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Letter from George to Ruth Mallory from No. II Camp, Everest

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My dearest girl,

It was a great joy last night to get a letter from you dated March 22 – you may imagine how short of news I have been. I was particularly glad to learn that you have practically completed the sale of the Holt – I have been so much afraid that you would have anxiety about that. I also had delightful letters from Clare and Beridge – how Clare is growing up! I was much touched by B’s interest in my ship and much interested by her weeping over the story of Joseph – that doesn’t surprise me about her at all. Curiously enough I was wondering only a day or two back how much of O.T. [Old Testament] stories they were hearing and in particular whether they knew the story of Joseph’s dream.

Now I must give you a brief record of the days that have passed since leaving the B.C. It has been a very trying time with everything against us. The porters have seemed from the start short of acclimatisation and up against it.

May 3 Irvine, Odell, Hazard and self to Camp I

Half the porters lagged badly. Having added a good deal of stuff on their own account to what we had given them to carry they had big loads. I decided to leave 5 loads not urgently required at I and have five men to carry all the porters blankets etc.

May 4 The N.C.O. (Ghurkha) at I was very incompetent in getting these things distributed. However the result was good and the men must have gone well. Irvine and I had gone on ahead and reached II at about 12.30; we had hardly finished a leisurely tiffin when the first porters arrived. Camp II looked extraordinarily uninviting although already inhabited by an N.C.O. and 2 others in charge of the stores (150 loads or so) which had already been carried up by Tibetans. A low irregular wall surrounded a rough compound, which I was informed was the place for the sahibs tents, and another already covered by the fly of a Whymper tent was the home of the N.C.O. The sahibs compound was soon put sufficiently in order, two Whymper tents were pitched there for the four of us while a wonderful brown tent of Noel’s was pitched for him. No tents were provided here for porters the intention was to build comfortable huts or ‘sangars’ as we call them using the Whymper fly’s for roof, but no sangars had yet been built and accomodation for 23 men is not so easily provided in this way. However I soon saw that the ground would allow us to economise walls & Irvine and I with 3 or 4 men began building oblong sangar, the breadth only about 7ft; other men joined in after resting. It is an extraordinary thing to watch the conversion of men from listlessness to some spirit of enterprise; a very little thing will turn the scale; on this occasion the moving of a huge stone to form one corner started the men’s interest and later we sang! And so these rather tired children were persuaded to do something for their comfort – without persuasion they would have done nothing to make life tolerable. Towards 3.0 pm Odell and I (Irvine seemed tired after prodigious building efforts) went on to reconnoitre next day’s march over the glacier. We began by going along the stones of the true left bank, the way of 1922, but the going was very bad, much more broken than before. To our left on the glacier we could see the stones of a moraine appearing among the great ice pinnacles. We gained this by some amusing climbing retraced our steps a little way along it towards Camp II and then on the far side reached a hump from which the whole glacier could be seen rising to the south; from a point quite near us it was obvious that there could be no serious obstacle and that point we saw could be gained in a simple way: it only remained therefore to make a good connection with Camp II. We followed easily down the moraine, which is a stony trough between high fantastic ice pinnacles and a beautiful place and just as were nearing camp found a simple way through the pinnacles – so in an hour and a half the first and most difficult part of the way from II to III had been established.

4th to 5th An appalling night, very cold, considerable snow fall and a violent wind.

5th Result – signs of life in camp – the first audible ones in camps up to and including II are the blowing of a yak dung fire with Tibetan bellows – on the 5th these signs were very late.

The men too were an extraordinarily long time getting their food this morning. The N.C.O. seemed unable to get a move on and generally speaking an oriental inertia was in the air. It was with difficulty in fact that the men could be got out of their tents and then we had further difficulty about loads; one man, a regular old soldier, having possessed himself of a conveniently light load refused to take a heavier one which I wanted taken instead; I had to make a great show of threatening him with my fist in his face before he would comply and so with much argument about it and about, as to what should be left behind as to coolie rations and blankets and cooking pots and the degree of illness of 3 reporting sick we didn’t get fairly under way until 11 am. Now making a new track is always a long affair compared with following an old one – and on this occasion snow had fallen in the night. The glacier which had looked innocent enough the evening before was far from innocent now. The wind had blown the higher surfaces clear, the days I suppose had been too cold for melting and these surfaces were hard, smooth, rounded ice, almost as hard as glass and with never a trace of roughness, and between the projecting humps lay the new powdery snow. The result of these conditions was much expenditure of labour either in making steps in the snow or cutting them in ice and we reached a place known as the trough – a broad broken trough in the ice 50 ft deep about 1/3 of the way up knowing we should have all we could do to reach Camp III. Accordingly we roped up all the men in 3 parties; this of course was a mere device to get the men along as there isn’t a crevasse in the glacier until rounding the corner to III. We followed along in the trough for some way a lovely warm place, and then came out of it onto the open glacier where the wind was blowing up the snow maliciously. The wind luckily was at our backs until we rounded the corner of the North Peak – and then we caught it, blowing straight at us from the North Col. As the porters were now nearly exhausted and feeling the altitude badly our progress was a bitter experience. I was acting as lone horse finding the best way and consequently arrived first in camp. It was a queer sensation reviving memories of that scene, with the dud oxygen cylinders piled against the cairn which was built to commemorate the seven porters killed two years ago. The whole place had changed less than I could have believed possible, seeing that the glacier is everywhere beneath the stones. My boots were frozen hard on my feet and I knew we could to do nothing now to make a comfortable camp. I showed the porters where to pitch their tents at 6.0 pm; got hold of a rucksack containing 4 china cookers, dished out 3 and meta for their cooking to the porters and 1 to our own cook: then we pitched our own two Meade tents with doors facing about a yard apart for sociability. The porters seemed to me very much done up and considering how cold it was even at 6.0 am I was a good deal depressed by the situation. Personally I got warm easily enough; our wonderful Kami produced some sort of a hot meal and I lay comfortably in my sleeping bag. The one thing I could think of for the porters was the high altitude sleeping sacks (intended for IV and upwards) now at II and which I had not ordered to come on next day with the second party of porters (two parties A and B each of 20 had been formed for these purposes and B were a day behind us). The only plan was to make an early start next morning and get to II in time to forestall the departure of B party, I remember making this resolve in the middle of the night and getting up to pull my boots inside the tent from under the door; I put them inside the outer covering of my fleabag and near the middle of my body - but of course they remained frozen hard and I had a tussle to get them on in the morning. Luckily the sun strikes our tents early – 6.30 a.m. or little later at III and I was able to get off about 7.0. I left directions that half the men or as many less as possible should come ¼ of the way down and meet the men coming up so as to get the most important loads to III. I guessed that B party after a cold night would not start before 9.0 am and as I was anxious to find, if possible, a better way over the glacier I wasted some time in investigations and made an unsatisfactory new route, so that it was after 8.30 when I emerged from the trough; and a little further on I saw B party coming up. It was too late to turn them back. I found that they had some of them resolved that they would not be able to go to III and get back to II the same day and consequently increased their loads with blankets etc determining to sleep at III. This was the last thing I wanted. My chief idea at the moment was to get useful work out of B party without risking their morale or condition as I saw we were risking that of A. So after despatching a note to Noel at II I conducted B party slowly up the glacier. After making a convenient dump and sending down B party I got back to Camp III early afternoon, some what done and going very slowly at the last from want of food. In camp nothing doing. All porters said to be sick and none fit to carry a load. Irvine and Odell volunteered to go down to the dump and get up one or two things specially wanted – e.g. Primus stoves, which was done. The sun had left the camp sometime before they returned. A very little wall building was done this day notably round the N.C.O.’s tent otherwise nothing to improve matters. The temperature at p.m. (we hadn’t thermometers the previous night) was observed to be 2° F – 30 ° of frost an hour before sunset –; under these conditions it is only during the sunny windless hours that anything to speak of can be done; this day there were such hours but I gathered that sahibs as well as porters were suffering from altitude lassitude.

