A History of Porters on Everest: Part 4 Supplemental

The story contained in this post was too interesting not to tell, however it did not fit the narrative of the main series and hence I have included it here.

Maurice Wilson: Mystical Mountaineer

One of the most interesting, and misguided attempts to climb Everest was by Maurice Wilson, a British soldier, mystic and aviator. Wilson served as a soldier during WWI, and fought at the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres. He was also awarded the Military Cross after he singlehandedly held a machine gun post against advancing Germans. He was severely injured several months later by machine gun fire and was sent home to recuperate. Unfortunately, his wounds failed to heal completely and left him in pain for the rest of his life.

Like many of his generation who had served in WWI, Wilson found the return to civilian life after his experiences extremely difficult. It was during this time that he developed an illness which caused him to suffer coughing fits and lose weight. He claimed that he was eventually cured by a mysterious man he had met in Mayfair, who instructed him to undertake thirty-five days of prayer and fasting. While it is unclear if this man ever existed, or the treatment was simply a manifestation of Wilson's own blend of Christianity and Easter mysticism, this experience cemented his belief in the power of prayer and fasting. Deciding that he needed to spread the word of this power and being influenced by reports of the 1924 Everest Expedition, he decided that through prayer and fasting he would succeed where Malory and Irvine had not. This idea became consuming and he began to describe climbing Everest as "the job [he'd] been given to do".

Wilson formulated a plan to fly to Tibet, crash land the plane on the upper slopes of Everest and then climb to the summit from there. It was a bold plan considering he lacked both aviation and climbing experience. After purchasing a three year old Gypsy Moth biplane, which he named Ever Wrest, he commenced flight school. He proved to be a below average student, and he took twice the usual amount of time to earn his license. Unfortunately, his preparation for the climbing component was even worse, consisting of no more than five weeks of walking the hills of Snowdonia and the Lake District. He also decided against the purchase of specialised climbing equipment and made no attempt to learn basic mountaineering skills, such as the use of crampons or an ice axe.

Wilson's initial departure attempt ended abruptly when he crashed in a field near Bradford. The repairs required delayed him by three weeks, which only increased the media interest and also attracted the attention of the Air Ministry, who refused to authorise the flight. Ignoring this ban, Wilson departed on the 21st May 1933, and despite the British government's attempts to block his passage he arrived in India two weeks later. His journey had not been easy, as his permission to fly over Persia had been withdrawn upon his arrival in Cairo. Undeterred he had flown to Bahrain, where the British consulate blocked his attempts to refuel, claiming that as all easterly airstrips within range of his plane were in Persia, he would not be able to continue. He succeeded in refuelling his plane after he promised to return to Britain - only to continue on towards India once he was airborne. The previous claims of the consulate regarding the airstrips proved correct, as upon reaching the airstrip at Gwadar, the most westerly in India, with his fuel gauge registering empty. His aerial journey ended soon after in Lalbalu, when he was informed that he would not be allowed to fly over Nepal.

Undeterred by this he spent a winter in Darjeeling, where he met three Sherpas; Tewang, Rinzing, and Tsering, all veterans of the 1933 expedition. The four of them left Darjeeling disguised as Buddhist monks, with Wilson pretending to be mute and in ill health to avoid suspicion. Amazingly they reached the Ronbuk Monastery on the 14th April, and Wilson was welcomed and allowed access to the equipment left behind by the 1933 expedition. He only remained in Ronbuk for two days before he travelled alone to Everest.

Wilson's first attempt was plagued with mistakes and a lack of experience. His lack of knowledge and adequate preparation meant that his up the Ronbuk Glacier proved to be extremely difficult. He also showed poor judgement when he discarded a pair of crampons he found at an old camp, despite the assistance they could have provided him with glacier travel. He eventually retreated in the face of deteriorating weather and returned to the Ronbuk Monastery exhausted, snow blind, with a twisted ankle and in considerable pain from the wound he had suffered during the War.

After recuperating for eighteen days, Wilson set out on his second attempt, this time accompanied by Tewang and Rinzing. With the two porters' knowledge of the glacier, they succeeded in reaching Camp III, at the base of the North Col. Showing his lack of ignorance of the task he had set himself, he was disappointed to discover that the steps cut the previous year had disappeared, along with the rope. Wilson's attempt to reach the North Col was halted on the fourth day, when he came across a twelve-meter ice wall near 6,900m. This same wall had pushed Frank Smythe to his limit during the previous year. Upon his return to his camp, the two Sherpas pleaded with him to return with them to the monastery however he declined. On the 29th May, Wilson wrote that "this will be the last effort, and I feel successful", before setting out alone for the final time. He camped at the foot of the North Col and rested the following day. His final journal entry simply read "off again, gorgeous day". He would never be seen alive again. After he failed to return from his final attempt, Tewang and Rinzing began the long trek back to India, where they informed the authorities of Wilson's death.

The following year, Eric Shipton's reconnaissance expedition found Wilson's body near the foot of the North Col and his body was buried in a nearby crevasse.

Trying to understand Wilson's decision to attempt Everest without the proper gear and without the relevant experience seems impossible to the modern reader. An explanation may come from the way in which the early British expeditions were reported on, as lingering Victorian attitudes often downplayed the risks faced by climbers. Avalanche prone slopes and steep, icy faces were dismissed as "bothers" and effects of high altitude were often ignored completely. His decision to set out, alone, despite the pleas of his accompanying Sherpa has also been heavily debated. It is unknown if he truly believed he could still reach the summit, or if he was willing to risk death rather than face the humiliation of an unsuccessful return home.

Maurice Wilson, MC, 21st April 1898 - c31st May 2934.