Joint Himalayan Committee

The Joint Himalayan Committee was the name given in 1947 to the body that was previously known as the Mount Everest Committee. Like its predecessor, it was composed of high-ranking members of the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society.

The Joint Himalayan Committee was responsible for organising and financing British attempts on Mount Everest, including the first ascent in 1953

1953 Everest expedition

Background

The Committee began the organisation for the full-scale 1953 attempt (in case the Swiss attempt in 1952 failed) in 1951, when it arranged a Reconnaissance expedition to the mountain. The following year, 1952, a training expedition – which included Edmund Hillary – was undertaken to Cho Oyu, although the mountain was not climbed.John Hunt, "The Ascent of Everest", Hodder and Staughton, 1953, p. 22

Selecting members

John Hunt, the leader of the 1953 expedition, wrote that the various British mountaineering clubs had been requested to submit lists of qualified candidates that would be considered by the Committee, 'whose responsibility it was to issue the formal invitations'."The Ascent of Everest", p. 23–4

Financing

According to Hunt, the Committee's responsibility for drumming up funds for the 1953 expedition was not a welcome one:

A number of organizations contributed to the Committee, including "The Times" newspaper, which had also supported earlier expeditions."The Ascent of Everest", p. 23

Success

On 2 June, four days after the successful ascent, Hunt sent a runner to 'carry messages to Namche Bazar, to go thence by the good offices of the Indian wireless station to Kathmandu. Cables of humble appreciation were sent to the Queen and the Prime Minister, another to the Himalayan Committee saying that I proposed to bring Tenzing and Hillary to England – George Lowe had already planned to come.'"The Ascent of Everest", p. 219

Members

*L. P. Kirwan (Director, Royal Geographical Society)
*Peter Lloyd
*B. R. Goodfellow (Honorary Secretary)

References