May 7 The night had been very cold -21 ½ ° i.e. 53 °of frost. Personally I had slept beautifully warmly and yet was not well in the morning. Odell and Irvine also seemed distinctly unfit. I decided to send Hazard down with some of A party to meet at the dump and bring up 10 of B (it had been arranged that this party were to come up again). Investigations again showed that no porters were fit to carry loads; several were too unwell to be kept up at III; not one had a spark of energy or seemed inclined to do a hand’s turn to help himself – the only live man in camp was our admirable Kami. I decided to send down the whole lot and to send up B next day to establish the camp and prove it habitable. While Hazard went off to meet B I collected the men at III. They had to be more or less pulled from their tents; an hour and a half must have been taken up in their getting a meal of tea and tsamfa which they must clearly have before going down; & much time too in digging out the sicker men who tried to hide away in their tents – one of them who was absolutely without a spark of life to help himself had swollen feet and we had to pull on his boots with our socks; he was almost incapable of walking; I supported him with my arm for some distance and then told off a porter to do that; eventually roped in three parties in charge of the N.C.O. I sent them off by themselves from the dump - where shortly afterwards I met Hazard. Four men of B had gone on to III but not to sleep. Three others whom we now proceeded to rope up and help with their loads alone consented to stay there.

A second day therefore passed with only 7 more loads got to III & nothing done to establish the camp in a more comfortable manner, unless it may be counted that this third night the six men would each have a high altitude sleeping bag: and meanwhile the morale of A partly had gone to blazes. It was clear to me that the morale of porters altogether must be restored if possible at once by bringing B partly up and giving them a day’s rest to make camp.

May 8. I made another early start and reached II at 9.0 am – and here met Norton and Somervill. By some mental aberration I had thought they would only reach II on this day – they had proceeded according to programme and come to II on the 7th. We discussed plans largely while I ate breakfast, in the mild, sheltered, sunny al fresco of II (by comparison). N. agreed with my ideas and we despatched all remaining B party to III with Somervell, to pick up their loads at the dump and carry them on. A had been filled up the previous night with hot food and were now lying in the sun looking more like men; the only question was whether in future to re establish the correct standard and make them carry all the way to III and back as was always done in 1922; I was strongly opposed to this idea, the best way of re establishing their morale I thought would be to give them a job well within their powers and if they improved as I hoped they might well carry loads the ¾ journey to the dump on 3 successive days - while B could ferry the last quarter once and twice on the two of the days when they would not be engaged in making camps: - this was agreed to more particularly by Geoffrey Bruce, who really runs the porters altogether, and who had now come up from I.

A day of great relief this with the responsibility shared or handed over; and much lying in the sun; and untroubled sleep at II.

May 9 I intended going ahead of the party to see how things were moving at III – for this day the camp was to be made wonderful. Seven men with special loads, fresh heroes from the Base were to go through to III the A men to return from the dump to II. As it turned out I escorted the first batch who were going through to III. The conditions when we emerged from the trough were anything but pleasant; under a grey sky the violent wind was blowing up the snow; at moments the black dots below me on the glacier all except the nearest were completely lost to view. The men were much inclined to put down their loads before reaching the dump and a good deal of driving had to be done. Eventually after waiting some time at the dump I joined Norton and Geoff and we escorted the last 3 loads for III the last bit of the way.

On such a day I didn’t expect III to be more congenial than it had been. However it was something to be greeted by the cheery noise of the Roarer Cooker; the R.C. is one of the great inventions of the expedition; we have two in point of fact one with a vertical and one with a horizontal flame – a sort of super Primus stove. Irvine and Odell had evidently been doing some useful work. It had been a triumph getting the R.C. to Camp III – it is an extravagant load weighing over 40lbs and it now proved to be even more extravagant of fuel than had been anticipated; moreover its burning was somewhat intermittent and as the cook even after instruction was still both frightened and incompetent when this formidable stove was not functioning quite sweetly and well a sahib had often to be called in to help. Nevertheless the R.C. succeeded in cooking food for the troops and however costly in paraffin oil that meal may have been it made the one great difference between Camp III as A party experienced it and Camp III now. Otherwise on this day set apart for the edification & beautification of this camp the single thing that had been done was the erection of one Mead tent to accommodate 2 more sahibs (only 2 more because Hazard came down this day). And no blame to anyone. B party was much as A party had been - in a state of oriental inertia; it is unfair perhaps to our porters to class then with Orientals in general, but they have this oriental quality that after a certain stage of physical discomfort or mental depression is reached they simply curl up. Our porters were just curled up inside their tents. And it must be admitted that the sahibs were most of the time in their tents no other place being tolerable. Personally I felt that the task of going round tents and seeing how the men were getting on and giving orders about the arrangements of the camp now naturally fell to Geoffrey Bruce, whose ‘pigeon’ it is to deal with porters. And so, presently, in my old place, with Somervell now as a companion instead of Hazard. I made myself comfortable; - i.e. I took off my boots and knickers, put on my footless stockings knitted for me by my wife for last expedition and covering the whole of my legs, a pair of grey flannel bags & 2 pairs of warm socks besides my cloth sided shoes & certain garments too for warming the upper parts, a comparatively simple matter. The final resort in these conditions of course is to put ones legs into a sleeping bag. Howard and I lay warmly enough and presently I proposed a game of picquette and we played cards for sometime until Norton & Geoff came to pay us a visit and discuss the situation. Someone a little later lied backer the flaps of the two tents facing each other so that after N & G had retired to their tent the other four of us began were inhabiting as it were one room and hopefully talked of the genius of Kami and the Roarer Cooker and supposed that a hot evening meal might sometime come our way. Meanwhile I produced The Spirit of Man and began reading one things and another – Howard reminded me that I was reproducing on the same spot a scene which occurred two years ago when he and I lay in a tent together. We all agreed that Kubla Khan was a good sort of poem. Irvine was rather poetry shy but seemed to be favourably impressed by the Epitaph to Grey’s Elegy. Odell was much inclined to be interested and liked the last lines of Prometheus Unbound. S, who knows quite a lot of English Literature had never read a poem of Emily Bronte’s and was happily introduced. And suddenly hot soup arrived.

The following night was one of the most disagreeable I remember. The wind came in tremendous gusts and in spite of precautions to keep it out the fresh snow drifted in; if one’s head was not under the bed clothes one’s face was cooled by the fine cold powder and [May 10 written in margin] in the morning I found about 2 ins of snow all along my side of the tent. It was impossible to guess how much snow had fallen during the night when first one looked out. The only certain thing was the vile appearance of thing’s at present. In a calm interval one could take stock of a camp now covered in snow - and then would come the violent wind and all would be covered in the spindrift. Presently Norton and Geoff came into our tent for a pow pow. G. speaking from the porters’ point of view was in favour of beating a retreat. We were all agreed that we must not risk destroying the morale of the porters and also that for two or three days no progress could be made towards the North Col. But it seemed to me that in a normal course of events the weather should now re-establish itself and might even be sufficiently calm to get something done this afternoon; and that for the porters the best thing of all would be to weather the storm up at III. In any case it would be early enough to decide for a retreat next day. These arguments commended themselves to Norton; and so it was agreed. Meanwhile one of the most serious features of the situation was the consumption of fuel. A box of meta and none could say how much paraffin (not much however) had been burnt at II; here at III no water had yet appeared and snow must be melted for everyone at every meal – a box of Meta had been consumed here too and Primus stoves had been used before Roarer had made its appearance yesterday. Goodness knew how much oil it had used. It was clear that the first economy must be in the number (6) of sahibs at III. We planned that Somervill, Norton and Odell should have the first whack at the North Col and Irvine and I finish the good work next day – Irvine and I therefore must go down first. On the way down Irvine suffered very much and I somewhat for the complaint known as glacier lassitude – mysterious complaint, but I’m pretty certain that in his case the sun and the dazzling light reflected from the new snow had something to do with the trouble.

A peaceful time at II with Beetham and Noel.

May 11. The weather hazy and unsettled looking.

I despatched 15 loads up to the dump and arranged for the evacuation of two sick men – of whom one had very badly frost bitten feet apparently a Lepcha unfit for this game and the other was Sangha, Kellas’s old servant who has been attached to Noel this expedition and last, a most valuable man who seemed extremely ill with bronchitis. The parties had been gone half an hour before we were aroused by a shout and learnt that a porter had broken his leg on the glacier. We quickly gathered ourselves into a competent help party and had barely started out when a man turned up bearing a note from Norton – to tell me as I half expected that he had decided to evacuate III for the present and retire all ranks to the B.C.

The wounded man turned out to be nearer at hand and not so badly wounded (a bone broken in the region of the knee) as I had feared.

This same evening Beetham, Noel, Irvine, and I were back at the B.C., the rest coming in next day.

