was available when the weary climbers returned.
During his support climb between Camp V and VI, he famously sighted what he believed to be the two climbers progressing up the summit ridge, before the scene was covered in cloud and the two climbers disappeared into the mist.
Odell’s account of his sighting was recorded in the Society’s Geographical Journal in December 1924:
“… as I reached the top there was a sudden clearing above me and I saw the whole summit ridge and final peak of Everest unveiled. I noticed far away on a snow-slope leading up to the last step but one from the base of the final pyramid, a tiny object moving and approaching the rock step. A second object followed, and then the first climbed to the top of the step. As I stood intently watching this dramatic appearance, the scene became enveloped in cloud, and I could not actually be certain that I saw the second figure join the first … I could see they were moving expeditiously as if endeavouring to make up for lost time.”
Odell carried out a remarkable series of climbs in search of Mallory and Irvine, staying at an altitude of over 7,000m for 11 nights and making two lone searches for the lost climbers up to 26,903ft (8,200m).
However, his search was in vain and the expedition’s worst fears were realised - Mallory and Irvine had been tragically lost on the mountain.
The expedition returned to Base Camp, where Somervell and Beetham supervised the building of a memorial cairn bearing the names of Mallory, Irvine, Man Bahadur and Shamsherpun, along with the names of those lost on the 1921 and 1922 Everest expeditions.
Numerous theories and speculation have surrounded the mystery of their disappearance ever since. Odell’s sighting of Mallory and Irvine was doubted by many from the climbing community, however, some climbers, including Norton, thought it highly possible that they may have reached the summit.
Mallory’s body was eventually discovered on 1 May 1999 at 26,800ft (8,169m), 75 years after his disappearance. In October 2024 the preserved remains of Irvine’s foot and boot were found by a team of climbers filming a National Geographic documentary. It is hoped the discovery, revealed by the melting ice of the Central Rongbuk Glacier, could reveal clues to solve the century old mystery of Mallory and Irvine's disappearance.
John Noel, Expedition Photographer
Having filmed the 1922 Mount Everest Expedition, John Noel was keen to film the 1924 expedition and bought control of all rights and management of film and photography from the Mount Everest Committee (MEC). Noel brought with him a focus on storytelling that would both promote and monetize the expedition in the way that Frank Hurley had done with his film of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition (1914–17), just a few years before.
‘Captain Noel kinematographing the ascent of Mt. Everest from the Chang La'. One of Noel's Sherpa porters can be seen steadying the tripod. Photograph previously credited to Noel but possibly taken by a porter, 1922 Mount Everest Expedition. MEE22/0602, S0001250.
Kinematographing on a scree slope. Noel’s photographic porters carried the heavy equipment up difficult and dangerous terrain. Photograph previously credited to Noel but possibly taken by a porter, 1924 Mount Everest Expedition. MEE24/1294, S0021056
Rather than experiencing the same difficulties he had suffered processing film in a tent at Base Camp during the 1922 expedition, Noel organized the building of a film laboratory in Darjeeling for the 1924 expedition and planned to send a series of runners to carry the day’s film footage the 100 miles for processing.
John Noel was a true innovator in both photography and cinematography and was keen to experiment with colour to attract audiences keen to experience the expeditionary journey. Noel’s aim was to display the colour of Tibetan culture and Himalayan landscapes, as well as the expedition party and their progress up the mountain, and the resulting film would see Noel add colour tints to sections of his final edit.
“Noel was absolutely indefatigable in his efforts to record every phase of the daily life and of the achievements of the Expedition. He was usually off ahead of the main party in the morning and was the last to arrive in camp in the evening. At some carefully chosen view-point en route we would find him waiting for us, with his elaborate apparatus trained upon the track ...”
- BENTLEY BEETHAM, The Fight for Everest
The expedition’s dramatic end led to greater interest in Noel’s film of the expedition, The Epic of Everest (1924). Noel adapted his film to focus on the mystical mountain and the struggle of “Man against Nature”. The film broke new ground in documentary filmmaking and was heralded by film critics.
