. Discovery. Science. DISCOVERY 293 look seemed promising. Messrs. Mallory, Somervell. Crawford, and one porter were leading, all roped. Farther down, on three ropes, there followed fourteen porters laden with food and the oxygen apparatus. The climbers were about half-way up the north col, at a relatively gentle slope, when suddenly the snow began to slip. The leading partv was carried down about 150 ft. before the slide was checked. All four themselves unhurt. But disas- ter had befallen the porters lower down, who were caught n the main slip. Two rope- loads had been swept over
. Discovery. Science. DISCOVERY 293 look seemed promising. Messrs. Mallory, Somervell. Crawford, and one porter were leading, all roped. Farther down, on three ropes, there followed fourteen porters laden with food and the oxygen apparatus. The climbers were about half-way up the north col, at a relatively gentle slope, when suddenly the snow began to slip. The leading partv was carried down about 150 ft. before the slide was checked. All four themselves unhurt. But disas- ter had befallen the porters lower down, who were caught n the main slip. Two rope- loads had been swept over a 6o-ft. ice cliff into a crevasse, on the edge of which the third rope-load had providentially stopped. There was little hope of any rescue, but two men were dug out alive and one was found unhurt, though dazed, on the surface. After some hours six bodies were recovered, but a seventh could not be found. This disaster ended the third and last attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Gen. Bruce pays a high tribute to the capacity and cheerfulness of the porters. "It is terrible to think that no fewer than seven splendid porters lost their lives in this tragedy. . The work done by the porters was prodigious and ; The glacier camps were evacu- ated without further delay, and the whole expedition returned to India. The effort which an attempt on the summit of Mount Everest demands is very formidable, far more formidable than the relatively brief telegraphic des- patches in the Press have sug- gested. Yet it should be noted that Gen. Bruce and the other members of the expedition have expressed the belief that experience has given them greater hopes of succeeding than many of them had before. The work of climbing at high altitudes must be reserved for young men who must at the same time have knowledge of snow conditions. Experience has shown that nights can be passed at 25,500 ft. without oxygen, and an altitude of 26,800 ft. was reached with- out its use
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