Well, that’s the bare story of the reverse, so far as it goes. I’m convinced Norton has been perfectly right. We pushed things far enough. Everything depends on the porters and we must contrive to bring them to the starting point – i.e. 3 at the top of their form. I expect we were working all the time in ‘22 with a smaller margin than we knew - it certainly amazed me that the whole ‘bandobast’ so far as porters were concerned worked so smoothly. Anyway this time the conditions at III were much more severe and not only were temperatures lower, but wind was more continuous and more violent. I expect these porters will do as well in the end as last time’s. Personally I felt as though I were going through a real hard time in a way I never did in ’22. Meanwhile our retreat has meant a big waste of time. We have waited down here for the weather & at last it looks more settled and we are on the point of starting up again. But the day for the summit is put off from the 17th to the 28th; and the great question is will the monsoon give us time?

May 16. That is all very impersonal but I wanted to get the story down. You’ll be glad to hear that I came through the bad time unscathed indeed, excellently fit. I must tell you that with immense physical pride I look upon myself as the strongest of the lot the most likely to get to the top with or without gas. I may be wrong but I’m pretty sure Norton thinks the same. He and I were agreeing yesterday that none of the new members, with the possible exception of Irvine can touch the veterans and that the old gang are bearing everything on their shoulders and will continue to do so forcement. The performance of Odell and Hazard on the day they were supposed to reconnoitre the North Col was certainly disappointing. And Beetham has not recovered his form. None of these three has shown that he has any real guts; it is an effort to pull oneself together and do what is required high up, but it is the power to keep the show going when you don’t feel energetic that will enable us to win through if anything does. Irvine has much more of the winning spirit - he has been wonderfully hard working and brilliantly skilful about the oxygen; against him is his youth (though it is very much for him some ways) – hard things seem to hit him a bit harder – and his lack of mountaineering training and practice, which must tells to some extent when it comes to climbing rocks or even to saving energy on the easiest ground. However he’ll be an ideal campaigning companion and with as stout a heart as you could wish to find; - if each of us keeps up his strength as it is at present we should go well together.

Somervell seems to me a bit below his form of two years ago and Norton is not particularly strong I fancy, at the moment; still they’re sure to turn up a pretty tough pair. I hope to carry all through now with a great bound now. We have learnt from experience and will be well organised at the camps. Howard and I will be making the way to Chang La again – 4 days hence and eight days later – who can tell? Perhaps we shall go to the top on Ascension Day May 29.

I don’t forget meanwhile that there’s the old monsoon to be reckoned with, and a hundred possible slips between the B.C. and the summit. I feel strong for the battle but I know every ounce of strength will be wanted.

I must get off a little letter to each of the girls by this mail. I wish I had time to present to your mind a few of the amazing scenes connected with this story. As it is it is dull I fear – but perhaps not to you. My love to people in Cambridge, David and Claud and Jim especially and kind remembrances to Cranage and Mrs Cr. I wonder what you’ll be doing about putting people up during the Summer Meeting.

Great love to you always, dearest Ruth. Your loving George

Letter from George to Ruth Mallory from Tinkye Dzong

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Darling Ruth,

This is only a hurried line at the end of a full day - to tell you (1) that my tummy is in perfect order again, & I feel as fit as possible. It was a funny go altogether & quite inexplicable. Naturally there was a small appendicitis scare as the tenderness was on the right side, but Somervell was practically sure from the start that I was free from that.

(2) Beetham came on with us. It was Somervell’s decision on the very morning of leaving Kampa Dzong – that is to say S [Somervell] had to decide that B [Beetham] would get better; & no doubt he is right. But it is one thing to have no more dysentry & another to get really fit again after all that when living at this altitude. At present B [Beetham] looks years older in much the same way as Raeburn did in ’21, only at a younger stage & has quite lost all kick & there was no one more energetic earier. Still he may be a useful reserve climber in the end.

(3) I’ve had a brain wave – no other word will describe the process by which I arrived at another plan for climbing the mountains;-
(a) A. & B. with 15 porters (about) starting from IV (North Col) establish V building emplacements for 4 tents at about 25,500 & descend.
(b) C. & D. gassless party go to V with another 15 porters of whom 7 carry loads & descend, the other 8 group without loads practically speaking & sleep.
(c) C. & D. proceed to establish a camp VII at 27,300 (about) with these 8 porters carrying up 6 loads.
(d) E. & F. gas party on the same day as (c) start wthh 10 porters (about) from IV, go without loads to V & from that point E. & F. using oxygen they take on the stores & gas previously dumped at V about 1,000ft higher to VI at 26,500.
(e) Then the two parties start next morning & presumably meet on the summit.

You will readily perceive the chief merits of this plan; - the mutual support which the two parties can give each other; the establishment of camps without waste of reserve climbers (A. & B. will not have done so much that they can’t recover); the much better chance this way of establishing VI without collapse of porters. And then if this go fails we shall be in the best possible position to decide how the next attempt should be made; four climbers we hope will be available & the camps either way will be all ready.

This plan has such great advantages over all others that Norton has taken it up at once & this evening we had another pow wow & everyone has cordially approved. I’m much pleased about this as you may imagine - if only for this it seems worth while to have come; for Norton’s plan was fundamentally unsound I’m sure & might have had very bad results; & in this one there is much greater safety. It is impossible yet to say who the parties will be. N [Norton] & I have talked about it; he thinks Somervell & I should lead each one of these two parties; he puts himself in my hands as to whether he should be one of them – isn’t that generous? We shall have to judge as best we can of people’s fitness when we reach the Base Camp. Odell has not been showing up well; but either he or Irvine must be of the gas party.

We have stayed one day here for transport, as against 3 last year when Longstaff was ill; & we hope only to stay one day at Shekar, & so we should be two or three days up at the Base Camp.

No mail yet – one should have arrived today.
Much love to you.

Ever your loving, George

I didn’t tell you that I bought a pony at Kampa Dzong, a very good animal, though too thin.

Letter from George to Ruth Mallory, from Anchor Line, T.M.S. California [Letterhead], March

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My Dearest Ruth,

It is Saturday and early on Wednesday morning we shall be in Bombay, so the voyage is nearing its end. I had a scheme of writing you a little each day, but though I have thought of you often I have written little [struck through] nothing. The fact is that the days after all turn out to be too short. As you may imagine my first idea has been to keep fit. It is never very easy in the hot weather, and though it was cool enough until we were in the Canal it has been hot since then – not remarkably hot, but limp-hot. For two days going down the Red Sea we had a following wind; there was no air on the ship and our cabin with the afternoon soon became insufferable. One night I tried to sleep on deck, with two pillows and two deck chairs to help me, but though it was pleasant enough lying under the stars, too exciting perhaps I got no sleep and in the early morning retired to the cabin. But the nights have been bearable except for that one and the great way to be fit is to perspire freely both before breakfast and again in the evening before dinner. With Beetham and Irvine I do a good deal of throwing and catching the medicine ball and that proves the best way of all. Occasionally I run, ten times round the deck, which is about a mile. Anyway activities of this sort cut into the time between tea and dinner; after dinner when I don’t play Bridge (ie. about every other night) I don’t find I get much done of anything serious and one is hot and stuffy and after dinnerish. However I have a done a good whack at Hindustani at which I hope to be very much more efficient this time. I have read a little history; I have written the article for Blackie and Son and I have studied the oxygen apparatus and gone through lists of stores and invoices so as to get to know exactly what we have that we shall want from the Base Camp on and have my own list in a notebook. The one serious omission is crampons – nothing but the old-fashioned heavy kind; it is very disappointing; I made a great point of that with the equipment people. It means we shall have to cut steps up the final slope I suppose. The oxygen apparatus is going to be awkward to carry and particularly to cut steps when wearing it will be difficult. I have spent some time too going into the question of organising high camps; but it is difficult to come to any conclusions at present and I think very likely our plan should be to have a stray reconnaissance using oxygen from the North Col to decide the heights of different places suggested and also how many people could sleep there. The point of using oxygen would be to preserve the strength of those making the reconnaissance. However this plan would be rather expensive of organisation, and I doubt whether we shall carry it out.

The ship has been much more agreeable since we unshipped our cargo of Scotch tourists at Port Said. There is room now on board and one can find a corner and get away and be quiet if one wants to. We sit eight at a table of whom one is Irvine and it is quite an agreeable little crowd. I am always down and have finished breakfast before anyone else arrives unless it is Irvine and then seek solitude, so I hardly see anything of anybody before lunch. If people see one busy – and they have grown accustomed to see me busy – they don’t mercifully, disturb one. Even so it isn’t easy to get much done; if one sits in a wind papers blow about and if one sits out of it one is too hot. They are a nice lot of people quiet and dullish and unobjectionable. I fear I’m not seeming very sociable, but they have asked me to give a talk about our expedition and I have agreed to do that tomorrow night.

