1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition
Encyclopedia
Led by Edouard Wyss-Dunant
, the 1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition saw Raymond Lambert
and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay
reach a height of about 8595 metres (28,199 ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record, opening up a new route to Mount Everest
and the paving way for further successes by other expeditions.
had closed to foreigners but Nepal
had just opened up. In 1951 Eric Shipton
's British-New Zealand reconnaissance
had climbed the Khumbu Icefall
and reached the elusive Western Cwm
, proving that Everest could be climbed from Nepal. Unfortunately for the British, who had enjoyed exclusive access to the mountain for 31 years, the Nepalese government gave the 1952 permit to the Swiss.
was appointed leader of this expedition. All the expedition’s participants were from Geneva, they almost all belonged to the exclusive «L'Androsace» climbing club and knew each other very well. The city and Canton of Geneva provided moral and financial support for the expedition, and the University of Geneva provided the scientific contingent.
In spite of having suffered amputation of frostbitten toes, Raymond Lambert
was among the members of the expedition.
, the conquest of the labyrinthine Khumbu Icefall
, and possibly the advance to the South Col. The team never even considered attempt at an ascent of Everest.
. Three Swiss climbers and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay
continued towards the summit, pitching a tent at 8,400m. Two returned, leaving Tenzing and Lambert, who had become firm friends, to make a summit attempt. High altitude mountaineering in 1952 was still in its infancy. Even Swiss organisation and technology were not up to the job and, apart from Tenzing, the Sherpas had little experience. Despite the best plans, Tenzing and Lambert now had to spend a night at 8,400m with no sleeping bags and no stove, producing a trickle of drinking water by melting snow over a candle. The oxygen sets were barely operable and when the two men continued in the morning, they were effectively climbing without oxygen. They struggled heroically, at times crawling on all fours, hindered by the dead weight of malfunctioning oxygen sets, finally grinding to a halt near 8595m, approximately 250m short of the summit. Assuming that George Mallory
and Andrew Irvine
did not reach higher in their 1924 expedition, this was the highest that anyone had ever been.
.
The results of this first Swiss Everest expedition are remarkable, and exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. At the first attempt, they had opened up a new route to Everest, and had reached an extraordinary height on the south-western ridge in difficult conditions. In the opinion of the extremely critical Marcel Kurz, this expedition could almost be compared to a victory. It paved the way for further successes by other expeditions.
Edouard Wyss-Dunant
Dr. Edouard Wyss-Dunant is a Swiss physician and alpinist. He had a distinguished career in medicine, both in his own country and abroad. He published a number of treatises in hi s professional capacity and was the author of several mountaineering books...
, the 1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition saw Raymond Lambert
Raymond Lambert
Raymond Lambert was a Swiss mountaineer, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached an altitude of 8611 metres of Mount Everest in May 1952. At the time it was the highest point that a climber had ever reached...
and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay
Padma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
reach a height of about 8595 metres (28,199 ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record, opening up a new route to Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
and the paving way for further successes by other expeditions.
Origins
TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
had closed to foreigners but Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
had just opened up. In 1951 Eric Shipton
Eric Shipton
Eric Earle Shipton CBE was a distinguished British Himalayan mountaineer.-Early years:Born in Ceylon in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. His mother buried her grief by taking Eric and his sister Marge and travelling constantly for the next five years...
's British-New Zealand reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
had climbed the Khumbu Icefall
Khumbu Icefall
The Khumbu Icefall is an icefall at the head of the Khumbu Glacier.The icefall is found at on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. The icefall is regarded as one of the most dangerous stages of the South Col route to Everest's summit...
and reached the elusive Western Cwm
Western Cwm
Often called the Valley of Silence, the Western Cwm is a broad, flat, gently undulating glacial valley basin terminating at the foot of the Lhotse Face of Mount Everest. It was named by George Leigh Mallory when he first saw it in 1921...
