Well, exactly what the title says really. I have been research this for my book on the science and culture of climbing. I am exploring the class divide at the time and nearly all the other climbers were either educated at Ox-bridge or came from officer stock in the British Army. I am keen to find the reasons why Hillary and Lowe the two Kiwi’s were invited along on the expedition, other than they impresse Hunt on the recce.
I have my suspicions, but if you have read something and have a reference I can chase up, That would be great. Although I suspect the details will be filled away in the archives of the Alpine Club and Royal Geographic Society, where I assume the minutes from the Joint Himalayan Committee might throw light on the question.
Here’s what Eric Shipton said in his autobiography “That Untravelled World” as he was preparing for the Everest reconnaissance of 1951:
“Two days before we left I received a cable from the President of the New Zealand Alpine Club, saying that an expedition of four of his countrymen was climbing in the Garhwal Himalaya, and asking if two of them might join our party. He did not divulge their names. The correct answer was obvious: I had already turned down several applicants with very strong qualifications on the ground that I wanted to keep the party small; our slender resources of money and equipment were already stretched, and I had no idea where the two unknown climbers were or how to contact them. I was about to send a negative reply when, in a moment of nostalgic recollection, I recalled the cheerful countenance of Dan Bryant, and I changed my mind.”
Dan Bryant was the New Zealander who travelled to Everest with Shipton in 1935. Sixteen years later Shipton agreed to accept Edmund Hillary and Earle Riddiford onto the team for the 1951 reconnaissance on the spur of the moment because he had fond memories of the other New Zealander he had climbed with. Hillary’s performance on Shipton’s reconnaissance expedition put him in the picture for the successful 1953 expedition. By such chance decisions legends are born!
Awesome Mark, thank you for that. I had a feeling it might have been down to NZ giving some cash to the funding, but I was wrong!
No probs. Perhaps they did that as well, though Shipton makes no mention of it in his book. The quote is from the chapter called “Everest from Nepal” if you manage to get hold of a copy. I think it’s out of print now, but you can usually find it on second hand book sites such as abebooks.co.uk if you’re interested. It’s a great read!
And you’ve reminded me of something else. Hillary wasn’t the only person who owes his subsequent success to the chance whim of Shipton. Here’s a passage from the book when Shipton was choosing his Sherpa team in Darjeeling for the same 1935 Everest expedition that included Dan Bryant:
“There was another prophetic incident. From a hundred applicants, we chose fifteen Sherpas to accompany the expedition from Darjeeling. Nearly all of them were old friends, including, of course, Angtarkay, Pasang and Kusang; but there was one Tibetan lad of nineteen, a newcomer, chosen largely because of his attractive grin. His name as Tensing Norkay.”
The same Tenzing Norgay, of course, who stood on the summit of Everest with Hillary in 1953!
Another Gem, thanks Mark.