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The 1963 American Mount Everest expedition reached the summit of Mount Everest using the conventional route via the South Col. However, two team members, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, were the first to take a route traversing the mountain^{[note 1]} by ascending the West Ridge and moving onto the North Face up to the summit, and then by descending via the South Col. The leader of the expedition was Norman Dyhrenfurth who had been the photographer on the 1952 Swiss Mount Everest expedition.

Background

Climbing on Everest prior to 1963

After the 1921 British reconnaissance, attempts to climb Everest had been from Tibet because Nepal was closed to foreign climbers. Then, in 1950, Tibet's borders were closed when it was occupied by the People's Republic of China and by that time no expedition had been able to reach the summit. Partly on account of the political situation in Tibet, Nepal started allowing climbers entry in 1950 although it closed its frontiers again in 1966. After the reconnaissance expedition of 1951, the Swiss attempts of 1952 nearly reached the summit via the Khumbu Icefall, Western Cwm, Geneva Spur, South Col and Southeast ridge.^[1] In 1953 the British reached the summit for the first time following the Swiss route except where they directly ascended the Lhotse glacier, so avoiding the Geneva Spur.^[2] The Swiss again reached the summit in 1956 and Indian expeditions in 1960 and 1962 reached close to the South Summit via the South Col before being forced back. From the north in 1960 China reached the summit using a route over the North Col.^[3]

American involvement

John F. Kennedy's election as president of the United States brought in a marked change of rhetoric from that of the aging, conservative Eisenhour administration. America was to seek a "New Frontier" and in the Cold War would "pay any price, bear any burden ... to assure ... the success of liberty".^[4]^[5] The Green Berets and the Peace Corps extended their influence into Nepal, described in a recruitment advertisement as "The Land of Yeti and Everest".^[5]

Norman Dyhrenfurth thought this political situation might provide a good opportunity for progressing a long held ambition. Dyhrenfurth had emigrated from Switzerland to the United States in 1937, shortly before World War II, and he was, like his father Gunther Dyhrenfurth, an amateur mountaineer.^[6]^[7] From the time in 1952 when he had been the official photographer on the Swiss Mount Everest expedition he had held an ambition to lead his own expedition up the mountain.^[7] Based on the experience of previous Everest expeditions, he would need to raise several hundred thousand dollars, an amount previously unachievable in the United States. Bolstered by the Chinese claim to have left a bust of Mao Zedong on the summit during their 1960 expedition, he took a clearly political approach claiming that a successful ascent would help towards "winning new friends in many places". He wrote seeking a meeting with Kennedy and took the reply from Jerome Wiesner merely offering Kennedy's "best wishes" as being the president's strong endorsement for an expedition in 1963.^[8]

Dyrhenfurth's seemingly extravagent appeal for $186,000 (equivalent to $1.9 million in 2023 prices) appalled the American mountaineering establishment and Charles Houston who had led the 1938 American K2 expedition claimed such a large expedition violated the true spirit of mountain climbing. However, the resulting controversy in the press, together with Kennedy's earlier rhetoric, helped the cause with major support coming from the National Geographic Society which provided $114,000 ($1.16 million in 2023 prices) but only if there was a scientific component to the venture. Dyrhenfurth had anticipated this and arranged scientific work that would only involve the climbing of the mountain and that nearly all the scientists would be mountaineers. The eventual cost was $400,000 ($4.1 million in 2023 prices).^[9]

Preparations

To emphasize the expedition's scientific credentials, Dyhrenfurth selected an academic team – five had doctorates, eight held master's degrees and only two were non-graduates. The team's deputy was Will Siri, a physiologist, who coordinated the scientific program. He had been on (and led) several oversees expeditions, including to Nepal. James Ramsey Ullman was to write the accounts of the expedition but he did not get far beyond Kathmandu because of illness. Jimmy Roberts was the highly experienced transport officer who lived in Nepal. Among the other sixteen team members were Barry Bishop, Tom Hornbein, Lute Jerstad, Willi Unsoeld and Jim Whittaker.^[10]^{[note 2]}

