A History of Porters on Everest: Part 2

Previously we discussed the origins of porters on Everest. Here we will discuss how lessons learned from these early expeditions led to larger roles for porters.

Increased Responsibilities: 1924

After the 1923 expedition was called off due to financing problems, the British returned to Everest in 1924. Approximately 150 porters followed the same route from Darjeeling that the first two expeditions had taken and they arrived at the Rongbuk Monastery on 28th April. Much to the concern of the porters, the Lama of the monastery was ill and was not able to perform the traditional Puja ceremony, which both pays respect to the mountain as well as offers blessing for safe passage. During the 1922 expedition the British had recognised both the impressive strength of the porters at high altitudes and their ability to quickly learn mountaineering skills and during the 1924 expedition they were used to a greater extent. This subtle change began the long reversal of the "Sahib - Porter" system to the more equal partnership which saw Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay make the first known ascent in 1953.

Porters proved instrumental in setting up the forward camps, including the carrying of supplies to advanced base camp (ABC) at 6,340m, for which they were paid around 1 shilling per day. Climbing was delayed during the tail end of April due to snow storms, and on the 15th May, the expedition members finally received the blessings of the Lama from the Ronbuk Monastery. Unfortunately, this was to come too late for Nepali porter Man Bahudar who died from pneumonia two days earlier.

When the weather cleared, Camp IV was established at the North Col at 7,000m, although deteriorating conditions led to 4 porters being trapped there until they were rescued by Edward Norton, George Mallory and Dr T Howard Sommervell. Following this luck, the entire expedition returned to Camp I, where 15 porters who had shown remarkable courage, strength and competence on the mountain received the nickname of "tigers".

Three attempts were made at the summit from here on, and porters were instrumental in both carrying supplies and establishing camps on each of them. During the second attempt, lead by Norton and Sommervell, Camp VI (8,170m) was established, from where they launched their bid without porters. While Sommervell eventually had to turn back at around midday, Norton climbed on and set a new altitude record of 8,570m. Despite being only 278 vertical metres below the summit, Norton recognised that he had insufficient time and strength to reach the summit and he wisely chose to descend and regroup with Sommervell and head for Camp IV. On this descent, Sommervell nearly died after suffering a blockage in his throat, which he managed to clear by compressing his lungs with his arms. Later that night, Norton succumbed to snow blindness and had to be rescued by a group of six porters, who took turns in carrying him all the way to ABC.

The third and final summit bid consisted of George Mallory, Andrew Irvine and eight porters, who left Camp V (7,700m) at 8:40am on the 6th of June. Before leaving, Noel Odell took their picture, not knowing it would be the last close up of the pair. That evening, four of the porters returned to Camp V with a note from Mallory which said "there is no wind here, and things look hopeful". Following this, Odell and Nema (a porter) ascended to Camp V to provide support to the summit team. Here they met the remaining four of the porters who had assisted Mallory and Irvine higher up the mountain. On the 8th June, Odell had just found the first fossils on Everest, at just over 7,900m, when he spotted two black dots moving up the mountain towards the crest of a ridge. Odell's initial opinion was that Mallory and Irvine had reached the base of the Second Step (8,610m) which was concerning as they appeared to be five hours behind schedule. This was to be the last time either of the two men were seen alive.

Two porters provided support to Odell as he searched for the missing climbers, but they eventually laid 6 blankets in a cross on the snow near Camp VI, which was the signal for

"No trace can be found, Given up hope, Awaiting orders"

to the advanced base camp. On the 11th June, Odell and the two porters started their descent off the mountain, having given up their search. Five days later they once again visited the Lama at the Ronbuk Monastery on their return to India. The expedition had suffered four deaths, with Man Bahadur and Lance-Naik Shamsherpun having also perished on the mountain. These deaths brought the total death count on Everest to 11, with 9 of those being from Nepal.

Coming in part three, we take an intermission to discuss the "Affair of the Dancing Lamas", an Anglo-Tibetan diplomatic controversy which saw Tibet close its borders to British climbers until 1933.

Image: Mallory and Irvine's Route.

Credit: Thom Ross

Bonus History: Mallory and Irvine

The disappearance of Mallory and Irvine has lead to speculation about whether or not they could have summitted in 1924, 29 years before Hillary and Norgay. A lot of this debate centres on where Odell spotted the two climbers when he glimpsed them for the final time.

After the 1924 expedition, Odell came under pressure from the British climbing community and varied his opinion several times on where he had seen the climbers. There was a general opinion that he must have seen them at the easier First Step (8,564m) and even Odell eventually admitted in 1987 that he never been clear about the exact location where he had seen the dots. This is understandable, as renowned climber Conrad Anker has stated that [in regard to which step they were on]

"it's hard to say because Odell was looking at it obliquely... you're at altitude, the clouds were coming in".

He also goes on to state that he believes

"they were probably in the vicinity of the First Step when they turned back, because the First Step itself is very challenging and the Second Step is more challenging".

In 1979, a Chinese climber named Wan Hungbao reported to a Japanese expedition leader that he had seen an "English dead" at 8,100m during his 1975 climb. Wang was unfortunately killed the following day in an avalanche and so no further information could be gathered. In 1986, fellow Chinese climber Zhan Junyan, who had been Wan's tent mate in 1975, confirmed Wan's report of finding a foreign climber's body. If the report is accurate, then the only possibility was that the body must have been Irvine's. There have been further reports of Irvine's body being found on the mountain, but none have been confirmed.

The only pieced of evidence found so far are Irvine's ice axe, which was found in 1933, and Mallory's body, which discovered by Conrad Anker during the 1999 "Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition". Still missing is the Kodak camera carried by Irvine, who's body has never been found, which could finally answer the question of whether or not the two reached the summit during their fateful bid.