1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition facts for kids
The 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition was a famous trip to Mount Everest. It was the first time anyone successfully climbed Everest by going straight up one of its steep faces. This expedition happened after the monsoon season, led by Chris Bonington. The climbers used special rock climbing skills to put ropes up the face. These ropes went from the Western Cwm all the way up to just below the South Summit. A very important part of their success was climbing the difficult cliffs of the Rock Band. This part was scaled by Nick Estcourt and Tut Braithwaite at about 8,230 metres (27,000 ft) high.
Two teams then climbed to the South Summit. From there, they followed the Southeast Ridge to the main top of Everest. The first team was Dougal Haston and Doug Scott on September 24, 1975. They even spent a night in a small shelter at the South Summit, which was the highest ever at that time! Two days later, Peter Boardman and Pertemba also reached the summit. Sadly, it is believed that Mick Burke fell and died shortly after he also reached the very top.
This expedition was a huge moment for British climbers. It was the first time any British climbers reached the summit of Everest. People called it the "perfect example of big, military-style expeditions."
Contents
Why Climb Everest's Southwest Face?
Early Everest Adventures
Before 1975, climbers tried to reach Everest's summit from different directions. For a long time, climbers could only go from Tibet. But in 1950, Tibet closed its borders. Then, Nepal opened its doors to climbers. This led to new routes being found. The most famous was the South Col—Southeast Ridge route, used in 1953 when Everest was first climbed.
Even though other routes were climbed, no one had ever made it to the top by going straight up one of Everest's huge faces. The Southwest Face was a very tempting challenge. Japanese climbers tried it in 1969 and 1970, reaching about 8,000 metres (26,000 ft). Other teams from Europe and Japan also tried the Southwest Face but didn't reach the summit.
Bonington's Previous Attempts
Chris Bonington was a very skilled climber. He had already led a successful expedition to climb Annapurna's South Face in 1970. This was a very difficult climb. He also tried the Southwest Face of Everest in 1972. His team learned a lot, but they didn't reach the summit because of bad weather. They found out that the route they picked above Camp 6 was not the best.
After the 1972 attempt, Bonington still wanted to conquer the Southwest Face. He heard that a climbing spot for 1975 was open. At first, he thought about a lighter trip on the usual route. But his friends, Haston and Scott, convinced him to try the Southwest Face again. This time, they planned a very big and organized expedition.
Getting Ready for the Climb
The team learned from past trips that they needed to start climbing as soon as the monsoon rains stopped. This meant they had to trek to Base Camp during the monsoon. They also decided to use a different path on the Southwest Face. Instead of trying the "Whillans Chimney," they would go left of the Great Central Gully. This path would lead to the Southeast Ridge.
Climbing the face and then the ridge would be a very long day. They might even need to spend a night out on the mountain. To make this possible, a large support team was needed to quickly set up camps. They planned to use extra oxygen above Camp 4 and lots of fixed ropes. About 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) of rope would be used on the face itself.
A special committee was set up to manage this expensive trip. Lord Hunt, who led the 1953 Everest expedition, was in charge. Barclays Bank International agreed to give them £100,000 (a lot of money back then!). They even promised to cover any extra costs. This was a huge help!
The Climbing Team
The team was made up of experienced climbers. Many had been on Bonington's previous trips. Hamish MacInnes was the deputy leader. Other key climbers included Dougal Haston, Doug Scott, Mick Burke, Nick Estcourt, and Peter Boardman. They also had two doctors, Charles Clarke and Jim Duff, who were also good climbers.
A team of 33 climbing sherpas joined them, with Pertemba as their leader. Sherpas are local people who are very skilled at climbing in the Himalayas. There were also many porters to carry supplies. The expedition even had a reporter from the Sunday Times and four people from the BBC to film a TV show about the climb.
Special Gear
About 24 tonnes (24,000 kg) of equipment was sent from Britain in over 1,000 boxes! Not much special climbing gear was needed because the climb would mostly use ropes and ladders. Oxygen tanks were very important. They also used special anchors called "deadmen" that could be buried in the snow.
They brought 11 tonnes of food and bought even more in Nepal. To make sure everyone got a fair share, all the meal packages looked the same. Special "face boxes" were designed for sleeping on the steep face. These were like small, strong tents. The ones used in 1973 weren't strong enough, so for this trip, MacInnes designed stronger boxes with roofs made of bulletproof mesh!
The Expedition Begins
The equipment was driven from London to Kathmandu, then flown to Lukla, and finally carried by porters to a storage spot before the monsoon.