The expedition left Kathmandu on February 20. There were 37 Sherpas and 909 porters carrying 65-pound (29 kg) loads – in all 29 tons (26 tonnes) of equipment and supplies. In trying to help in fund raising, Dyrhenfurth had suggested they might attempt the "Grand Slam" of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse but when this was discussed in detail during the walk-in the mountaineers were unenthusiastic. He had also considered descending Everest by its West Ridge after an ascent via the South Col but the idea then developed that the greater achievement (which would also be safer^{[note 3]}) would be to climb Everest by its West Ridge. Hornbein strongly favored making this the main target and to abandon a climb by the conventional South Col route. In the end it was agreed to send a four-man team up via the South Col and to separately, and secondarily, reconnoitre the West Ridge which would at least provide photographs of the Tibetan side of the mountain. If the reconnaissance was successful a traverse of Everest could be attempted. They would also attempt Lhotse.^[13]

Advanced Base Camp in Western Cwm

On March 21 the party reached Base Camp at 5,400 metres (17,800 ft) and over the next two days they started setting a route up the Khumbu Icefall. Meanwhile, some of the West Ridge enthusiasts climbed to get a better view of the Ridge and it gave a very daunting impression with its 1,500 metres (5,000 ft) of steep rock scarcely covered with any snow. However, this also made it a more alluring challenge. On the Icefall on March 23 an ice cliff collapsed without warning burying Breitenbach who was lost under tons of ice. The climbers considered giving up the expedition, or the West Ridge aspect, but they decided to carry on and reached the Western Cwm. On March 30 Camp I was established at 6,200 metres (20,200 ft)^[14] Camp II was established at 6,510 metres (21,350 ft) on April 2 and this was to become advanced base camp at the point from which the two ascent routes would diverge.^[15]

West Ridge reconnaissance

From here, initially, the West Ridge reconnaissance was to take priority. Most climbers preferred the South Col effort but they also wanted to avoid ongoing arguments and they thought the West Ridge efforts would eventually fail anyway. Hornbein's team was weakened by the death of Breitenbach and by Corbet and Emerson's failure to acclimatize. Only Hornbein, Unsoeld, Bishop and Dingman were available and Dingman was not fully fit. Setting off on April 3, Unsoeld and Bishop climbed {convert|1000|ft}} and returned to Advanced Base Camp. On April 5 Hornbein and Bishop retraced this route and reached 23,500 feet (7,200 m) with the West Shoulder above them providing a way the the West Ridge. The Shoulder could provide a staging point for porters to leave supplies once the route there had been made safe. With the help of Sherpas camp 3W was established at 23,800 feet (7,300 m) and by April 11, from the Shoulder, the four climbers could examine the terrain all the way up to the summit. If they were forced off the crest of the ridge it would need to be onto the Everest's North Face (technically in China) rather than the steeper Southwest Face.^[16] They could see over the northern approaches to Everest from Tibet and to the North Col, 300 metres (1,000 ft) below them and across a vast amphitheatre of glaciers.^[17] The ridge immediately ahead looked difficult so they prospected both this route and a line sloping to the left to a gully later to be known as the Hornbein Couloir. Neither route seemed possible for porters who would be required for an attempt on the summit. On April 12 they climbed to 25,100 feet (7,700 m) where they found a site suitable for a Camp 4W and a possible route towards the summit.^[18]

By the time they had returned to the Western Cwm on April 13 after their West Ridge reconnaissance, the South Col group had taken a vote that resolved to have two teams dedicated to the South Col route. This meant no Sherpas would be available for the West Ridge. Dyhrenfurth did, however, offer the West Ridge climbers the opportunity to join in the South Col approach to the summit – Bishop was the only climber to accept this offer.^[19]

