At 25,000ft on the slopes of Everest, Howard Somervell sat down in the snow and waited to die. Succumbing to the extreme cold and lack of oxygen, the pioneer of mountain climbing realised he could go no further. He could only watch as his climbing partner on the 1924 attempt to conquer Everest, Edward Norton, stumbled on into the dark.
Howard, 34, wrote: “When darkness was gathering, I had one of my fits of coughing and dislodged something in my throat which stuck so that I could breathe neither in nor out. I could not make a sign to Norton or stop him, so I sat in the snow to die whilst he walked on, little knowing that his companion was awaiting the end only a few yards behind.” At the last moment, Howard’s medical training, honed on the battlefields of the Somme, took over. He pounded frantically on his chest, cleared his frostbitten throat, and breathed freely.
In 1924, mountaineers climbed Everest in heavy wool clothing and leather boots, using basic ropes, paper maps and a compass; carrying oxygen cylinders, tinned food and Thermos flasks. Today’s climbers have technical layered clothing systems, double/triple boots, regulated bottled oxygen systems, GPS navigation, satellite phones, real-time weather forecasting, fixed ropes and ladders on main routes, structured high-altitude support teams, helicopter evacuation capability and lightweight freeze-dried high-calorie food systems.
Born to a well-off family in Kendal, Cumbria, in 1890, Howard became one of the country’s finest mountaineers, one of the first to attempt Everest. Discovering a love for climbing in the Lake District, he climbed the UK’s toughest peaks and the dangerous Alps before trying the Himalayas. After a bout of scarlet fever, he returned to school, finding a new interest in his studies and excelling at science. Going to Cambridge, he was a brilliant student, obtaining a first class degree in natural sciences, before studying medicine at University College Hospital, London, until his training was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War.
A member of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Howard was posted at a field hospital on the Somme, fighting to save the lives of the endless stream of battlefield casualties. The clearing station built for 100 wounded received thousands in the first two days. He wrote: “All around us, lying maimed and battered and dying, was the flower of Britain’s youth - a terrible sight if ever there was one, yet full of courage and unselfishness and beauty.” His medical skills made Howard ideal for an Everest expedition. After missing out in 1921, he was accepted in 1922. On this expedition he met George Mallory and they became friends.
