Members of the 1921 expedition Standing: Wollaston, Howard-Bury, Heron, Raeburn. Sitting: Mallory, Wheeler, Bullock, Morshead. The ninth member Alexander Kellas had passed away en route to Everest on 5th June 1921
2021 is 100 years of the first Everest Reconnaissance Expedition 1921. On January 11th 1921 this is what Sir Francis Younghusband said in The Times London:
From The Times: January 11, 1921
Sir Francis Younghusband, President of the Royal Geographical Society, announced at a meeting of the Society last night that the political obstacles to the proposed attempt to climb Mount Everest have been removed, that a preliminary reconnaissance will be made of the ground this year, and that the actual attempt on the summit will follow in 1922.
As has been previously stated in The Times, the Society and the Alpine Club have been planning an expedition to scale Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, for the past 18 months, but on November 8 Sir Francis informed the Society that in the view of the Government of India there were political reasons against proceeding further with preparations.
Last night, however, he was able to announce news from the Secretary of State for India that the Tibetan Government had been approached, and had given permission for an expedition to be sent to explore the peak. Such an expedition, said the President, must be essentially a great adventure. High risks will have to be run, and severe hardships endured — risks from icy slopes and rocky precipices, and such avalanches as buried Mummery’s party on Nanga Parbat 26 years ago; and hardships from intense cold, terrific winds, and blinding snowstorms. In addition, there will be the unknown factor of the capacity of a human being to stand great exertion at a height more than 4,000ft higher than man has as yet ascended any mountain.
The expedition will also be in the highest degree scientific. The summit will never be reached unless we have first explored all the approaches to it through country at present entirely unknown; and then examined, mapped, and photographed the mountain itself in fullest detaIl. In the present year the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society propose to organize a reconnaissance party to acquire this geographical knowledge. Next year we will send to Tibet a climbing party to apply it in a great effort to reach the summit. We hope that the reconnaissance party may cross into Tibet when the passes open, about the end of May. The results of their work will be examined during next winter and final plans made for the assault upon the mountain in 1922.
The Alpine Club has launched an exhibition Everest By Those Who Were There 1921, 1922 and 1924 - the details are available in the following link:
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