I’ve a sort of feeling that I’ve left all the difficult things to you. I do wonder how you’ll get on about selling the Holt and letting Herschel House, and building our new wall and dealing with the garden. I came to no agreement with you about paying bills while I am away – I think the best plan will be for you to pay none unless it seems urgently necessary; I think there can hardly be any to pay, unless it is the Army and Navy stores for port wine and any Everest things, e.g. Bodger’s and Beales can wait.
Don’t forget the wine cellar must be locked up if you let the house; and in the cellar is the over mantle for Mrs Lock.
I wonder where you will be when you get this. As your plans were vague I shall post to Herschel House; and it should get there about April 5 and may catch you. Your first letter to me should reach Bombay 2 days after us and so I should only have 2 days in Darjeeling to wait for it.

I haven’t said a word to you about my hip which was bothering me – you will have gathered that it is better, and it is indeed perfectly well and strong, so that I never think of it or notice it; in fact I am pretty fit altogether; my ankle and its behaviour in new boots are the only anxiety; but I have a comfortable old pair for marching and shoes besides so I should be all right.
I feel this to be a very dull letter. I hope you got my communications from Port Said all right, particularly 2 boxes of Turkish Delight addressed to all three children. I want to know about that because I had to get them despatched from a shop. And did I ask you to send photos of yourself and them? I do like to have them.

Monday – The end of the voyage begins to loom near. Thoughts of the journey across India and various details obtrude themselves. I shall begin packing today, because I don’t see exactly how I am to dispose of the heavy suit in which I came on board – you’ll remember that I haven’t much room left in the suitcases.

I find myself wanting to see India again and looking forward to the journey in spite of heat and dust. How dirty we shall be by the time we reach Calcutta!

The Indian Ocean has been remarkably smooth and lifeless, and rather grey as it always is – until today when it is all alive with a delicious breeze, and blue like the Mediterranean. We’ve seen nothing of interest but a school of dolphins which performed with a truly amazing joie de vivre.

It is curious that now I am in warm sunshine I must think of you in a summer frock – March 17 – perhaps it is snowing in Cambridge. England does look a little grim from the tropics at this time of year. But you’ll have an English spring and sunshine. I wonder if you will go to see Mill give them my love if you do – I do like the way they have settled down – they’ve done it very nicely, and they are nice happy people.

How I wish I had you with me; with so much leisure we should have enjoyed this time together; and I would have been able to give you so much more than I can give you in our daily life at home. Supposing that you instead of Hazard had been sharing my cabin and I could have peeped over in the morning from my perch and seen you lying below and we would have gone up into the bows together in our silk dressing gowns to breathe the fresh morning air and sat together here where now I am alone – dear girl we give up and miss a terrible lot by trying to do what is right; but we must see we don’t miss too much.

I shall write again before we leave Darjeeling, one day early next week so as to catch the next mail after this one, which will go out on Friday the 21st.

Great love to you, dearest one, and many, many kisses for the children.
Ever you loving
George

P.S. I’m sending a few stamps I bought off a man in the street in Port Said. If you know any small boy of our acquaintance, Bobby, or John, or Franz, will you send them on to one of them. Aunt Jessie will probably have them and anyway is old enough to know better.
G.

Letter from George to Ruth Mallory from Chiblung

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My dearest Ruth,

I don’t know whether you will easily find this place on the map. We have come north from Tinkye, avoiding unpleasant customers at Chushar and Gyanka Nampa & this valley is divided from that in which Rongkon lies by a low range of hills - we are encamped just at the corner of the Chiblung Chu; Sanko Ri & the ridge where Somervell & I climbed in 1922 is our view to the west.

Today – at last – an English mail has reached us. I have had a very nice long letter from you and also a picture of the children enclosed with the photos from my American friend Schwab illustrating his expedition to Mt Clemenceau (did you notice the one of Mt Farrar & Mt Mallory?). I’m very glad to have the children’s picture, but you don’t send one of yourself naughty girl. Nor do you send me any cuttings this mail, nor the Nation which I hoped you would be sending – though really European affairs are so far away & news is so old that I’ve not much enthusiasm about them. Karma Paul who brought our mail also brought news of the General, whom he left in Phari; he must be pretty ill still as he was unable to walk and was to be carried down to Chumbi; Hingston will accompany him to Ganktok & should rejoin us at the B.C. [Base Camp] about the middle of May. Meanwhile Beetham gets on slowly & can’t be said to have got rid of dysentery yet let alone picking up after it - however I think he’s on the mend.

I heard from Mary today with news of the weather in Colombo & it looks as if the earliest breath of the monsoon is a fortnight early! But that doesn’t necessarily mean much. The bad sign is the weather here which is distinctly more unsettled than in ’22 & these last two nights have been unhealthily warm. Today we have been in a regular storm area though no rain or snow has actually fallen here.

April 24 at Shekar Dzong.

I’ve left it rather late to go on with this letter – that is partly because one way or another I have been spending a good many spare moments on the elaboration of our plans. The difficult work of allotting tasks to men has now been done – N [Norton]& I consulted & he made a general announcement after dinner 2 days ago. The question as to which of the first two parties should be led by Somervell & which by me was decided on two grounds (1) on the assumption that the oxygen party would be less exhausted & be in the position of helping the other it seemed best that I should use oxygen & be responsible for the descent (2) it seemed more likely on his last year’s performance that Somervell would recover after a gasless attempt to be useful again later. It was obvious that either Irvine or Odell should come with me in the first gas party. Odell is in charge of the gas, but Irvine has been the engineer at work on the apparatus – what was provided was full of leaks & faults & he has practically invented a new instrument using up only a few of the old parts & cutting out much that was useless & likely to cause trouble; moreover the remaining parties had to be considered and it wouldn’t do to make Irvine the partner of Geoffrey Bruce as they would lack mountaineering experience; & so Irvine will come with me. He will be an extraordinarily stout companion, very capable with the gas & with cooking apparatus; the only doubt is to what extent his lack of mountaineering experience will be a handicap; I hope the ground will be sufficiently easy.

Norton if he is fit enough will go with Somervell or, if he seems clearly a better goer at the moment, Hazard. Beetham is counted out, though he’s getting fitter. Odell & Geoffrey Bruce will have the important task of fixing Camp V at 25,500.

The whole difficulty of fitting people in so that they take a part in the assault according to their desire or ambition is so great that I can’t feel distressed about the part that falls to me. The gasless party has the better adventure, and as it has always been my pet plan to climb the mountain gasless with two camps above the Chang La it is naturally a bit disappointing that I shall be with the other party. Still the conquest of the mountain is the great thing & the whole plan is mine & my part will be a sufficiently interesting one & will give me perhaps the best chance of all of getting to the top. It is almost unthinkable with this plan that I shan’t get to the top; I can’t see myself coming down defeated. And I have very good hopes that the gasless party will get up; I want all 4 of us to get there, & I believe it can be done. We shall be starting by moonlight if the morning is calm & should have the mountain climbed if we’re lucky before the wind is dangerous.

This evening 4 of us have been testing the oxygen apparatus, and comparing the new arrangements with the old. Irvine has managed to save weight, 4 or 5 lbs, besides making a much more certain as well as more convenient instrument. I was glad to find I could easily carry it up the hill even without using the gas, & better of course with it. On steep ground where one has to climb more or less the load is a great handicap & at this elevation a man is better without it. The weight is about 30 lbs, rather less. There is nothing in front of one’s body to hinder climbing & the general impression I have is that it is a perfectly manageable load. My plan will be to carry as little as possible, go fast & rush the summit. Finch & Bruce tried carrying too many cylinders.

I’m still very fit & happy. Tibet is giving us many beautiful moments. With these abnormal weather conditions it is much warmer than in ’22 & the whole journey is more comfortable. It is nice having one’s own poney – mine is a nice beast to ride, but he’s not in good condition, & today has had a nasty attack of colic; however he’ll have a long holiday to come soon & I hope he’ll fatten up & arrive fit & well in Darjeeling were I shall sell him. Only 4 marches, starting tomorrow morning to the Rongbuk monastery! We’re getting very near now. On May 3 four of us will leave the Base Camp & begin the upward trek & on May 17 or thereabouts we should reach the summit. I’m eager for the great event to begin.