Summit via South Col

The route preparation up the Lhotse Face made rapid progress and the South Col was reached on April 16, well before monsoon season. The first summit team was to be the two pairs of Whittaker and Gombu and the second was Dyhrenfurth himself and his Sherpa Ang Dawa. The second team was Bishop, Kerstad, Pownall and Girmi Dorje. A third term of Dingman and Prather would attempt the summit of Lhotse. The first summit team left Advanced Base Camp on April 27 and established Camp VI at 27,450 feet (8,370 m) on the Southeast Ridge on April 30. Next day the two pairs of climbers set off one hour apart but the second pair, laden with the camera equipment, had to turn back. Gombu and Whittaker reached the summit at 13:00 on May 1, being careful to arrive exactly together so as to avoid press criticism. There was nothing visible of anything left from the 1960 Chinese expedition. They returned to spend the night with the others of the team at Camp VI.^[11]

The plan had been for the first team to descend all the way to he South Col on May 1, leaving Camp VI free for the second team. However, the second team did not attempt to go up to this camp because they assumed the summit bid would have been delayed. On May 2, because of a shortage of oxygen supplies, with only Bishop and Jerstad climbing up towards Camp VI, they found the first team members descending, and in a very poor physical condition. They all returned to the South Col and then retreated down the South Face. THe attempt on Lhotse was also abandoned.^[20]

News that the summit had been reached reached the world's press on May 3 but the names of the climbers had been kept secret in case there would be other summit attempts. President Kennedy, not knowing that one of the successful climbers was a Sherpa, announced "I know that all Americans will join me in saluting our gallant countrymen.^[21] However, when back at Base Camp, there were recriminations.^[22] Dyhrenfurth blamed Hornbein for the shortage of oxygen on the col ^[why?] though he was later to acknowledge that the problem actually lay with excessive use during that part of the expedition. Dyhrenfurth himself had used oxygen conuously at and above the col and he was still unable to photograph of film near the summit. Neither had he rationed other people. Unsoeld was able to restrain Hornbein and Bishop maintained his calm during these discussions but was very critical of the overall leadership in a letter he wrote back home. However, they were still halfway up the mountain early in the season so were about to embark on what was to become, at least in mountaineering circles, part of mountaineering history.^[23] Unsworth says it was only because of the comparatively lacklustre performance to the summit climb that the traverse was even seriously attempted.^[24] There would be two separate attempts up different routes on the same day, meeting at the summit, and descending together. Bishop wrote "Luke Jerstad & I have the nod & we'll move up the 11th for an 'all or nothing' try on the 18th. Plans call for Unsoeld & Hornbein to try for top the same day – via the W. Ridge. Talk about a long shot!".^[23]

Summit via West Ridge and North Face

While the South Col efforts had been underway Hornbein and Unsoeld had been continuing their West Ridge preparations in so far as they were able. Corbet and Emerson had recovered from altitude sickness and Auten, the radio operator, had joined them. Without Sherpas, their main problem was to lift supplies up to the West Shoulder. They had tried a winch but this was not at all effective. By manhauling, between April 16 and May 13, the five men had managed to carry up what was needed.^[25]

On May 14 Unsoeld, now with Sherpas, reached Camp 4W on the West Shoulder, dumped their loads, and returned to 3W.On May 15 Unsoeld and Hornbein reached the foot of the Couloir while Corbet joined Auten at 3W. On May 16 Emerson, fighting his returning sickness, set off for 3W in a storm, just missing Dyhrenfurth's order for him to descend. He was not able to reach the camp but he successfully bivouacked in a crevasse. The tents at 4W were destroyed and everyone retreated to 3W. Hornbein later said they would have gone on down to Advanced Base Camp if they had not been too tired. A new plan was agreed that only two climbers – Hornbein and Unsoeld – would attempt the summit and there would only be a single camp above 4W, not two as intended previously. Dyhrenfurth, over the radio, approved the pla, accepted the further delay, and started dispatching further supplies.^[26]

