Attack on Everest

By: Hugh Ruttledge

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Synopsis: It was nine long years since the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine on the north face of Mount Everest. In the intervening years, the mountain had remained off limits. Suspicious of the foreign intrusions to Everest in 1921, 1922 and 1924, the Tibetan government had refused further expeditions permission to climb the mountain. Maybe the gods had not been happy, for already seven porters had perished on its mighty crags.Then in 1933 the Tibetan Government unexpectedly declared the mountain open again. The Mount Everest committee swung into action, and a new attempt was organised. The party set off from Darjeeling even earlier in the spring.All went well, with camps established above the East Rongbuk Glacier. The dangerous ice wall up to the North Col was breached. Camps were placed high on the northeast ridge. Of Mallory and Irvine there was no sign.But climbing Mount Everest is not just a struggle to conquer the ice walls and rocky precipices; it has as much to do with the fury of the gods, the wind, the monsoon clouds and the deathly intensity of the cold. In 1933 the gods were still angry, and the mountain remained aloof and daunting.In this volume some wonderful and now historic photographs beautifully illustrate the people, the countryside, the monasteries en route and the spectacular scenes from high on the mountain.So what was achieved by this fourth expedition to conquer Everest? Here is the fascinating story of that epic journey.