Where Is Mount Everest? by Nico Medina; Illustrated by John Hinderliter

Author:Nico Medina; Illustrated by John Hinderliter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2015-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

After the tragedies of 1922 and 1924, the Dalai Lama decided to close Tibet’s borders again. No further attempts were allowed on Everest for nearly a decade.

The British goal of reaching the summit did not die, however. In the 1930s, airplanes were able to fly around the mountain, revealing more possible routes.

In 1933, Frank Smythe attempted to reach the summit alone. He reached an altitude of 28,200 feet before turning around due to fatigue. Smythe said that while climbing, he saw mirages. A mirage is when you see something and your mind thinks it is real, but it’s not.

In Smythe’s mirage, he had a climbing partner with him, and the two were connected by a rope. He thought that if he slipped, his friend would save him.

Smythe also thought he saw two dark objects floating in the sky. One, he said, looked like a kite-balloon. The other looked like it had small wings and a beak. They both appeared to vibrate, he said, before vanishing behind some clouds. Was any of this real? There is no way to know.

Due to illness, accidents, and poor weather conditions, other expeditions in the 1930s—all by British teams—failed to reach the top. When World War II erupted in Europe in 1939, attempts to climb Everest were put on hold. After the war, the Chinese government took over Tibet and closed the region’s borders. Approaching Mount Everest from the north was no longer an option.

Around this same time, India became independent from Great Britain. With the British gone, Nepal finally opened its borders. A southern approach to the summit was now possible. But it meant being brave enough to climb the treacherous Khumbu Icefall.

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