MEMBERS were welcomed to our meeting on Monday, February 29 at the Abbey Hotel, Malvern by Chairman Mike Taylor and David Harris was congratulated on his recent birthday.
We were pleased to welcome back Roger Smith whose wonderfully illustrated talk, ‘In the Footsteps of Mallory and Irvine’ quickly captured the attention of every one. His expedition in 2009 to “the highest rock on earth” followed much of the route taken by the 1924 Mount Everest expedition that unfortunately had such a tragic end. Mallory and his climbing partner, Irvine both disappeared on the North-East ridge during their attempt to make the first ascent of Everest. Mallory's body was discovered in 1999 but no trace has ever been found of Irvine.
Roger’s expedition group, 19 persons in all including a Sherpa team, set out from Kathmandu in Nepal. They crossed into Tibet along the road to Nyalam and numerous photographs captured the wonderful diversity of the region, Buddhist temples, towns and villages clinging to mountain sides, multi-coloured prayer flags and then, breathtaking views of snow capped peaks, including Everest with its eternal cloud. We were also shown original photos from the 1924 expedition taken at Base Camp 2 with their oxygen cylinders, required for their final ascent.
Roger and his group acclimatised at Base Camp 2, 5200m before setting out at 1am in the dark for their for final climb. At 10.36am they reached 7038m, their highest point, achieved without additional oxygen.
The vote of thanks was given by Philip Rumney who spoke for all in thanking Roger for a fascinating story. A collection was made for the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, set up in 1998 in memory of a young man who took his own life whilst suffering from depression.
Monday, March 14, Club member Don Wood’s talk is entitled ‘To Govern and Exploit. The Royal Niger Company- Chartered and Limited 1886 – 1900’.
We meet in the Abbey Hotel, Great Malvern. Refreshments are available from 10am and the meeting begins at 10.30am. For further information on the programme, please e-mail the Programme Secretary, t.batesworc@btinternet.com
TONY BATES
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