Wales and Mount Everest

The Treasures: Adventures in Archaeology exhibition not only highlights the objects recovered from excavations but the process and adventure that many archaeologists went on while making these discoveries.  These archaeological adventures also coincide with the Visit Wales Year of Adventure.  In looking at the wider world of adventure, there are few things more adventurous than climbing Mount Everest.  And while it might seem that Mount Everest is a world away from Wales, the connections between the two reach lofty heights.

The first of those connections begins with the name.  Mount Everest was named after George Everest.  Born in Crickhowell, Powys in 1790 he trained as an engineer and spent most of his career working in India on a detailed survey of the entire subcontinent.  He served as Surveyor General of India and it was his successor, in 1857, who suggested the mountain be named after him.  Everest disagreed with this honour, he believed when naming geographical sites it was best to use local names.  However, since there were several local names for the mountain, the name Everest remained.  

    

There is another name connection between Mount Everest and Wales.  After the Great Trigonometrical Survey gave an official height to the mountain for the first time in 1856, it became something to conquer.  In 1921, Britain organised their first reconnaissance team whose job it was to map the various features and possible routes for future climbers.  George Mallory was a member of this team and while surveying, he came across a glacial valley and named it the Western Cwm.  For anyone who knows their Welsh, cwm means valley.  It is said that Mallory visited Snowdonia many times to climb and the name may reflect that.    

     

Training is key to any expedition, especially something as extreme as climbing Mount Everest.  The 1953 British Mount Everest Expedition began their training in 1952 and chose Snowdonia as their base.  While it might pale in comparison in height, Snowdon offered the climbers many opportunities to train on treacherous rock face and unstable scree.  Their headquarters was based at the Pen-y-Gwryd Inn, between Llanberis and Capel Curig.  You can still stay there and the walls are lined with mementos from the team’s time in residence.   

There were also two Welsh members of the 1953 Expedition.  In fact, it was almost a Welshman who reached the summit first.  Charles Evans was a teacher from North Wales and was the deputy expedition leader.  Evans and Tom Bourdillon were the first team to make an attempt on the summit on 26 of May.  They were a mere 100 meters from making history when they decided to turn back to camp because they were running low on oxygen.  While it is possible to climb Mount Everest without oxygen it undoubtably makes it more difficult and dangerous.  The 1953 Expedition knew the value of using oxygen properly and part of that was thanks to Griffith Pugh.  As a qualified doctor, Pugh was able to combine his medical knowledge and interest in Alpine sports by studying the effects of altitude on the body.  He was the physiologist of the expedition and his main duty was ensuring there was enough oxygen and that the other members acclimated to the altitude safely.  

On the 23^rd of May 1995, Caradog Jones, from Tregaron, Ceredigion, became the first Welshman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.  Twelve years and one day later, Tori James, from Pembrokeshire, became the first Welsh woman to accomplish the feat.