props
SHIP
On Ship in 1922 – Finch insisted on oxygen tank drills on the ship.
On Ship 1924: Passed time on ship by working out in the gym, tossing medicine ball and running laps of the deck to stay fit.
OTHER TRANSPORT
Once Mallory arrives in Darjeeling: Mallory reached the mansion in a rickshaw
CURRENCY
Tangkas/Thangka – Tibetan currency
Rupees – India currency
LUGGAGE AND CONVOY
Mallory had 35 pieces of personal luggage and arranged for the other expedition goods to follow.
1922: Dramatic convoy of ultimately more than 300 yaks, 50 mules, riding ponies for 13 sahibs, karma paul, and the 4 gurkha NCOs along w cows, donkeys, oxen and at any moment, between 50 and 100 Tibetan and Nepali porters.
Morshead reported to wife; “our messing and transport are lavish…compared w Bury’s frugal methods of last year’s trip”
1924 MALLORY and IRVINE’S LAST ATTEMPT: They had 8 porters each carrying 25 pound loads – sleeping bags – meta fuel and sever spare gas cylinders.
LODGING
LOW CAMPS: DAK BUNGALOWS: They reached a dak bungalow built of wood w four rooms w plates lamps and oil and library of old magazines beds mattresses and a chawkidar(guard) who provided firewood and milk. Notice on bungalow advised parties of 2 to travel w three servants: a cook, a bearer and a sweeper – the sweeper to clean bungalow toilets after use. The addition of a tiffin coolie to prepare picnics and assist the cook was optional but highly recommended. No coolie made to carry more than 50lbs and each to be paid a third the daily cost of a mule. If traveling to Tibet they were advised to carry several tins of biscuits, bottles of scented water, boxes of toilet soap as gifts for high officials, lamas and dzongpens. These were to be presented on a tray by a servant along w ceremonial khatas or scarves.
Lower down to camp at just under 18000ft – were bury and Wollaston – w mess tents and camp beds decent food and plenty of it.
Comforts of base camp: hot food and lots of it – spacious warm tents, camp beds and camp chairs.
They set up the mummery tent
GENERAL EQUIPMENT
Meade and mummery tents – sleeping sacks and goggles. Blankets. Ropes. Flashlights. Compasses. Gletscher creme face grease (sunscreen) and whale oil. Rucksacks – primus stoves – crampons – snow shoes – skis(never used)
TINKERER SHOP
FINCH – high altitude tinkerer shop with tools for O2 tanks and general tinkering. O2 cylinders and glass flasks, rubber mouth pieces and other O2 related equipment
Norton and Somervell from camp 6 attempt: they were off. Norton: “cardigans, a thermos flask of coffee and a vest pocket Kodak, nothing else save ice axes and a short rope.”
MARKERS
Bruce jr, Morris and dozen porters carried flags wooden stakes and rope to mark the upper route through the ice pinnacles
TECH EQUIPMENT
Their aneroid registered 26800ft.
Kodak cameras
SURVEY EQUIPMENT
Wheeler recorded highest point ever achieved by survey of India. In deep snow w theodolite and camera resting steady of tripod ice ax and bags of grain. Among the 10 porters that would carry on were 3 that had been w Wheeler.
MEDICINES
Whale oil
Cod oil – medicinal
Lead – medicinal
Gletscher creme face grease (sunscreen)
PERSONAL BELONGINGS
ON MALLORY: nail scissors and a penknife, a box of swan vesta matches, extra laces and straps, a tube of petroleum jelly and 2 handkerchiefs one burgundy, green and blue. And the other red, blue and yellow, each monogrammed GLM. He had a list of supplies scratched out on a bit of paper and three letters. One from Trafford his brother dated April 2. A second from sister Mary in Colombo April 12 and the third was from a woman he had met in NY.
Bury carried shotgun, rifle and three cameras.
Pipes – tobacco – cigarettes
Pens and journals
GAMES, ENTERTAINMENT AND LITERATURE
1924: Mallory climbed into a Whymper shared by Odell, Somervell and Irvine. He… pulled from his pack a set of playing cards and his well worn copy of The Spirit of Man. He read from the book recreating a similar situation from 1922.
They enjoyed the poems Kubla Khan, the Epitaph to Gray’s ‘Elegu”. And ‘Prometheus Unbound’
Finally they all gathered in one tent to play bridge. 3ft of fresh snow had fallen.
COOKING – HEAT
Water was a major problem. The primus stoves couldn’t be lit at that elevation. Melting ice by spirit lamp was adequate for tea but not sufficient for their needs.
Irvine had managed to start the Haddock cooker and then had hot soup.
Mallory et al had absolute alcohol for oil and for emergency purposed cylinders of white metaldehyde or meta – a solid that burned readily at the strike of a match. Meta was smokeless and highly efficient but in short supply.
To melt snow for water used alcohol in a spirit burner – took up much of the afternoon and yielded 6 large thermos flaks of tea for the following day.
