East of Everest

In 1972, my father gave me 'Everest: The West Ridge' by Thomas Hornbein, about the American Everest Expedition ten years previously.

The book inspired a lifelong passion to learn about the world’s tallest mountain. Dad wrote in the book, ‘Adam, when you want to go on your own, this will show how it was done in the old days.’ 

Neither of us could have predicted how prophetic this would be. Those words motivated me to make three treks to the Everest region: via Nepal in 1983 and 2018 and from China in 2025. 

Last year’s trek to Kharta Valley on the east side of Everest followed the footsteps of British mountaineers who explored the region in 1920 and 1921 to find a plausible route to the top.

Kharta is also where Namgyal Wangdi grew up — before he was renamed Tenzing Norgay by a monk in Khumbu. In the movie, Tenzing, the boy is shown meeting George Mallory, although he did not.

George Mallory first caught my attention while researching my history thesis at Yale in 1982. He was educated at Cambridge, served in the British Army in World War I, and became a schoolteacher. 

He took to rock climbing and by his early 20’s joined trips to Wales and the Swiss Alps. More climbing achievements in Europe made Mallory a compelling choice for British expeditions to Everest in 1921, 1922, and 1924. 

From Renzo La at 5,350m during a trek in 2018 I could see four of the world’s six tallest peaks: Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, and

Cho Oyu. The Tibetan Plateau beyond was also visible, and that prompted the trip to Kharta Valley. 

Planning was not easy. There are fewer travel companies on the Chinese side of Everest. My childhood friend Eric Beatty and I researched options online. 

In 2025, we heard many reasons why such a trip was not possible. Few had trekked there since Covid, larger teams were necessary and securing a Chinese visa and travel permit were not guaranteed. We had to find a window between the end of the monsoon and early autumn snowstorms. At age 66, we were fit but too old.