Overview
- In 1933 he flew a solo Gypsy Moth from Britain to India before officials seized it, later recovering the plane in disguise, selling it, and trekking illegally into Tibet to reach Everest.
- His diary records scant knowledge of glaciers, altitude and ice climbing, skipped essential gear, and repeated refusals to quit despite pleas from two Sherpas who briefly accompanied him.
- On 29 May 1934 he headed toward the North Col, and his final diary entry on 31 May read, “Off again, gorgeous day.”
- A British expedition led by Eric Shipton found his frozen body in 1935 near his tent at the foot of the North Col, with exhaustion or starvation considered likely, and buried him in a crevasse.
- Today’s retellings emphasize that his fatal attempt occurred long before guided climbs, bottled-oxygen queues or modern overcrowding on the mountain.