Now dearest I must say Good Night to you & turn into my cosy sleeping bag, where I shall have a clean nose sheet tonight, one of the two you made to fix with patent fasteners. Considering how much grease my face requires & gets that device has been very useful.

Great love to you always.

The telegram announcing our success if we succeed will precede this letter I suppose; but it will mention no names. How you will hope that I was one of the conquerors. And I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Ever your loving
George

Letter from George Mallory to Ruth from Yatung

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My dearest Ruth,

It seems I ought to get off a letter to you tomorrow morning in order to be certain of catching the mail. I don’t know that I have a very great deal to tell you. The great thing is that I have had your second letter & those from Clare & Berry. Dearest one I think it wonderful of you to settle down & be cheerful & enterprising and sociable. It must be difficult I know to start in with Cambridge life by yourself. You evidently managed to let Frances see something of life & she must have enjoyed herself; she kindly wrote me a note by this mail too. I am glad also to hear that Mr Blunt has not deserted as I rather feared he had done. It was good of him really to stay away when he felt that he couldn’t do much in the garden. I am sorry you have had such a cold March. I expect you will be very glad to enjoy some spring weather away from Cambridge.

All goes well with me. The march from Sedongchen to Gnathong [Gnatong] was glorious, Kanchenjunga & his neighbour appearing magnificently; I haven’t seen any distant mountain view before from this part & we counted ourselves very lucky. Gnathong [Gnatong] (12,500 ft) was not so cold this time, though the veranda was bunged up with snow, & from their [there] we made two easy stages here, stopping the night in a little rest house an hour down this side of Jelap La. Norton & I walked up to the pass (14,500 ft) together & were pleased to think that we felt fitter than last year. I certainly am feeling very fit now. I sleep long & well & can walk as fast as anyone.

We have had a few good signs of Spring – on the Sikkim side a most lovely little primula flourishing from 9,000 to 11,000 ft, with the habit of our English primrose only somewhat smaller & neater, and of a delicious crimson colour; and Rhododendron Falconeri, a big bright red fellow was flowering freely a bit lower. On this side we have another primula, denticulata, paler in colour & of the polyanthus type, very freely scattered over the meadows; & we have our old friend Daphne, I know not what species. The conifers too in this valley are all showing green.

It has been a wonderfully pleasant journey so far, with bright sun & pleasant conditions altogether. And it has been a very jolly company. We found the first contingent here no less happy than ourselves. The General (entrenous) has not been quite well & has stayed here today while Norton takes on the first party. The slack day here has been very pleasant. I have had a long ramble with Irvine.

I shall wish you Good Night & send this off brief as it is. Remember me to all my friends – but I forget you won’t be seeing them at present. I wonder where this letter will find you. It should reach you near about the 1st of May. Perhaps you have forgotten the significance of that date - will you think of me very specially on May 1 & may it be as good a day as it was in 1914.
Please thank Clare & Berry very much for their letters which I much enjoyed; & I liked the cards with flower pictures. It will be sometime yet before John can write me letters!

Now farewell dearest love. I waive you many kisses & see you smiling & happy & resolved so to be even during the month of May.

Ever your loving George.

I address this to Westbrook as I should like it to find you there & if you are with them will you please give my love to father Hugh & Marjorie; & in case you meet them remember me to Allen & Scott & the Fletchers. I shall be writing to Evelyn I hope. I am sorry for what you say about Alan, but a very young man’s view is generally exaggerated. I wish myself that A. would look tidier; I don’t know that it matters about his working provided he uses his mind somehow as he clearly does. My love to him when you see him.

Letter from George to Ruth Mallory, from Hotel Mount Everest, Darjeeling [Letterhead].

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My dearest Ruth,

These have been full days since we came up here on Friday & tomorrow, Wednesday early, we start for Kalimpong - so that our stay has been short enough, & much taken up with packing & arrangements of one sort or another. Norton has got the whole organisation under his hand & we shall economise much time & money by dumping some of our boxes en route: all the stores for the high camps have practically been settled already. He is going to be an ideal 2nd to Bruce.

The party looks very very fit altogether. We had a very hot journey through India. The hot weather apparently came with a rush this year just before we landed & the temperature must have been up to 100 a good part of the time we were in the train, as it was supposed to be 99 in Calcutta; its a grimy dirty business & I was glad to get to the end of our train journeying. I was feeling a bit short of sleep otherwise very fit. The only doubts I have are whether the old ankle one way or another will cause me trouble.

Four of us walked up to Senschal Hill yesterday afternoon to see the magnolias. I was trying my new boots from Dewberry; they are going to be good but my right ankle didn’t feel too happy.

The magnolias were magnificent, a better show than last year - four different sorts white & deep cerise pink & two lighter pinks between - they so look startlingly bright on a dark hillside.

The country here is very dry at present & a haze of heat blown up from the plains hangs about. we haven’t seen the mountains until this morning when Kanchen has very timely made an appearance. Somervell & Odell besides the General, Geoffrey Bruce & Norton etc were here before us; it was very nice to see S. again & Odell is one of the best. Really it is an amazingly nice party altogether; one of the best is Hingston our M.O., an Irishman a quiet little man & a very keen naturalist. The only one I don’t yet know is Shebbeare, who belongs to the Forestry Department & is said to be a particularly nice man; he knows all about trees & shrubs which is a very good thing but nothing about flowers. So that we shall once more be without a real botanist.

We go to Kalimpong all together, as before, tomorrow and then separate in two parties; I shall be with the second, with Norton, Hingston, Irvine & Shebbeare I believe. Noel’s movements are independent; he is more than ever full of stunts; the latest in a Citroen tractor which some hour or another is to come into Tibet a pure ad of course (this may be a secret for the present).

The Everest Committee has now among us all a wonderful reputation for muddle and the latest is that after all they gave us the wrong address & the old one c/o Post Master, Darjeeling is correct. However I shall get your letters addressed to Yatung with little delay.

The English mail should have come in yesterday but the ship was 12 hrs late & we shan’t get it until today & consequently will have precious little time for answering.

I long to get your letter dear though it will only give me 3 days’ news.

How long is it since I left you? It will be four weeks on Friday. By now or very soon you will be leaving Cambridge for a time & won’t feel so lonely. I know you must have been feeling lonely some evenings; but you will have had Frances Wills part of the time & I hope you will have been out or had people to see you sometimes too. I expect the absence of me must make you feel less busy? Have you made a fresh start with china painting?

Dearest one, I often want you with me to enjoy things with & to talk over things & people quietly; and I want to take you in my arms & kiss your dear brown head. Here’s a great holiday time it seems & you not with me. But we’ll have a wonderful holiday together one of these days won’t we?

Later - The English mail has come in & I’ve had a letter from Mother but none from you. My dearest it is very disappointing. I hoped you would catch me at Darjeeling. Perhaps you directed to Yatung in which case I shall get your letter there in 7 days time.
I lunched with Her Excellency (what a title) Lady Lytton & her family today. Lady L. is really very nice but lord how folk can live with aides de camp hanging round! 2 here & presumably 2 more at Calcutta & one civilian one military secretary!

Much love to you dearest one & many kisses to the children.
Ever your loving
George.

Letter from George to Ruth Mallory from Camp I, Everest

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My dearest Ruth,

This is going to be the scrappiest letter - a time limit for the mail has suddenly been put on and this morning when I might have been writing to you I was busy doing a communique at Norton’s request, I find it an impossible task to write that sort of thing up here. Anyway such as it is you will have read it, so that is some satisfaction.

Dear Girl, this has been a bad time altogether. I look back on tremendous efforts & exhaustion & dismal looking out of a tent door and onto a world of snow & vanishing hopes - & yet, & yet, & yet there have been a good many things to set on the other side. The party has played up wonderfully. The first visit to the North Col was a triumph for the old gang. Norton & I did the job & the cutting of course was all my part - so far as one can enjoy climbing above Camp II I enjoyed the conquest of the ice wall & crack the crux of the route, & making the steps too in the steep final 200 ft.

