Spread Eagle -- Mt. Everest

No true lover of sport failed to get excited during the summer of 1925 when the newspapers were full of reports from the Mt. Everest Expedition which made two valiant attempts on the peak, and which lost two of its daring climbers, Mallory and Irvine. The world waited in breathless suspense for news of victory over the highest peak on the face of the earth: but instead came the news of defeat and death, the climax of the greatest known mountain expedition.

Many Harvard men will gladly remember the lecture of Captain John Noel one evening two years ago at the Harvard Union, where he showed a complete moving picture record of the expedition. Captain Noel was appointed photographer of both expeditions to Mt. Everest, and therefore is regarded as an excellent authority on what actually happened. His new book gives a human account of all the exploration that has ever taken place in the region of Mt. Everest in southern Tibet. Going back to the discovery in 1852 that "Peak XV," 29145 feet, was the highest mountain in the world, Captain Noel tells of the disguised surveyors who spent years in the monasteries of old Nepal and Tibet gathering bit by bit accurate information as to the exact surroundings of the "Goddess Mother of the World". In 1914 Noel made an attempt to see the mountain but his disguise failed and he was stopped by the Tibetan soldiers, over forty miles from his goal.

The political difficulties of tackling Mr. Everest were cleared away by the personal friendship between Sir Charles Bell and the Dalai Lama of Lhasa. In 1922 the first expedition made an in-road on the desired region, mapping the surroundings, gained knowledge of the weather and choosing a route up the peak. A few poor attempts were made on the mountain itself, but these were abruptly ended by the death of several porters in an avalanche.

Preparations were made for a 1924 expedition; elaborate and expensive equipment was collected, but the great question was whether or not oxygen should be used on the mountain for climbing. Norton and Somervell were opposed, and finally made the world's record ascent without oxygen tanks, reaching 28,200 feet. Mallory and Irvine next tried with the aid of oxygen to reach the summit. Through a rift in the clouds Odell saw them 600 feet from the summit, but beyond that we know nothing of these two unfortunate mountaineers.

Captain Noel has given us the whole story as he saw it, and then shows why and how Everest may be conquered in the near future. This book is not technical; rather it is meant for public interest, and above all it justifies the spirit of men who accept the challenge which to others may seem foolish.