Trek to Base Camp
The main team flew to Kathmandu in early August. From there, they started their long walk to Base Camp. Even though it was monsoon season, the mornings were usually sunny. Nick Estcourt and Dougal Haston went ahead to start preparing the route through the dangerous Icefall.
The team reached Khunde on August 14. At Thyangboche, they met a lama (a Buddhist teacher) to receive his blessing for a safe journey. Hundreds of local porters carried 27 tonnes of equipment and 13 tonnes of food from Khunde to Base Camp. They arrived by August 23. Sadly, during this part of the trip, a young porter went missing and was later found dead in a stream.
Through the Icefall and Western Cwm
About 60 sherpas carried supplies through the Khumbu Icefall and up to the Southwest Face. The Icefall is a very dangerous area with moving cracks (crevasses) and ice towers (seracs). Scott and Haston reached the top of the Icefall on August 26. They found a good spot for Camp 1 at the start of the Western Cwm.
Camp 1 was set up quickly on August 28. Every afternoon, avalanches would slide down the sides of Everest and Nuptse as the temperature rose. It took three days for Haston and Scott to find a path to Camp 2 at the end of the Western Cwm. MacInnes helped by building ladder bridges for the sherpas to cross tricky spots.
The plan was to follow the route the Japanese tried in 1969. This route would cross the Rock Band through a deep gully on the left. Camps 4 and 5 would be placed lower than before to be safer from avalanches.
Climbing the Southwest Face
From Camp 2, Scott and Burke began climbing the Southwest Face on September 6. They set up fixed ropes, climbing 365 metres (1,200 ft) to the spot for Camp 3. Estcourt and Braithwaite followed, fixing ropes over difficult soft snow. They then set up Camp 4 at 7,224 metres (23,700 ft).
Other climbers, including Bonington, arrived to help make flat areas for camps. MacInnes was hit by an avalanche. He wasn't badly hurt, but ice crystals got into his lungs, and he had to go down the mountain. On September 18, eight sherpas brought more gear up to Camp 5. The next day, Bonington announced that Haston and Scott would be the first pair to try for the summit.
Conquering the Rock Band
On September 20, Estcourt and Braithwaite left Camp 5 to climb the Rock Band. They took turns leading the climb. Bonington and Burke followed, carrying more rope. They were climbing at 8,230 metres (27,000 ft), carrying heavy oxygen tanks. It was hard to find places to put pitons (metal spikes for climbing).
Braithwaite found a ramp to the right, but his oxygen ran out, and he almost fainted. He quickly took off his mask and managed to secure himself with his ice-axe. Estcourt then led up the ramp. He found a crack for a solid piton, making this one of the hardest climbs ever done at such a high altitude. They called it "Scottish Grade III," which doesn't even count how hard it is at 8,230 metres (27,000 ft)! The two climbers reached the upper snowfield, completing the Rock Band crossing in just one day.
The Summit Attempts
Because progress was so good, Bonington decided to have three teams try for the summit on different days.
- First team: Scott and Haston.
- Second team: Burke, Boardman, Boysen, and Pertemba.
- Third team: Braithwaite, Estcourt, Ang Phurba, and Ronnie Richards (Bonington gave up his spot).
Haston and Scott Reach the Top
Haston, Scott, and Ang Phurba left Camp 5 early on September 23. Six other climbers followed to support them. Scott was amazed by how hard the gully climb was. He led the way, laying more rope to the upper snowfield, where Camp 6 was set up. After a rest, the support climbers went back to Camp 5, leaving Haston and Scott to prepare their small tent.
The next day, they fixed 500 metres (1,600 ft) of rope. They woke up at 1:00 AM on September 24 and started climbing in the dark at 3:30 AM. They carried a tent sack (but no tent or sleeping bags), a stove, and two oxygen tanks each. They expected to spend a night out on the mountain.
From Camp 2, the main team could just see Haston and Scott on the upper snowfield before they disappeared into a gully leading to the South Summit. They were spotted again at 4:00 PM, much later than expected, still climbing.
At dawn, Scott and Haston were above the fixed ropes, climbing the gully to the South Summit. Haston's oxygen equipment stopped working because of ice. It took over an hour to fix it. They continued, taking turns leading. They reached the ridge at 3:00 PM. They had climbed the Southwest Face! But their goal was the very top of Everest.
