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By David Wright

26 - 31 March: Darjeeling to Jelup La

The expedition set off from Darjeeling in India and travelled through hot and humid forests to higher, colder hill country, eventually crossing the border into Tibet. They carried with them a huge quantity of equipment and supplies on the backs of an army of mules.

Along the way Beetham got to know the charismatic leader of the expedition, General Bruce, as well as his sturdy pony “Ginger” who was to carry him all the way to Everest. He also met the Sherpa contingent, tough mountain men tasked with getting the climbers to the summit.

A greyscale photo with a green tint of four men who are smiling towards the camera in front of a dusty hill, the man to the left is wearing casual attire with a hat, the man next to him is smartly dressed, with a striped blazer draping off his shoulder and carrying a walking stick. The other two men to the right are also smartly dressed, both men wearing hats, blazers and shirts, one of which is holding a cup.

26 - 31 March: Darjeeling to Jelup La

A greyscale photo with a green tint of four men who are smiling towards the camera in front of a dusty hill, the man to the left is wearing casual attire with a hat, the man next to him is smartly dressed, with a striped blazer draping off his shoulder and carrying a walking stick. The other two men to the right are also smartly dressed, both men wearing hats, blazers and shirts, one of which is holding a cup.

The expedition set off from Darjeeling in India and travelled through hot and humid forests to higher, colder hill country, eventually crossing the border into Tibet. They carried with them a huge quantity of equipment and supplies on the backs of an army of mules.

Along the way Beetham got to know the charismatic leader of the expedition, General Bruce, as well as his sturdy pony “Ginger” who was to carry him all the way to Everest. He also met the Sherpa contingent, tough mountain men tasked with getting the climbers to the summit.

Item 1 of 11
A greyscale photo with a green tint of a group of seven men who are standing on a bridge, the men are wearing outdoor clothing and hiking boots. The bridge leads to some steep terrain.

General Bruce, George Mallory, Howard Somervell and Sherpas on Teesta Bridge

General Bruce, George Mallory, Howard Somervell and Sherpas on Teesta Bridge

A greyscale photo with a green tint of three men which are walking down a dirt path coming towards the camera, the men are wearing outdoor clothing and walking boots. On both sides of the path, the men are surrounded by trees and shrubbery.

Howard Somervell on the road to Kalimpong carrying his Vest Pocket Kodak camera

Howard Somervell on the road to Kalimpong carrying his Vest Pocket Kodak camera

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a group of men who are surrounded by trees. The men are wearing outdoor clothing, hiking boots and appear to be accompanied by a horse.

Sherpas and Gurkhas with baggage mules on the road from Kalimpong

Sherpas and Gurkhas with baggage mules on the road from Kalimpong

A greyscale photo with a green tint, taken from a distance in a wooded area, there is a straw hut structure in the bottom left, with a white building slightly behind it which have people congregating next to it. In the distance there are another two white buildings.

Kalimpong

Kalimpong

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a large crowd of people which are lined up neatly in a snakelike formation, outside of the entrance of a large white building. The queue appears to be minded by a few official looking men.

General Bruce addressing the Scout troop at Kalimpong

General Bruce addressing the Scout troop at Kalimpong

A greyscale photo with a green tint of two horses that are laden with bags, grazing next to a tree, shrubbery and three large jagged trunks of trees. In the background there appears to be a large mountain.

Mules on the trail to Rangli

Mules on the trail to Rangli

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a group of people that have accumulated on the grass around the side of a white wooden building, who are interacting with each other, some of the people appear to be loading up two horses. There is a singular man outside the entrance of the building who is looking off into the distance.

Geoffrey Bruce and John Noel attending to cine camera equipment at the Pedong dak bungalow

Geoffrey Bruce and John Noel attending to cine camera equipment at the Pedong dak bungalow

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a naked man standing on a boulder, which is next to a river, who appears to have just bathed and is rinsing something off in his hands. The river is surrounded with rocks of varying sizes and there are two large trees on either side of the river.

Howard Somervell bathing

Howard Somervell bathing

A greyscale photo with a green tint of eight people walking in a group down a dirt path which is headed by two men, behind the men is a woman who is a wearing a dress and carrying a small child in her arms. Behind the woman is a man who is wearing a dressing covering his eye, perhaps he's been injured.

"The Morning After" - Sherpas escorting a woman, Chettan with head bandaged

"The Morning After" - Sherpas escorting a woman, Chettan with head bandaged

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a group of men at the bottom of the image, who are looking over in the distance to multiple horses with their riders on their back, in a single file arrangement, who are going over a narrow bridge. There are numerous trees on both sides of the image and in the background, past the bridge.

Somervell sketching the bridge near Pedong

Somervell sketching the bridge near Pedong

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a vast array of greenery, shrubbery, trees and plants which dominates the landscape and what appears to be a large mountain in the background. Within the landscape, there is a winding path with a small cluster of houses to the right side of the path.

On the road to Sedongchen

On the road to Sedongchen

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a winding dirt path which has emerged out of numerous trees in the distance, on either side of the path leading down the hillside, there are hutted buildings in various widths and lengths. As the perspective of the path comes closer to the photographer, there are some laden horses on the path and some people on the nearby hillside, which is next to the path.
A greyscale photo with a green tint of a winding dirt path which has emerged out of numerous trees in the distance, on either side of the path leading down the hillside, there are hutted buildings in various widths and lengths. As the perspective of the path comes closer to the photographer, there are some laden horses on the path and some people on the nearby hillside, which is next to the path.

