The Expedition to Cho Oyu

When we returned to England in December 1951 with the information that there was a practicable route up the southern side of Mount Everest, it was thought that this discovery would be followed immediately by a British attempt to climb the mountain by that route in the Spring of 1952. However, it was found that the Swiss had made a previous application to the Govern? ment of Nepal for permission to send an expedition for that purpose, and that their preparations were already almost complete. A proposal to launch a joint Anglo-Swiss expedition under joint leadership was thought by the Himalayan Committee to be impracticable, and it was decided to defer the British attempt until 1953. I put forward a suggestion that the 1952 season might profitably be used by sending an expedition to attempt the ascent of Cho Oyu, a 26,800-foot mountain lying some 20 miles west of Everest. Apart from the interest of the ascent itself, the expedition would, if it succeeded in reaching any great height on the mountain, serve several most important purposes: to test the ability of a number of mountaineers to climb to great heights, and to provide a nucleus of men with experience of working at extreme altitudes for an Everest team; to carry out experiments in the use of oxygen apparatus; to study physiological problems of high altitude climbing, such as acclimitization and deterioration, diet and liquid consumption; and to test clothing and equipment. At least the expedition would provide the party with valuable training and experience of Himalayan conditions. The Committee accepted the proposal. My reason for selecting Cho Oyu as an objective was that, while searching for the Menlung La in November, Ward and I had seen what appeared to be a practicable line of ascent from the south-west. I took some stereoscopic photographs of the mountain from this angle, and when these were examined in England they seemed to confirm our observations on the ground. At the time, of course, we had no idea that we would ever have the chance of climbing Cho Oyu, and therefore for us the existence of a practicable way of climb? ing it from the south was of academic interest only. For this reason and because at the time we had a more interesting job on hand, we did not make a closer reconnaissance of the route in question. Owing to the negotiations concerning Everest, the decision to send an 9

Geography · Geology · Peacebuilding and International Security · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology

• Experimental physiology, Everest and oxygen

  Open Access•Vanessa Heggie•The British Journal for the…•2013

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