Odell did very useful work leading the way on from the camp to the Col; I was practically bust to the world & couldn’t have lead that half hour though I still had enough mind to direct him. We made a very bad business of the descent. It suddenly occurred to me that we ought to see what the old way down was like. Norton & I were ahead, unroped, & Odell behind in charge of a porter who had carried up a light load. We got onto ground where a practiced man can just get a long without crampons (which we hadn’t with us), chipping occasional steps in very hard snow or ice. I was all right ahead but Norton had a nasty slip & then the porter, whose knot didn’t hold so that he went down some way & was badly shaken. Meanwhile I, below, finding the best way down had walked into an obvious crevasse; by some miscalculation I had thought I had prodded the snow with which it was choked & where I hoped we could walk instead of cutting steps at the side of it - all the result of mere exhaustion no doubt - but the snow gave way & in I went with the snow tumbling all around me, down luckily only about 10 feet before I fetched up half-blind & breathless to find myself most precariously supported only by my ice axe somehow caught across the crevasse & still held in my right hand - & below was a very unpleasant black hole. I had some nasty moments before I got comfortably wedged & began to yell for help up through the round hole I had come through where the blue sky showed – this because I was afraid any operations to extricate myself would bring down a lot more snow & perhaps precipitate me into the bargain. However I soon grew tired of shouting – they hadn’t seen me from above - & bringing the snow down a little at a time I made a hole out towards the side (the crevasse ran down a slope) after some climbing, & so extricated myself - but was then on the wrong side of the crevasse, so that eventually I had to cut across a nasty slope of very hard ice & further down some mixed unpleasant snow before I was out of the wood. The others were down by a better line 10 minutes before me - that cutting against time at the end after such a day just about brought me to my limit.

So much for that day.

My one personal trouble has been a cough. It started a day or two before leaving the B.C. [Base Camp] but I thought nothing of it. In the high camp it has been the devil. Even after the day’s exercise I have described I couldn’t sleep but was distressed with bursts of coughing fit to tear one’s guts - & so headache & misery altogether; besides which of course it has a very bad effect on one’s going on the mountain. Somervell also has a cough which started a little later than mine & he has not been at his physical best.

The following day when the first loads were got to Camp IV in a snowstorm Somervell & Irvine must have made a very fine effort hauling load up the chimney. Hazard had bad luck to be left alone in charge of the porters at [Camp] IV only for one night according to our intentions, but the snow next day prevented Geoff [Bruce] & Odell from starting - & the following day he (i.e. H) elected to bring the party down quite rightly considering the weather; but can you imagine, he pointedly ordered one man, who had been appointed camp cook for the men, to stay up on the chance of his being useful to the party coming up - it is difficult to make out how exactly it happened, but evidently he didn’t shepherd his party property at all & in the end 4 stayed up one of these badly frostbitten. Had the snow been a bit worse that day we went up to bring them down things might have been very bad indeed. Poor old Norton was very hard hit altogether - hating the thought of such a bad muddle, & himself really not fit to start out next day - nor were any of us for that matter & it looked 10 to 1 against our getting up with all that snow about let alone get a party down. I led from the camp to a point some little distance above the flat glacier - the snow wasn’t so very bad as there had been no time for it to get sticky, still that part with some small delays took us 3 hours; then S. [Somervell] took us up to where Geoff [Bruce] & Odell had dumped their loads the day before & shortly afterwards Norton took on the lead; luckily we found the snow better as we proceeded, N [Norton] alone had crampons & was able to take us up to the big crevasse without step cutting.

Here we had half an hour’s halt and at 1.30 I went on again for the steep 200 ft or so to the point where the big crevasse joins the corridor. From here there were two doubtful stretches. N [Norton] led up the first while the two of us made good at the corner of the crevasse - he found the snow quite good. And S. [Somervell] led across the final slope (following Hazard’s just discernible tracks in the wrong place, but of some use now because the snow had bound better there). N. [Norton] & I had an anxious time belaying, & it began to be cold too as the sun had left us. S. [Somervell] made a very good show getting the men off - but I won’t repeat my report. Time was pretty short as it was 4.30 when they began to come back using S’s [Somervell’s] rope as a handrail. Naturally the chimney took some time. It was just dusk when we got back to camp.

N [Norton] has been quite right to bring us down for rest. It is no good sending men up the mountain unfit. The physique of the whole party has gone down sadly. The only chance now is to get fit & go for a simpler quicker plan. The only plum fit man is Geoffrey Bruce. N. [Norton] has made me responsible for choosing the parties of attack himself first choosing me into the first party if I like. But I’m quite doubtful if I shall be fit enough. Irvine will probably be one & 2 of N [Norton], S [Somervell], or self with Geoff the other 2 to make up 4 for the two parties of two each. But again I wonder whether the monsoon will give us a chance. I don’t want to get caught but our three day scheme from the Chang La will give the monsoon a good chance. We shall be going up again the day after tomorrow - Six days to the top from this camp!

Mails have come tumbling in these last days – three in rapid succession - yours dated from Westbrook with much about the car. I fear it has given you a lot of trouble; Clare’s poem with which I’m greatly delighted; a good letter from David [Pye] from P.Y.P. [Pen-y-Pass, Wales] - will you please thank him at once as I shall hardly manage to do so by this mail. Mother writes in great spirits from Aix. It’s a great joy to hear from you especially but also from anyone who will write a good letter.

The candle is burning out & I must stop.

Darling I wish you the best I can - that your anxiety will be at an end before you get this - with the best news. Which will also be the quickest. It is 50 to 1 against us but we’ll have a whack yet & do ourselves proud.

Great love to you. Ever your loving, George.

[written on margin of first page]
P.S. The parts where I boast of my part are put in to please you and not meant for other eyes. G.M.

Letter from George to Ruth Mallory from Rongli Chu.

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My dearest One,

This is the great day of valley-ease & warmth & languor & the delights of the lotus-eater, & I must write to you here with my feet in the splashing stream & heaven all about me as I look up. We started from Pedong this morning – sloped easily down the 2,000 ft to the stream where I bathed last time while Noel immortalised the event; there Irvine, Odell & I bathed, properly this time, even finding a pool to dive into, and at length. Thence on ponies up to Rheenok - you should be able to follow all this on one of my old maps of Sikhim [Sikkim] – where I made some attempts at photographing the remarkable houses, & thence, not up over the pass by Ari to get here by the shortest way, but contouring the hill until we could drop into this valley 6 miles below the bungalow. It is a very lovely valley, quite one of the best parts of Sikhim [Sikkim], & we had a good walk up, quite energetically carrying heavyish rucksacks. I was wearing my new boots for the first time for a whole march & found them pretty comfortable, my ankle & hip are all going quite well too, so that I quite expect by the time we reach Phari I shall have ceased to think about them.

The weather is perfectly fine but very hazy owing to the great number of fires in the valleys. It is the custom of the country to burn a good deal of undergrowth in the forests & dead leaves in order to get better new grass in the spring – but I can’t remember anything like so much haze as this last year. Consequently we have had nothing at all of a view all the way from Darjeeling & the country is looking more dry & dead than last year; it has in fact been very dry; I hear there has been exceptionally little snow in Tibet & the plains are already beginning to look green – but this is hardly credible. Incidentally, there are sights of a change of weather this afternoon but then we had a thunderstorm in Kalimpong which made absolutely no difference!

It has apart from views been a pleasant journey so far. We started in motors for 6 miles from Darjeeling & half way down the hill Norton, Hingston, Somervell & self had breakfast with a tea planter called Lister – it is a famous tea garden I believe & he certainly gave us to drink Orange Pekoe of the most delicious flavour (a series of violent slashes at this point). After that pleasant interval we took all the short cuts hurrying down to Tista Bridge, where we arrived dripping & found our ponies; my pony which is to carry me to Phari is quite a good beast – the best I have had at this stage & my saddle is comfortable & I feel very well off altogether -; we went straight up the hill on our ponies & were in Kalimpong at 1.30 for tiffin.

At Kalimpong next day last times performances were repeated – a “tamasha” for boy scouts & girl guides & a wonderful little ceremony in the big school room with all of us on the platform singing the metrical version of Psalm 121 to the tune of Old Hundredth, & prayers, & speech making divine/mixed. Old Dr Graham is really a wonder, & if one were going to be a missionary one couldn’t do better. He has between 6 & 700 children, mostly by bastards or children of ne’er-do-well parents & does them well all round. When the old Scot is short of money he goes down to Calcutta & collects a few batches of rupees from the big businessmen who all know & believe in him & his institutions flourish.

I think I told you the names of the 2nd party, but omitted Odell. Shebbeare the forest officer is an excellent fellow; we went a little walk into the forest above Pedong last evening & we saw quite close a very fine jungle cat, about as high as Raven but with the propositions of Agapanthus or rather perhaps of the other Westbrook cat, which it does resembled in colour – S. didn’t get a very good view of it & couldn’t tell me what it was; but it is extraordinary how it makes the whole forest seem alive to see a beast like that. We couldn’t be a nicer party – at least I hope the others would say the same; we go along our untravelled way in happiest fashion.
Since I began writing the air has become unbearably stuffy & a thunderstorm is brewing. The one crab about this place is that there is no water supply which is at all likely to unpolluted – & so one drinks tea, but our tiffin tea has left me very thirsty & I long for a long lemon squash or whisky & soda. You see how completely a physical animal one has become.