On May 20 they reoccupied 4W and next day Corbet and Auten set out, followed by Hornbein. Unsoeld, Emerson and five Sherpas. They climbed to near the foot of the Hornbein Couloir and established Camp 5W at 27,250 feet (8,310 m).^{[note 4]} Wakening at 04:00 and leaving camp at 07:00, Hornbein and Unsoeld set off for the summit taking oxygen, food and walkie-talkie but abandoning tent and sleeping bags. The slope up the Hornbein Couloir across the Yellow Band was at 55° and it took four hours to climb the first 400 feet (120 m). At the end of the couloir they encountered a 60-foot (18 m) cliff. Hornbein managed to place a piton only 8 feet (2.4 m) from the top of the cliff but then, exhausted, he had to abseil down. Unsoeld, helped by the rope, reached the piton and reached the top of the cliff where Hornbein could now join him. From there there was no retreat and they would have to descend via the South Col. The final stage of the climo was comparatively straightforward and at 18:15 on May 22, 1963, they reached the summit arm in arm.^[28]

The original plan had been for two pairs to tackle the West Ridge and Bishop and Jerstad would ascend the Southeast Ridge hoping to meet them on the summit with Dingman, Roberts and Dorje going as high as possible. If they could not meet on the summit, all climbers would descend by the route they had come up, it being too dangerous for the West Ridge climbers to take the Southeast Ridge without support.^[24] Hornbein and Unsoeld were too late in the day for the planned rendezvous but they could see Bishop and Jerstad's footprints in the snow and knew the way back down the West Ridge was impossible. After radioing down to Advanced Base Camp they descended by the Southeast Ridge, reaching the South Summit at 19:30 in the dark. They shouted hoping for support from Camp VI but it was Bishop and Jerstad, trapped 400 feet (120 m) further down who heard them and replied. They had reached the summit at 15:30 but, after taking some motion film, had left at 16:15 and had become exhausted on the descent. The four climbers carefully went on down but stopped at midnight and settled on a rock to wait for daylight, huddling together at over 28,000 feet (8,500 m) through the clear, still night. As they started further down the Southeast Ridge next morning they met Dingman and Dorje coming up, searching.They had expected to find two dead bodies but instead found four living climbers.^[29]^[30]

Return home

Back in the United States the reception was overwhelmingly focused on the first American ascent which was announced on the front page of the New York Times even though at the time Whitaker's name had not been disclosed. Three weeks later the first traverse, which received far more attention from the mountaineering establishment, was only mentioned on page 28. The National Geographic Society proclaimed it as their expedition and Dyhrenfurth was offended when he was ignored. However by July 8 matters had been rectified and Dyhrenfurth was awarded the Hubbard Medal by President Kennedy.^[31]

Americans on Everest.^[32]

IW374-376 for US commercialism

Notes

^ A traverse is a route that takes different routes up and down a mountain.
^ Other team members were Allen Auten, John Breitenbach, James Corbet, David Dingman, Daniel Doody, Richard Emerson, James Lester, Maynard Miller, Richard Pownall, Barry Prather, Gilbert Roberts.^[10] Sherpas included Nawang Gombu Sherpa, Girmi Dorje and Ang Dawa.^[11]
^ Without prior reconnaissance there would be no way of knowing whether a West Ridge descent was possible and if they were blocked there would be no means of retreat.^[12]
^ Hornbein later speculated that the gully would have been much more difficult if the recent storm had not blown off most of the snow.^[27]

