Mount Everest, or Mount Himalaya which I prefer, is more than 29,000 feet (8848 m) in height.With its formidable statue and intriguing myths, she is a sheer beauty of nature.Topping the Mount is a dream of human beings, and to some extent, national prides.

The first organized serial assaults on the Mount Himalaya were carried out by Britons from 1922 to1924.The first expedition was the reconnaissance phase to examine the Mount closely and to set up a feasible route to the top.The second expedition was the first attempt to climb the Mount.It failed due to severe weather and inadequate preparations.The third expedition was the last attempt before Tibet closed the Mount area.The mountaineers brought oxygen tubes, established more camps, and tried three times.They failed again.Two adventurous people: George L. Mallory, and Andrew S. Irvine, lost their lives. The epic of these earlier climbers was told in the free online book “the Epic of Mount Everest” by Sir Francis Younghusband.

The book is fascinating in that it not only vividly recounted how they organized the three expeditions, but also evaluated what decisions they made during the process. It showed that the expeditions were indeed tantamount tasks and everybody involved was responsible, invincible, and creditable. I will not repeat all those events as you can read them for free.But the last expedition during which the tragedy happened deserved comments.

In the beginning of May 1924, eight climbers, together with a couple supporters and almost a hundred porters reached the foot of Mount Himalaya.Unfortunately, the weather was terrible compared with that of the previous two expeditions.Nevertheless, nothing could deter these brave gentlemen.They struggled and finally established six camps up to almost 27000 feet.It was even more amazing that untrained porters successfully carried heavy loads to the farthest camp VI.There was no doubt that they could top the mountain if they wanted.They were also heroes in these expeditions.

The route to the Mount summit was sketched by Mallory based on the first two expeditions. It started from the camp VI, climbed over the North East Ridge, and then reached the summit.There were several hurdles along this route.The first is the Yellow Band which comprises layers of fragile rocks.The second is the First Step, a big rock cliff which needs careful maneuver to circumvent.The third is the Second Step which is an almost vertical 15 feet high rock cliff.It was impossible to climb without some tools. The Third Step and the summit pyramid were also difficult but nonetheless negotiable.

Eight climbers, two in each group, assaulted the Mount.The first two groups crossed 28000 ft line, overcome the Yellow Band, and even climbed over the First Step.However, they were extremely tired after climbing the First Step.Time and energy didn’t allow them to go any further.In a sense, they were also courageous to admit their limit and abandon the plan.However, they didn’t use oxygen which was thought to be the only way to reach the top.

The use of oxygen was debatable even within the team.People were skeptical about the apparatus.The oxygen tubes were unreliable, unwieldy, and most disastrously, heavy.Carrying 30 pounds on the back and climbing Himalaya was not much different from suicide. Nevertheless, after the first two attempts, Mallory and Irvine decided to give oxygen a try.

At the age of 38, Mallory was the ablest mountain climber in his time. He was the core of the three expeditions.He was the one who determined to set his feet on the top of Mount Himalaya. Irvine, on the other hand, was only 22 years of old and inexperienced.He never climbed above 20000 feet high.Because Irvine could manage the oxygen tubes, Mallory took him as a partner.With some determinations and little hope, they pressed on.The last time people talked to them was June 7^th, 1924.Only Odell, the supporting climber, saw two black dots moving on the ridge at 12:50pm the next day.Then they disappeared.

Did Mallory reach the summit?Odell thought he did but most people were not convinced.There were several reasons against Odell’s belief.Firstly, the Second Step on the Mallory’s route was impossible to climb with their primitive tools.In fact, when a Chinese team first climbed that stage, they had to step on each other’s shoulder to climb over the rock.It took them a long time to overcome this Step.Now people can climb it without difficulty due to a ladder left by a Chinese team. Secondly, even if Mallory overcome the Second Step miraculously, the next 800 feet was still out of his time limit.It might take him several hours to cover that distance, let alone there were still two more hurdles before them.Thirdly, as Odell had proved by himself, oxygen was not very useful.He could climb back and force twice to above 27000 feet in four days without using oxygen tubes.On the contrary, the heavy tubes might be too burdensome, thus hindering the climbing.Finally, later climbers never found any trace suggesting that Mallory reached the summit.Now people believed that they might reach the Second Step.After a few fruitless tries, they decided to go back.During the descending, tragically, they slid on the surface and died.

In 1975, a Chinese climber, Wang Hongbao found an “English dead” around the Chinese camp VI.Unfortunately, Wang died in an avalanche the next day after he told his findings to a Japanese climber in 1979. Thus in 1999, PBS organized an expedition to solve the mysteries associated with the 1924’s expedition.They set out to determine who the body was: Irvine or Mallory.

It turned out, he was Mallory.He obviously fell from around the Yellow Band. There was no note in his pocket indicating that he reached the summit. Irvine’s body was never spotted.

There were still many myths surrounding Mallory and Irvine. On the other hand, their failure may be masked by many later successes, despite that many climbers also died in assaulting the Mount. In these days, the climbing is more like personal excursions rather than national or mankind exertions.

Why would human beings want to go up there?There is nothing on the summit of Mount Himalaya except for a grand view of Tibet plateau.Himalayans worship the mountain.They never think of climbing it even though they are capable of doing it.

To the least extent, however, human beings were born with courage and curiosity.The original humans colonized almost all lands long before any civilizations.On the other hand, we human naturally tend to avoid hash environment, thanking for the evolution.It was the renaissance that rekindled human spirit.The confidence of human beings grew rapidly.They crossed oceans and found America. Furthermore, the industry revolution made westerners believe that they could do anything.They climbed Alps, reached the North and South poles, and at the beginning of twentieth century, targeted the third pole of the earth—the Mount Himalaya.

In a sense, the existence of the Mount posed a challenge to the arrogance of human beings.We want to conquer it, not only out of scientific curiosity, but also of inner desire and ambition, as Sir Francis Younghusband put it: “the mount may be high.But he will show that his spirit is higher.And he will not be content until he has it in subjection under his feet.”

To me, climbing the Mount Himalaya is, not the “I came, I conquered,” but “I tried, I succeeded.”