1924 British Mount Everest Expedition - Background and Motivation

Background and Motivation

At the beginning of the 20th century, the British participated in contests to be the first to reach the North and South Poles, without success. A desire to restore national prestige led to scrutiny and discussion of the possibility of "conquering the third pole" – making the first ascent of the highest mountain on Earth.

The southern side of the mountain, which is accessible from Nepal and today is the standard climbing route, was unavailable as Nepal was a "forbidden country" for westerners. Going to the north side was politically complex: it required the persistent intervention of the British-Indian government with the Dalai Lama regime in Tibet to allow British expedition activities. At the time, Tibet was one focus of the "Great Game", a struggle between Russia and Britain for military, political and commercial dominance in Central Asia.

A major handicap of all expeditions to the north side of Mount Everest is the tight time window between the end of winter and the start of the monsoon rains. To travel from Darjeeling in northern India over Sikkim to Tibet, it was necessary to climb high, long snow-laden passes east of the Kangchenjunga area. After this first step, a long journey followed through the valley of the Arun River to the Rongbuk valley near the north face of Mt. Everest. Horses, donkeys, yaks, and dozens of local porters provided transport. The expeditions arrived at Mt. Everest in late April and only had until June before the monsoon began, allowing only six to eight weeks for altitude acclimatization, setting up camps, and the actual climbing attempts.