'The Affair of the Dancing Lamas'
‘The Affair of the Dancing Lamas’ was a diplomatic controversy surrounding John Noel’s film The Epic of Everest (1924). The loss of Mallory and Irvine on the mountain forced Noel to reconfigure his film, drawing the focus away from the expedition’s failure, towards the mystery of the mountain and the expedition’s encounters with the Tibetan people.
Noel chose to create a more theatrical experience and hired a set designer to convert the stage of the New Scala Theatre, London, into a Tibetan courtyard, with Himalayan peaks painted on the backdrops.
Lhakpa Tsering, a Sherpa porter at Mallory and Irvine’s highest camps, and seven "Tibetan lamas", the majority of who were in fact novice monks, were invited by Noel to travel from Gyantse to London to tour with the film and perform a live prologue with religious music, chants and dances.
The visit of the “dancing lamas” to London in December 1924 caused a sensation, with the British Press mocking the monks. Newspaper headlines, such as ‘Bishop to dance on stage … music from skulls’ and ‘Thibet: land of devils and demons’, were based on orientalist stereotypes, ridiculing the monks and Tibetan culture. In a series of publicity stunts, the monks were invited to department stores, the Houses of Parliament, London Zoo and the London Broadcasting station.
The depiction of Tibetan culture in The Epic of Everest and news of the "dancing lamas" inevitably reached Tibet, deeply offending the Dalai Lama and provoking outrage and an official diplomatic protest from the Tibetan government.
The Mount Everest Committee attempted to distance itself from the controversy by attributing blame to John Hazard for his unauthorised detour in Tibet at the end of the expedition.
The legacy of the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition took many forms. The dramatic end to the expedition and the expression of public grief led to greater interest in John Noel’s film, The Epic of Everest (1924). The controversies over Noel’s film led to a breakdown in Anglo–Tibetan relations and the cancellation of Mount Everest expeditions for almost a decade. However, the expedition inspired young Sherpas such as Tenzing Norgay and Ang Tharkay to take part in future expeditions and through the work of the surveyor, Hari Singh Thapa, contributed further detailed observations to the mapping of Everest.
This online exhibition showcases content from the Society’s exhibition Everest 24: early views of the world's highest mountain, held in the Society’s Pavilion from 7 May to 11 June 2024. The exhibition drew on content from the Society's new book Everest 24: new views on the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition, released earlier this year to mark the centenary of the expedition.
Copies of the book are available to buy through Stanfords and all good bookshops, as well as in person in the Foyle Reading Room at the Society. Society members receive a 10% discount at Stanfords.
A selection of prints from the exhibition can be purchased through the Society's Print Store
Exhibition curated by Jools Cole and Jamie Owen, with contributions from Eugene Rae, Dr Katherine Parker, Professor Felix Driver, Dr Jan Faull, Peter Gillman, Dr Peter H. Hansen and Dr Jonathan Westaway. Digital exhibition created by Jools Cole.
The Society would like to thank:
Professor Felix Driver
Dr Jan Faull, Peter Gillman, Dr Peter H. Hansen, Dr Jonathan Westaway
Riverside Press
Supported by:
Notes about measurements and spellings
When referencing heights, we have used the pre-metric measurements first as these were in common usage during the Everest expeditions of the 1920s. The height given to Mount Everest in the 1920s was 29,002 feet. This was revised on several occasions, including a height of 29,028 feet, established by the Survey of India between 1952 and 1954, which was widely accepted and used by mapping agencies and researchers. However, in 2020, both China and Nepal agreed on a new height of 29,032 feet.
Place names have been given the latest anglicised versions, with occasional variations. However, quoted material, including some image captions (shown within quotation marks) have been kept in the original style and spelling.
Many of the Everest images and archives within the Collections of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) were listed and catalogued shortly after the return of the expeditions to Britain. The text of these descriptions and captions is preserved as a source of context and information for researchers. Use of such historical terms in this exhibition is intended for this purpose only and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Society or of mountaineers today.
All images © Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) unless stated otherwise.