References

Citations

^ Unsworth (1981), pp. 489–497.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), p. 285.
^ Unsworth (1981), pp. 347–353, 361–362, 495–496.
^ Kennedy, J.F. "John F. Kennedy - Inaugural Address". www.americanrhetoric.com.
^ ^a ^b Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 353–354.
^ "Everest pioneer Norman Dyhrenfurth dies aged 99". SWI. Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. September 27, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Isserman & Weaver (2008), p. 354.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 354–356.
^ Unsworth (1981), pp. 364–366.
^ ^a ^b Unsworth (1981), p. 366.
^ ^a ^b Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 364–365.
^ Unsworth (1981), p. 368.
^ Unsworth (1981), pp. 366–369.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 361–362.
^ Unsworth (1981), p. 372.
^ Unsworth (1981), pp. 373–376.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), p. 362.
^ Unsworth (1981), pp. 376–377.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 362–364.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 366–367.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 367, 517.
^ Unsworth (1981), p. 383.
^ ^a ^b Isserman & Weaver (2008), p. 368.
^ ^a ^b Unsworth (1981), p. 384.
^ Unsworth (1981), p. 379.
^ Unsworth (1981), pp. 385–387.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), p. 369, 517.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 369–370.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 370–372.
^ Unsworth (1981), pp. 390–392.
^ Isserman & Weaver (2008), pp. 372–374.
^ Ullman (1965).

Sources

Ullman, James Ramsay (1965). Americans on Everest (television documentary). produced by Dyrhenfurth, Norman, narrated by Welles, Orson. National Geographic Society – via Pyramid Home Video.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

Dyhrenfurth, Norman G. (1964). "Americans on Everest, 1963" (PDF). Alpine Journal. 69 (308): 1–22.
Dyhrenfurth, Norman G.; Unsoeld, William F (1964). "Mount Everest, 1963". American Alpine Journal. 1964. (reprinted in Dyhrenfurth, Norman G.; Unsoeld, William F. (1964). "Mount Everest, 1963". Himalayan Journal. 25.)
Hornbein, Thomas F. (1998). Everest: the West Ridge. Seattle: Mountaineers. ISBN 978-0-89886-616-2.
Isserman, Maurice; Weaver, Stewart (2008). Fallen Giants : A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes (1 ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300115017.
Mantovani, Roberto (1997). Everest: the history of the Himalayan giant. Seattle, WA: The Mountaineers. ISBN 0-89886-534-4.
Ullman, James Ramsey (1964). Americans on Everest; the official account of the ascent led by Norman G. Dyhrenfurth. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Unsworth, Walt (1981). Everest. Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-1108-5.
Webster, Ed (2002). "1963. Everest West Ridge Traverse". American Alpine Club Journal. 2002: 27–28.
Whittaker, Jim (1999). A life on the edge: memoirs of Everest and beyond (1st ed.). Seattle, WA: The Mountaineers. ISBN 0-89886-540-9.

v t e Mount Everest
Topography and landmarks	Base Camp Geneva Spur Hillary Step Hornbein Couloir Kangshung Face (East Face) Kangshung Glacier Khumbu Glacier Khumbu Icefall Lhakpa La Lho La North Col North Face Norton Couloir Rongbuk Glacier South Col South Summit Three Pinnacles Three Steps "Green Boots cave" Western Cwm
Expeditions	1921 British reconnaissance 1922 British 1924 British (Affair of the Dancing Lamas) 1933 British aerial reconnaissance 1933 British 1935 British 1936 British 1938 British 1950–52 British–Swiss–US reconnaissance 1951 British 1952 Swiss 1953 British 1960 Chinese 1975 British SW Face 1976 British–Nepalese SW Face 1979 Yugoslav West Ridge 1996 Indo-Tibetan Border Police 2006 Philippine 2007 Altitude Everest expedition Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition
Notable fatalities	Francys Arsentiev (Sleeping Beauty) Peter Boardman Green Boots Sandy Irvine George Mallory Hannelore Schmatz David Sharp Joe Tasker
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In media	Beyond the Edge The Climb (book) The Climb (2007 film) The Epic of Everest Everest (1998 film) Everest (2015 film) Everest (Indian TV series) Everest '82 Everest: Beyond the Limit EverestMax Expedition Everest (roller coaster) Into Thin Air The Man Who Skied Down Everest Mount Everest webcam Paths of Glory Peak The Conquest of Everest The Wildest Dream Wings Over Everest
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Records	Times to the summit 20th-century summiters
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