20 Abode of Gods
mother of the earth* to the Tibetans. Eversince this new found
discovery, this peak has always stirred the imagination of
daring mountaineers who seek high adventure in high places.
Age of mountaineering
The first organised expedition to the Himalayas was laun-
ched under the leadership of W.H. Graham. He made a num-
ber of successful attempts in Sikkim and ultimately succeeded
in climbing 24000 ft. high Kabru, which lay in the neighbour-
hood of Kanchenjunga. In 1882, Sir William Conway headed
an expedition to Karakoram. At the same time, Douglas-
Freshfield made a difficult and adventurous circuit of
Kanchenjunga and the indenitable Munnery was still
exploring approaches to Nanga Parvat, The most fantastic
feat of early mountaineering was appearance of an American
couple Dr. and Ms. William Hunt Workman who led six
expeditions between 1909-1912 and succeeded in climbing
pyramid peak at the age of fifty-six which itself is a record.
In subsequent years, Dr. Kallas and Dr. T. G. Longstaff
succeeded in climbing 23060 ft. Trisul peak. By now, most of
the important peaks had been climbed.
Sherpas, the spiders of Himalayas
At this stage, induction of a local element known as sherpas-
was a significant landmark in the history of Indian mountai-
neering. It proved a significant introduction because in the
years to come they were destined to play an important role in
all the mountaineering expeditions.
Sherpas are the natives of Himalayas who were initially hired
by the expedition parties as coolies but with the passage of
time, as they gained experience, began to take part in more
advanced mountaineering activities and soon established them-
selves as an indispensable institution.
Everest expedition
In 1922 Mt. Everest climbing expedition was led by Briga-
dier Charls G. Bruce and included such eminent mountineers
as Col. E..L. Strutt and Dr. T.G. LongstarT. Oxygen was used
for the first time in this expedition. Earlier in 1921, Howardr