They thought about stopping to dig a snow cave for the night. But they decided to keep going. Haston led up the Hillary Step, a very difficult rock climb near the summit. They both reached the summit together at 6:00 PM on September 24, 1975, as the sun was setting.
In the growing darkness, they climbed down. They used ropes to go down the Hillary Step. By the South Summit, clouds covered the sky, and lightning flashed. They decided to make the highest bivouac (a night spent out in the open) ever at that time. They dug out a small cave and spent a freezing night (Scott thought it was -50°C!) without oxygen or heat. They rubbed each other to stay warm. They knew they couldn't fall asleep.
At first light, they continued down, reaching Camp 6 at 9:00 AM. They radioed their news. They had survived without getting frostbite! The Guardian newspaper said it was like "spending the night in a sheet sleeping-bag in a deep freeze, with the oxygen cut by two-thirds." They were the first people to climb Everest by the Southwest Face, and the first British climbers to reach the summit by any route. It was also the fastest climb of Everest at that time, taking only 33 days.
Boardman, Pertemba, and the Mystery of Mick Burke
The second summit team, including Burke, Boardman, Boysen, and Pertemba, moved up to Camp 6. Burke was climbing slowly because he was also filming for the BBC. Bonington wanted him to stay at Camp 6, but Burke convinced him to let him continue.
The next morning, all four started climbing. But Boysen's oxygen set failed, and he lost a crampon (spikes for boots), so he had to go back to camp. Boardman and Pertemba climbed strongly, with Burke far behind. They reached the South Summit by 11:00 AM. Pertemba's oxygen also got blocked, just like Haston's. They reached the summit of Everest just after 1:00 PM on September 26. The weather was bad, with wind and mist.
As Boardman and Pertemba climbed down, the weather got even worse. To their surprise, they met Mick Burke sitting in the snow, only a few hundred metres from the summit and above the Hillary Step. They thought he had gone back to Camp 6. He asked them to go back to the summit so he could film them. When they said no, he said he would go by himself to take photos and film. They agreed to wait for him at the South Summit.
After waiting for over an hour and a half in a snowstorm, it was getting dark. At 4:30 PM, Boardman and Pertemba started climbing down the gully in the storm. They still had oxygen and were lucky to find the end of the fixed ropes in the dark. At 7:30 PM, they barely made it back to Boysen at Camp 6. Boardman had to half-drag Pertemba the last bit. Mick Burke never returned. Boardman got frostbite in his feet, Pertemba was snowblind (couldn't see because of snow glare), and Boysen got frostbitten hands. They were stuck at Camp 6 for 30 hours because of the storm.
Leaving the Mountain
By September 28, the storm had passed. The third summit team was still at Camp 5. But with avalanches coming down the face and no hope of finding Burke, the expedition was called off. Everyone started to go down the mountain. Camp 1 had to be left because it was sliding down the Icefall. Camp 4 was also in danger from the huge amount of snow.
During the evacuation, Adrian Gordon got stuck in the dark. Bonington led a rescue team to find him. They got back to Camp 2 at midnight. Later that night, a huge avalanche destroyed Camp 2. Luckily, no one was hurt, but the camp had to be abandoned. The expedition was back at Base Camp by September 30, in Kathmandu by October 11, and back in London by October 17.
What Happened Next
Mick Burke's body has never been found, but it is believed he did reach the summit of Everest.
The expedition cost more than planned, £130,000 instead of £100,000. But Barclays Bank, the sponsors, owned the rights to Bonington's book, Everest the Hard Way. The book became very popular, and the bank made all its money back. The BBC also made a documentary film with the same name.
Because of all the publicity, Bonington, Haston, and Scott became famous in Britain. Chris Bonington received a special award (CBE) and later became a knight.
Sadly, some of the climbers from the expedition died in later climbing accidents. Dougal Haston was killed in an avalanche while skiing in 1977. Nick Estcourt died on a K2 expedition in 1978. Peter Boardman died with Joe Tasker on an Everest expedition in 1982.
Pertemba, the sirdar, started his own successful trekking company in 1985. That same year, he climbed Everest again with Bonington. This was Bonington's first and only time reaching the summit of Everest.
The Southwest Face was climbed again by a Slovak team in 1988. Four climbers reached the South Summit without extra oxygen. One of them, Jozef Just, reached the main summit but then disappeared with his team in a storm on the way down. Their bodies were never found. A South Korean team also climbed the route in 1995.
Forty years after the 1975 climb, ten members of the expedition had a reunion in London. They raised money for a charity called Community Action Nepal.
See Also
- List of Mount Everest expeditions