FOOD AND DRINK
Butter tea and a plate of English biscuits. Then minced mutton and diced vegetables, eggs and macaroni. Which to the delight of everyone H-Bury tried to eat w a pair of chopsticks
Hundreds of cups of butter tea – more salt than tea – were had as a gesture of etiquette and protocol – but they never got used to the somewhat rancid flavor.
Mallory says he eats 1/4 lb on chocolate a day while climbing
Bury went hunting for gazelles. Bullock shot a bar-headed goose. Had soup then goose w peas and potatoes. Rice pudding and cocoa. satisfied them all
Later meal w another dzongpen. Momos to be washed down w soup chili sauce and chang.
Chang – barley beer. W dried fruit, nuts and eggs
Wheeler managed to make tea that stayed liquid as long as it was drunk immediately.
Heated consomme for dinner the night before.
Mallory melted sardines for breakfast
Tea, cocoa, and broth. Ham, biscuits, chocolate, figs, dates and raisins they had cold. But nobody had much of an appetite at that altitude.
Tea and several tins of sardines.
Bruce jr and Finch down to camp 3 – they were dead beat and famished. Noel served them a feast – four whole quails followed by 9 great sausages and still they asked for more. Finch took a tin of toffee to bed tucking it away in the crook of his elbow and slept for 14 hrs.
1922:
Gen Bruce would not be stingy on food as bury had been – the food filled some 900 light plywood boxed: cheeses and ham, bully beef, biscuits, oatmeal, dried soups – gingered lemons-tinned quail in aspic – finest French champagne and 120 year old run (for Bruce’s birthday on April 7)
Opened champagne to toast the future success of expedition.
When hiking above high camps: food, mint cake and sweet biscuits.
Others advance and join camp 3. Over lunch the climbers huddled together, each w a spoon eating from a common saucepan of spaghetti. The habit horrified Strutt.
Mallory’s climbing party of 4 – attempt: For food they had cocoa, pea soup, biscuits, ham and cheese. They went to bed at 430pm.
Set up camp 5 by 3pm the porters descended. The climbers had quick meal of tinned ham and hot Bovril.
DURING ATTEMPT: Turn around time was 230pm. At 215 they rested and ate chocolates mint cake acid drops raisins and prunes.
DESCENT after failed attempt: They paused only for a nip of brandy then descended to camp 5. They found Morshead fine and ready to descend.
They had stew using blocks of solid fuel.
1924:
When General gave up hope of returning to expedition – he sent his bottles of family rum up to the men as well as champagne. So cold the champagne bottles froze and shattered.
Kami the cook made a hot meal, mutton and veg stew washed down by cool coffee. No soup and the cheese and jam were frozen solid.
Met w Dzatrul Rinpoche and the climbing party shared a meal of minced meat and macaroni. Radishes and hot peppers.
Cocoa, pea soup and tongue.
Norton Somervell had pemmican, bully beef, coffee and biscuits in their bellies.
Mallory’s last climb: Odell and hazard made the climbers a breakfast of fried sardines, biscuits, chocolate and tea.
MALLORY and IRVINE’S LAST ATTEMPT: For food they packed light: high energy snacks mostly: chocolate, ginger nuts, macaroni, sliced ham and tongue. Kendal mint cakes and tea canned milk, strawberry jam (all they had to quench their thirst – Somervell and Norton)
Somervell drank 17 mugs of tea. Somervell said “it was thirst that did me in and nothing else” he said even as Wakefield bound up his black swollen hands.
OFFERINGS/GIFTS
Dzongpen arrived w gifts – 5 sheep, 100 eggs and small carpet.
1922
Dzatrul Rinpoche – served them butter tea yogurt and rice. He said the Brits asked for his protection, permission to gather firewood and vowed not to kill any creatures. Then he said he “sent down a trunk of meat, four bricks of tea and one bowl of flour according to our local tradition of hospitality”
Gift of a watch from Noel to Rinpoche
BOOKS/LITERATURE
ON EXPEDITION 1922: Mallory books – Shakespeare’s plays and copy of Robert Bridges wartime anthology the spirit of man – poety and short prose in 1915 to buck up soldier morale. Also Virginia Woolf’s book “Night and Day”
MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS REFERENCED
In 1912 Badminton Magazine asked why the summit of Everest had yet to be conquered 25 million pounds had been exhausted for quest of north pole 400 men had died and 200 ships been lost and still no serious effort on Everest, hardly a farthing spent and not a life lost.
TIMES – had exclusive rights to the Everest stories
SPONSORS/ADS
All manufacturers hit up by Hinks reaped benefits w Everest photos selling playing cards, cigarettes, newspapers Kodak film, mint candies, gabardine jackets, work boots, jam and jellies, butter and bully beef.
MUSIC
Only clanging of Tibetan music mentioned during Tibetan ‘devil dancing’
And Somervell composing the music for Noel’s film after 1922 expedition
Mallory on receiving mail “its always a wonderful moment… When mail comes and love flies in among us and nestles in every tent”
Mail v important – not only receiving it but the reply-vent, share thoughts, fears etc.
1924:
Postcards made up w mountain and swastika that for a small fee kids could write down their address and it would be mailed to them from the foot of the mountain. (As good as getting a postcard postmarked from the moon.