, proving that Everest could be climbed from Nepal. Unfortunately for the British, who had enjoyed exclusive access to the mountain for 31 years, the Nepalese government gave the 1952 permit to the Swiss.
Organization
Edouard Wyss-DunantEdouard Wyss-Dunant
Dr. Edouard Wyss-Dunant is a Swiss physician and alpinist. He had a distinguished career in medicine, both in his own country and abroad. He published a number of treatises in hi s professional capacity and was the author of several mountaineering books...
was appointed leader of this expedition. All the expedition’s participants were from Geneva, they almost all belonged to the exclusive «L'Androsace» climbing club and knew each other very well. The city and Canton of Geneva provided moral and financial support for the expedition, and the University of Geneva provided the scientific contingent.
In spite of having suffered amputation of frostbitten toes, Raymond Lambert
Raymond Lambert
Raymond Lambert was a Swiss mountaineer, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached an altitude of 8611 metres of Mount Everest in May 1952. At the time it was the highest point that a climber had ever reached...
was among the members of the expedition.
Goals
The mountaineering task that this team had set itself was primarily exploring the access to the South ColSouth Col
The South Col usually refers to the southern col between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the first and fourth highest mountains in the world. When climbers attempt to climb Everest from the southeast ridge in Nepal, their final camp is situated on the South Col...
, the conquest of the labyrinthine Khumbu Icefall
Khumbu Icefall
The Khumbu Icefall is an icefall at the head of the Khumbu Glacier.The icefall is found at on the Nepali slopes of Mount Everest not far above Base Camp and southwest of the summit. The icefall is regarded as one of the most dangerous stages of the South Col route to Everest's summit...
, and possibly the advance to the South Col. The team never even considered attempt at an ascent of Everest.
Ascent
Building on Shipton's experience, the Genevans reached the head of the Western Cwm and climbed the huge face above to the desolate, wind-swept plateau of the South ColSouth Col
The South Col usually refers to the southern col between Mount Everest and Lhotse, the first and fourth highest mountains in the world. When climbers attempt to climb Everest from the southeast ridge in Nepal, their final camp is situated on the South Col...
. Three Swiss climbers and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay
Tenzing Norgay
Padma Bhushan, Supradipta-Manyabara-Nepal-Tara Tenzing Norgay, GM born Namgyal Wangdi and often referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer...
continued towards the summit, pitching a tent at 8,400m. Two returned, leaving Tenzing and Lambert, who had become firm friends, to make a summit attempt. High altitude mountaineering in 1952 was still in its infancy. Even Swiss organisation and technology were not up to the job and, apart from Tenzing, the Sherpas had little experience. Despite the best plans, Tenzing and Lambert now had to spend a night at 8,400m with no sleeping bags and no stove, producing a trickle of drinking water by melting snow over a candle. The oxygen sets were barely operable and when the two men continued in the morning, they were effectively climbing without oxygen. They struggled heroically, at times crawling on all fours, hindered by the dead weight of malfunctioning oxygen sets, finally grinding to a halt near 8595m, approximately 250m short of the summit. Assuming that George Mallory
George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s....
and Andrew Irvine
Andrew Irvine (mountaineer)
Andrew "Sandy" Comyn Irvine was an English mountaineer who took part in 1924 British Everest Expedition, the third British expedition to the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest....
did not reach higher in their 1924 expedition, this was the highest that anyone had ever been.
Results
Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay were able to reach a height of about 8595 metres (28,199 ft) on the southeast ridge, setting a new climbing altitude record. Tenzing's experience was useful when he was hired to be part of the British expedition in 1953 during which he summited with Edmund HillaryEdmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
.
The results of this first Swiss Everest expedition are remarkable, and exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. At the first attempt, they had opened up a new route to Everest, and had reached an extraordinary height on the south-western ridge in difficult conditions. In the opinion of the extremely critical Marcel Kurz, this expedition could almost be compared to a victory. It paved the way for further successes by other expeditions.