I’m spending a certain amount of time & effort as we come along learning Hindustani; it is very unsatisfactory because the coolies themselves are so bad at it; but I do find already that I get on with them more easily. We shall be very short of men who can speak to porters higher up. Irvine, Odell & Beetham, none of them know a word yet.

Dearest I’m really enjoying myself now with a good holiday feeling. If I were not I should be still feeling grieved with the world because no letter has yet reached me from you. Anyway after four marches I will receive a mail. Tomorrow’s march is all up hill to Sedongchen & the next, still up to Gnatong (12,500), is the great rhododendron march, but only the very lowest will be in flower. I have in mind another little detour, by the way of variety, from Kupup, diverging to the Natu La instead of Jelap La as before.

Dear girl I think of you often & often with ever so much love & wish for your company. Would there were some way of bringing you nearer. I think the nearness depends very much upon the state of ones imagination. When it boils up as it does sometimes at night, under the stars I could almost whisper in you ear; and even now dear I do feel near you, though my state is loggish & I come very near to kissing you.

My love to Clare & Berry & John & best of all to yourself.
Ever your loving, George.

Letter from George to Ruth Mallory, onboard the R.M.S. California en-route to Bombay

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My dearest Ruth,

The first breath of warm air has come this morning, delicious fragrant, spring-like air, one can sit about happily without wearing a coat. I won’t say bask in the sun, for it’s not yet like that – but perhaps it will be hot in the sun when it comes to high noon – and at all events it’s nice to sit in now.

I have a feeling of pleasant prospects about this voyage altogether. The ship is overstocked with passengers at present; but ¾ of them get off at Port Said – they belong to some scheme of an organised tour in Egypt. The remaining ¼ so far as I can see will contain a large proportion of soldiers and their wives, evidently some nice people among them. I find myself almost training my ears to catch the various accents and phrases in the fragments of speech as folk pass, so little will serve for an indication; but chiefly of course the looks of people; and one of the most important reasons you should be here with me is for discussing their looks in the stage before acquaintance.

At table Irvine and I sit side by side (Hazard-Beetham at another table), next to me at the head of the table is a gentlemanly looking Colonel with whom I don’t expect to converse in any very interesting {1} and opposite are a youngish army doctor and his wife, good, enterprising, hard sort of people – hard I mean in the good sense - she is Canadian by birth and doesn’t greatly love Canadians which is a mercy.

Mr Jolly’s friends, the Lennoxes (you’ll remember he’s in the Indian Survey) seem pleasant people too. Anyway here we all are learning each other’s languages, a process which may have gone some useful distance by the time we reach Bombay; and then we shall go our separate ways and I shall never see any of this group again.

We’re going down the coast of Spain at this moment, out of sight of land, though I dare say one could see it from the mast. Passed Finisterre after dinner last night and presumably will turn in past Cape St. Vincent this evening. Do you realise how much the Western edge of Europe slopes away – we have had our clocks put back 49 minutes each of these last two nights, a proceeding I greatly prefer to the other one which will begin tomorrow, after we leave Gib[raltar]. We’ve not to land at Gib[raltar] I hear – rather sad; but we stop to receive and despatch mail and should be near enough to see the best of it.

How are you feeling you poor left behind one? I was glad you decided to abandon waiving on Friday – we weren’t off till 8.30 or thereabouts as the two tugs provided were hopelessly beaten by the wind and couldn’t get us off. It was a wild night that first one; and yesterday in the Bay was wild too, with wind and rain in plenty scudding across the waste of steel-grey white capped waters – a day for staying indoors mostly – with some study of Hindustani, some reading, some writing of letters, a long, long game of Dab it Down with Hazard, and a modicum of exercise in the gymnasium.

Currently I had the impression at first of Hazard that he was going to be tiresome – was bursting with information about the tittle tattle of travel, how many knots the ship will travel per hour and whether one should wear a topie {2} in the Mediterranean and so on; however, since then he seems to have become a nice and reasonable being perhaps he was a little over excited at beginning the journey. Beetham I’m inclined to think is a gem; good humoured and unselfish and a sort of natural butt, one doesn’t quite know why. I expect he’ll be very useful altogether. And so no doubt will Irvine – sensible and not highly strung he’ll be one to depend on, for everything perhaps except conversation.

Since I began writing all the larvae lurking below in bunks or in corners of lounges and smoking rooms have come forth into a new butterfly life on board, and most have seem to be seeking the sun in or near my particular chosen spot; and now are gathering in a cloud to spy out the visible land, a rocky island and a headland beyond which turns out to be {3}

My books so far have been chiefly Andre Maurois’ Life of Shelly or Ariel as he titles it, and Arksarkoff’s Fears of Childhood. Though much of it is psychologically interesting I’m a bit disappointed with Arksakoff – those uncles for instance don’t quite come alive. However I shall proceed. Ariel is a remarkable book, more serious than his others and bringing out very much all the love affairs and the strange mix up with Harriet and Eliza and the rest. I’m not scholar enough to know how much of it is new, but I feel that it presents a story in a fresh way without adding anything about the man, Shelley.

I’ve not yet begun to read any history books nor to write the little article I have to do for Blackie & Son - 3000 words will not take me long and I shan’t worry about it. I’m more concerned at present to write letters – there seems to be a large number of people I want to write to which suggest that one only doesn’t so want in the ordinary way of life because time is short. But here’s the chance to repair so much that’s let go in the ordinary way. I’m immensely enjoying the thought of this clear space of time ahead.

It is horrid dearest one to think that I am to get no letter from you until Darjeeling and perhaps not even there. We shall lose no time – arrive Bombay the 19th, Darjeeling the 22nd and leave D. somewhere about 29th presumably.

Dear love I shall be thinking of you often and often. We have been very close together lately I think and I feel very close to you now. You are going to be outwardly cheerful I know and I hope you will also be inwardly happy while I am away.

I love you always. Dear one.
Ever you loving, George

Letter from George to Ruth Mallory from Rongbuk Base Camp

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Dearest Ruth,

We’ve had unexpected notice of a home bound mail tomorrow & I’ve no letter ready. We arrived here only yesterday, & I have been busy ever since, the reason for this is in part that we have arranged for our army of Tibetan coolies to carry our loads up the glacier to No. 2 camp; 150 have actually gone up today; consequently we have had a great rush getting our loads ready to go up. My special concern has been with the high climbing stores & provisions for high camp. Yesterday morning as the animals arrived here I got hold of the boxes I wanted - most of which I knew by sight - from among the feet of the donkeys & yaks and had them carried to a place apart. So I was able to get ready 30 loads, apart from food stores, yesterday afternoon. Later Norton & I had a long pow wow about the whole of our plan as affects the porters. It is a very complicated business to arrange the carrying to the high camps while considering what the porters have been doing & where, during the previous ten days, so as to have sufficient regard to their acclimatisation & fitness; further one has to consider the filling up of Camp III which will still be going on after we have begun the carrying to IV, the accommodation at the various camps; & finally the escorting of porters from III upwards. However, I have made a plan for the porters which fits in with that previously made for climbers, & though a plan of this kind must necessarily be complicated it allows for a certain margin & even a bad day or two won’t upset out applecart.

Irvine & I with Beetham & Hazard start from here on May 3 & after resting a day at Camp III the last 2 will establish Camp IV while I [Irvine] & I have a canter up to about 23,000 up the E. ridge of Changtse, partly to get a better look at camping sites on the mountain & partly to have a trial run & give me some idea of what to expect from I [Irvine] B [Beetham] & H Hazard] two days later will escort the 1st lot of loads to IV; Odell & Geoffrey Bruce the second, establishing Camp V on the following day; Norton & Somervell & lastly Irvine & self follow; Irvine & I will get 2 or 3 days down at Camp I meanwhile.

The Rongbuk Valley greeted us with most unpleasant weather. The day before yesterday & the following night when we were encamped outside the Rongbuk Monastery a bitterly cold wind blew, the sky was cloudy & finally we woke to find a snow storm going on. Yesterday was worse, with light snow falling most of the day. However today has been sunny after a windy night & the conditions on Everest have gradually improved until we were saying tonight that it would have been a pleasant evening for the mountain. It is curious that though quite a considerable amount of snow has fallen during these last few days & the lower slopes are well covered the upper parts of Everest appear scarcely affected – this is a phenomenon we observed often enough in 1922 & notably on the day when we made the first attempt.

