Description
The first edition of Everest 1933 by Hugh Ruttledge, an account of the first attempt to summit Everest since the failed Mallory expedition in 1924.
Quarto, xv, [1], 390pp. Blue cloth, wear along spine, wear to head of the spine. Faint foxing to leaf ends. This work is complete with frontispiece portrait, 54 illustrations, 3 maps, and a large foldout map of the Everest expedition. Includes the bookplate of publisher and mountaineer, Lee Lawrence Stopple, on the front pastedown. In the publisher’s dust jacket, large chip missing at the heel of the spine, archival issue repair to front hinge, light soiling to covers, a scarce example. (Neate, 675)
The 1933 British Mount Everest expedition, led by Hugh Ruttledge, was the fourth major British attempt to reach the summit of Everest and the second to use the route from Tibet via the North Col and Northeast Ridge. The team included climbers such as Frank Smythe, Eric Shipton, and Percy Wyn-Harris, and was supported by a large contingent of Sherpas. Using improved oxygen equipment and high-altitude camps, the expedition reached a then-record height of approximately 28,150 feet (8,580 meters), with Smythe and Wyn-Harris coming within about 900 feet of the summit before being forced back by weather. Though unsuccessful in reaching the top, the expedition gathered valuable high-altitude data, refined climbing techniques, and strengthened British knowledge of the mountain for future attempts.