Pack animals heading for Sedongchen

Pack animals heading for Sedongchen

Strange beasts and birds are on every side. Gorgeous orchids decorate the Dak bungalows, magnolias and ‘flame trees’ blaze in the jungle, while brilliant butterflies and beetles lend splashes of unbelievable colours to brighten the forest path.

Sedongchen, 26 March 1924
Item 1 of 15
A greyscale photo with a green tint of a woman who has her hair tied back and is wearing earrings and bangles and is mounted onto a horse on a dirt path, the horse is being controlled by a man who is stood on the floor, holding the horses reins. Surrounding them is vast greenery and behind them, other people and horses are visible.

Sikkimese woman on horseback

Sikkimese woman on horseback

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a woman who is visible from her upper body, who is wearing circular earrings and some rings on her fingers and a wrist bangle, she is also holding a small dog. The front portion of her hair has a middle parting, with braids behind the parting which overlap at the top of the head, there is some greenery behind the woman.

Sikkimese woman with lapdog

Sikkimese woman with lapdog

A greyscale photo with a green tint of seven men who are visible from their thighs upwards, who are stood side by side outside of a tent. The men's clothing appear to be grubby and unkempt, with their t-shirts poking out of their jumpers, but they all have a cheery dispositions!

Group of Sherpas at Sedongchen

Group of Sherpas at Sedongchen

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a man in the forefront, which appears to be holding a wooden bird, there are two men behind him, all of the men are laughing and looking towards the left. The men are wearing casual clothing, the man holding the object is holding a sleeveless shirt, another is wearing a collared buttoned up shirt with shorts and the last one is wearing a long sleeved top.

Sherpas at Sedongchen

Sherpas at Sedongchen

A greyscale photo with a green tint of seven children, in order from the left to the right of the image, the first child is hiding his face whilst holding his foot, the next child is looking to the left, the next two children are laughing and bend towards each other. The two children towards the back right have their backs turned and the child in the front right has a startled expression.

Children at Sedongchen

Children at Sedongchen

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a landscape, the ground of the landscape consists of rocks and dirt, the rest of landscape features vast amounts of trees, shrubbery, bushes and plant which come off the camera frame.

Road to Ling Tam

Road to Ling Tam

A greyscale photo with a green tint of multiple men wearing thick layers of clothing and a dog, walking on what appears a track that leads towards two mountains, which dominates the background of the image. There are patches of snow on the path and mountains and a few trees on the hillside.

Tashi on the road above Ling Tam

Tashi on the road above Ling Tam

A greyscale photo with a green tint of numerous laden horses that are stood next to what appears to be a shelter next to a brick building, possibly a barn. There are a few men that are tending to the horses, a dusty hillside is in the background.

Ling Tam tea house

Ling Tam tea house

A greyscale photo with a green tint of four men who are smiling towards the camera in front of a dusty hill, the man to the left is wearing casual attire with a hat, the man next to him is smartly dressed, with a striped blazer draping off his shoulder and carrying a walking stick. The other two men to the right are also smartly dressed, both men wearing hats, blazers and shirts, one of which is holding a cup.

Untengen, General Bruce, Khama Paul and Tashi at Ling Tam

Untengen, General Bruce, Khama Paul and Tashi at Ling Tam

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a hillside coming down to the right hand side, which has lots of trees, shrubbery and what looks like a hazardous path. There are lots of rocks which are sitting on and to the side of the hillside.

Road out of Tam Lin

Road out of Tam Lin

A greyscale photo with a green tint of the tops of four trees in the front of the image, behind the trees are what appears to be three mountains which are part of a mountain range, the one furthest away has snow on its peak. The sky is very cloudy, with the fog descending onto the peaks of the mountains.

Distant mountains of Bhutan

Distant mountains of Bhutan

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a man and a horse, who are posing in front of a mountain range, which has snow on its peaks. The man is smartly, but comfortably dressed, wearing a hat and boots and the horse is wearing a saddle with a satchel and a bit with reins.

Untengen with Beetham's horse 'Ginger'

Untengen with Beetham's horse 'Ginger'

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a path leading towards two large and jagged mountains, scattered on the mountains is snow. On the path there are numerous horses who are mounted by riders, who are headed towards the large mountains.

Road above Kupup

Road above Kupup

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a landscape, on the ground there are a few buildings which differ in size which are spread out across the land, in front of the buildings are horses and what appears to be cattle that are grazing and people. In the landscape behind the buildings are the jagged points of a large, snowy and steep mountain, which dominates the landscape.

Kupup

Kupup

A greyscale photo with a green tint of a man who is smartly dressed who is standing next to a horse, the two are stood outside of a building that has people standing in front of it. The man is smartly but comfortably dressed, wearing a hat, a satchel, a waistcoat, a flowy blouse and he appears to have a camera around his neck.

Sherpa at Kupup

Sherpa at Kupup

A greyscale photo with a green tint of two men walking on foot and of two men on horseback who are travelling on a forward path towards a large and jagged mountain range, which dominates the landscape. There is snow on the ground and on the mountains.
A greyscale photo with a green tint of two men walking on foot and of two men on horseback who are travelling on a forward path towards a large and jagged mountain range, which dominates the landscape. There is snow on the ground and on the mountains.

Road to Jelup La

Road to Jelup La

...it is largely the incessant piercing wind and the rarefied air due to the low atmospheric pressure, and also the sudden change from the hot steaming valleys below, that make the cold so unusually effective.

Jelup La, 31 March 1924

Next, the expedition continued from Jelup La to Phari.

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