I shall be busy with details of personal equipment amongst other things these next two days. But I also hope there’ll be a mail from you & time to read letters & think of you at home & perhaps write you another letter though the Lord knows when the next mail will go away from here.

We continue to be a very pleasant party – Hazard the only difficulty – we have tamed him somewhat. He & Beetham don’t love each other but I hope they’ll manage to hit it off as they are put to work together. B [Beetham] has had a truly marvellous recovery, but I can’t quite believe in his being really strong yet though he makes a parade of energy & cheerfulness & I’m a little doubtful about his being one of the first starters.

Sorry to write so poor & hurried a letter. I’m very fit – perhaps not just so absolutely a strong goer as in ’21 but good enough I believe – anyway I can think of no one in this crowd stronger, & we’re a much more even crowd than in ’22, a really strong lot, Norton & I are agreed. It would be difficult to say of any one of the 8 that he is likely to go farther or less far than the rest. I’m glad the first blow lies with me. We’re not going to be easily stopped with an organisation behind us this time.

Great love to you dearest one & many kisses to the children. Your loving George

Letter from George to Ruth Mallory written from onboard ship on Anchor Line, T.M.S. California letter headed paper.

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My dearest Ruth,

We shall be at Port Said tomorrow and its time I were writing to you again. It is being a voyage particularly without incident, as we shall land only once, for a short time, before reaching Bombay. But one unforgettable thing has happened – the approach to Gibraltar. I was fortunate enough to wake before sunrise and went on deck. We were steaming due East and straight ahead was the orange glow streaming over the sky. Towards the centre of it the long dim lines of land on either converged and left a gap – quite a small gap between little lumps of land, for the straits were 20 miles away or more. We were aiming straight for this little hole in the skyline where the light was brightest, and I had to most irresistible feeling of a romantic world; we had only to pop through the hole like Alice through the garden door to reach a new scene or a whole kingdom of adventures.

The other important thing that has happened to me is that I have in some way strained my left hip in the gymnasium about 5 days ago. It gave me considerable pain for two days like sciatica, a pain in some important nerve all down the leg – the sciatic nerve I understand is in the back of the leg and this one was in the side. The leg is much better, though not yet well. I ran ten times round the deck this morning; but that doesn’t prove as much as you might think, because it is rather the lifting movements that are weak. However I have a fortnight, nearly, to Darjeeling and I’ve little doubt the hip will be all right by then.

I have finished reading Maurois’ Ariel [Andre Maurois’ Life of Shelly or Ariel] with much interest. I knew the early life in Hogg and the last scenes in Trelawney’s Recollections which I think you have read, a charming book, but I have never before read a connected account of the whole life. Shelley certainly had an extraordinary gift of love, and love of a very pure and sublimated kind. Maurois makes out that he had lost his love for Mary Shelley and was in love with Anne Williams at the end. But he shows at the same time that his relations with Mary remained of a very tender sort and he was very thoughtful on her behalf, and as they lived in the same house with Williams, it is a little difficult to make out that he preferred Anne to Mary. It is an interesting story because in so far as Shelley’s relations with Mary were impaired it was simply by the friction of everyday life; he was the most unselfish of men but the glamour of Mary wore off a bit when he saw her as a housewife. She certainly had little enough of his society when he was making poems; but I’m inclined to think that she had Shelley all the time. It might interest you sometime to read the book which is translated into English (my copy is in French); or you might get Dowden’s Life from the London Library [The Life of Percy Bysche Shelley by Edward Dowden].

I have many thoughts of you dearest one, and I think reading Shelley’s life had made me think about you very particularly. I fear I don’t make you very happy. Life has too often been a burden to you lately and it is horrid when we don’t get more time and talk together. Of course we have both had too much to do and I have hated thinking that it must fall upon you to do the car for instance which has often been an unpleasant grind, when you might otherwise have been painting china, or one thing or another more profitable to your soul. Somehow or another we must contrive to manage differently; to have some first charge upon available time for our life together. What with a car and a stove and our new house altogether we seem to have got terribly stuck with material considerations and how often we talk of nothing but what has to be done to the ball rolling as though it were so much business to be transacted! I think we might get that better perhaps by resolving together to value the perfection of everyday home life and trying to feel that little arrangements belong to our ideals. There is a satisfaction if not enjoyment to be got from just arranging things well, and certainly in doing things themselves unpleasant or indifferent provided the end in view is sufficiently present to the mind.

I don’t mind in the least seeing you as a housewife; I like it and I like the way you carry it through and I like the pleasant relationships which you make about you. But I don’t want you materialised by housewifery – you have to control the business and not allow it to control you – as indeed you do; but keep a watch on yourself.

I much hope you somehow find time for painting china this summer dear one, it is so good for you and makes you so nice. Don’t think you must spend hours of time knitting knicker for John etc; if that must be thought of from a money point of view you could probably sell the china for the extra money you would pay for getting a large part of such work done for you or by buying things ready made; and anyway put the spiritual sort of thing first. You’ll be occupied I know a great deal in the garden. I think by the by you should get a roller before long – and how would it be to get a boy to come and roll every Sat. afternoon – or some such scheme?

Dear love it makes me happy to be writing to you and thinking of you now. It won’t be so very long after you get this before you go away from Cambridge. I do hope you will have a good change – do what you like, enjoy yourself, and be free from worries – why shouldn’t you spend a few days in London and see plenty of people, it would be good for you.
I shall hear in your first letter how you enjoyed the Greek Play and whether Northfield has begun building the walls. How I wish I could hear from you at Port Said tomorrow.

I have told you almost nothing about my activities on board or about my companions. I read and write and play a certain amount of deck tennis; and about every other evening Bridge. We have got up an oxygen apparatus from the baggage room and have been playing about with it. Irvine finds fault with it, but if it is all sound and doesn’t leak in spite of the desperate haste with which it was put together it should do well enough – I’m bound to say I think it a big if.

Things have got to the tiresome stage when people I have never spoken come up to me and begin asking questions about the expedition – some of course have heard me lecture – or ask leave to take my photo – consequently I tend to be unsociable at one extremity of or other of the boat, where one can usually get away from the crowd.

The weather has been perfect though hardly warm enough except the first day in the Mediterranean. I can’t believe it will be hot even in the Red Sea but I suppose it will.

It was very jolly seeing the Sierra Nevada again and also a long stretch of the African mountains, though Mt. Atlas didn’t clear.
I’m awfully bad about writing odds and ends of new about life round me aren’t I. I suppose I ought to tell you about deck competitions; but they don’t interest me and I entered for none except – Irvine it was, persuaded me to go in for a spoon and potato race in which I had a brilliant success and was only knocked out in the final where one potato was really impossible.

I long for some news of the great world; we hear a few snippets of wireless – this morning I learned that a Frenchman murdered his aunt; I suppose she was impossible.

Well my darling Ruth, I will take leave of you. With great love from your loving, George.

Acknowledges his letter telling her about his flight in an aeroplane. Tells him about a conversation with Mrs Irvine about the Ministry of Labour being slow bringing men back from France. Informs him that Marjorie Waterhouse is coming to stay. Updates him on the progress of hiring the cook. Discusses how to answer a letter from the Heanies. Is glad to hear that he was welcomed back by his battery. Updates him on news from Mr and Mrs Irvine concerning the process of applications between the War Office, the Labour Bureau and the Headmaster.

Describes her tea with Mr and Mrs Irvine and her visit to Prior Field. Describes the two plays they watched. Updates him on Clare’s progress. Discusses his previous letter and asks him questions about his trip to Amiens. Discusses the progress of the war. Asks him about the poem he was writing.

Describes her trip into town with Marjorie. Tells him about her involvement in the baby welfare group. Informs him of the parcel of sausages and ginger she has sent. Updates him on her health. Discusses his mother's new diet to help with arthritis. Expresses her wish for the war to be over. Discusses her opinions on praying and the progress of the war. Tells him she loves and misses him.

Reflects on the war and her place in history. Expresses her thoughts on her doubts about the war ending that year, Germany's position in the war, and her opinions about the food ration. Updates him on her father's health. Describes in detail the conversations she had with the Irvine's at tea. Tells him that good service is hard to find and she hopes Violet doesn't leave and that she has heard from Avie. Reflects on the good times they have had.