Frank Smythe
Encyclopedia
Francis Sydney Smythe better known as Frank Smythe (6 July 1900 - 27 June 1949) was a British
mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps and the Himalayas. He identified a region that he named the "Valley of Flowers", now a protected park. His ascents included the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc
, Kamet
, and attempts on Kangchenjunga
and Mount Everest
in the 1930s. It was said that he had a tendency for irascibility, that some of his mountaineering contemporaries said "decreased with altitude".
Smythe schooled in Switzerland after an initial period at Berkhamsted School, trained as an electrical engineer and worked for brief periods with the Royal Air Force and Kodak before devoting himself to writing and public lecturing. Smythe enjoyed mountaineering, photography, collecting plants, and gardening; he toured as a lecturer; and he wrote a total of twenty seven books.
Smythe's focused approach is well documented, not only through his own writings, but by his contemporaries and later works.
Among his many public lectures, Smythe gave at least several to the Royal Geographical Society
, his first being in 1931 titled "Explorations in Garhwal around Kamet", his second in 1947 titled "An Expedition to the Lloyd George Mountains, North-East British Columbia".
Smythe was a prodigious writer and produced many popular books. However his book "The Kangchenjunga Adventure" launched Smythe as a legitimate and respected author.
During the Second World War he served in the Canadian Rockies
as a mountaineer training officer for the Lovat Scouts
. He went on to write two books about climbing in the Rockies, Rocky Mountains (1948) and Climbs in the Canadian Rockies (1951). Mount Smythe
(10,650 ft) was named in his honour.
In 1949, in Delhi
, he was taken ill with food poisoning; then a succession of malaria
attacks took their toll and he died on June 27, 1949 two weeks before his 49th birthday.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps and the Himalayas. He identified a region that he named the "Valley of Flowers", now a protected park. His ascents included the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
, Kamet
Kamet
Kamet is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal region of India, after Nanda Devi. It lies in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, close to the border with Tibet. It is the third highest mountain in India Kamet is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal region of India, after Nanda Devi....
, and attempts on Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...
and 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...
in the 1930s. It was said that he had a tendency for irascibility, that some of his mountaineering contemporaries said "decreased with altitude".
Smythe schooled in Switzerland after an initial period at Berkhamsted School, trained as an electrical engineer and worked for brief periods with the Royal Air Force and Kodak before devoting himself to writing and public lecturing. Smythe enjoyed mountaineering, photography, collecting plants, and gardening; he toured as a lecturer; and he wrote a total of twenty seven books.
Smythe's focused approach is well documented, not only through his own writings, but by his contemporaries and later works.
Among his many public lectures, Smythe gave at least several to the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, his first being in 1931 titled "Explorations in Garhwal around Kamet", his second in 1947 titled "An Expedition to the Lloyd George Mountains, North-East British Columbia".
Smythe was a prodigious writer and produced many popular books. However his book "The Kangchenjunga Adventure" launched Smythe as a legitimate and respected author.
During the Second World War he served in the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
as a mountaineer training officer for the Lovat Scouts
Lovat Scouts
The Lovat Scouts were a British Army unit. The unit was first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment of the British Army and is the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit...
. He went on to write two books about climbing in the Rockies, Rocky Mountains (1948) and Climbs in the Canadian Rockies (1951). Mount Smythe
Mount Smythe
Mount Smythe is a mountain in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.It is located in the Sir Winston Churchill Range, southwest of Gong Peak and north of Mount Nelson. It reaches a height of ....
(10,650 ft) was named in his honour.
In 1949, in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, he was taken ill with food poisoning; then a succession of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
attacks took their toll and he died on June 27, 1949 two weeks before his 49th birthday.
Climbing Highlights
- 1927 and 1928 Smythe, together with T. Graham BrownThomas Graham BrownThomas Graham Brown FRS was a Scottish mountaineer and physiologist.-Life and family:Graham Brown was born in Edinburgh 1882; his father – Dr J. J. Graham Brown – was a President of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh. T...
, made the first ascent of two routes on the Brenva Face of Mont BlancMont BlancMont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
, the Sentinelle Rouge and Route Major. These were the first routes to be put up on the face. - 1930 Smythe was a member of the international team (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Greate Britain), to attempt KangchenjungaKangchenjungaKangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...
. Under the leadership of Professor Dyrenfurth. - 1931 Smythe was the leader of the first successful expedition to climb KametKametKamet is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal region of India, after Nanda Devi. It lies in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, close to the border with Tibet. It is the third highest mountain in India Kamet is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal region of India, after Nanda Devi....
(7,756 m) in 1931, at the time it was the highest peak yet climbedWorld altitude record (mountaineering)In the history of mountaineering, the world altitude record referred to the highest point on the Earth's surface which had been reached, regardless of whether that point was an actual summit. The world summit record referred to the highest mountain to have been successfully climbed...
. During the KametKametKamet is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal region of India, after Nanda Devi. It lies in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, close to the border with Tibet. It is the third highest mountain in India Kamet is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal region of India, after Nanda Devi....
expedition Smythe and Holdswordth discovered what they called the Valley of Flowers in the Himalaya, now in the state of UttarakhandUttarakhandUttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. - 1933 Smythe was a member of the Everest expedition led by Hugh RuttledgeHugh RuttledgeHugh Ruttledge was an English civil servant and mountaineer who was the leader of two expeditions to Mount Everest in 1933 and 1936.-Early life:...
. - 1936 Smythe was again a member of Hugh Ruttledge's 2nd Everest Expedition.
- 1938 Smythe was a member of Eric ShiptonEric ShiptonEric 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...
and Bill TilmanBill TilmanMajor Harold William "Bill" Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar was an English mountaineer and explorer, renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages.-Early years and Africa:...
's expedition to Everest.