The lower slopes of the north side of Mt. Everest are largely devoid of archeological interest. Aggressive garbage collection in recent years by the CTMA (China/Tibet Mountaineering Association) in the Rongbuk area has removed virtually all the trash and debris from past expeditions. More significant perhaps, is the decades of searching done by Tibetan yak drivers for anything remotely useful back home as a container (can, bottle, jar, etc). The historic sites of Base Camp, Camp I, and Camp II have thus been picked over for years, and what few artifacts that do exist are from the post-1980 period (after China re-opened access to Western climbers). In my six expeditions here, I have never found any "old" (i.e., '20s-'30s era British) artifacts on the lower mountain.

The upper mountain is another story, however. Unlike the south side, which is heavily glaciated and marked by the Khumbu Icefall and Western Cwm, which continually flush debris off the mountain and grind it up, the north side has a number of "permanent" campsites. With the exception of Camp IV on the North Col (which is on ice, which moves and changes annually), all the camps starting at ABC and including the many sites for Camp V and Camp VI on the North Ridge and upper North Face are on rock, and thus provide ample opportunity to study the remnants of old expeditions. While most of the debris that a climber encounters is post 1980, there are nonetheless a dwindling number of '20s-'30s artifacts (as climbers take home souvenirs).

The old expeditions of the '20s and '30s were well documented in their various written accounts. With the exception of the mystery of Mallory and Irvine, we don’t need the artifacts and archeology to tell us things about them that we don’t know. What these artifacts provide us, especially when studied in conjunction with old photos and historical accounts, is a snapshot view of a remarkable age of exploration and discovery, when the way to the top was not well known and traveled, and when men of vision stepped into history.

In summary, I would like to argue that while expedition debris on Mt. Everest may be an aesthetic problem, it is not an environmental problem. This stuff is not toxic waste (with the possible exception of old batteries). It is not going anywhere. Even on the South Col, where the media likes to show photos of the same pile of old oxygen cylinders over and over, the trash is not a problem. If anything, it is an economic resource for a new generation of Sherpas who will make lots of money over the next decades carrying the old oxygen cylinders back down for a bounty (we are paying 1500 Rs. per cylinder this year…about $20. This is good money for the Sherpas and over time will make the mountain clean again. The South Side teams are doing the same thing. The only bummer is that Nike will have to come up with a new ad campaign…they won’t be able to publish the same old photos over and over in Outside magazine of the same old cylinders at the South Col).

The Mallory and Irvine Archeology –1999

We are actively looking for clues that relate to Mallory and Irvine. Our first discovery, a 30’s era tent (found by Andy Politz on his "Fine day in the Hills") was frozen into the East Rongbuk Glacier, some distance below the North Col, amazingly sandwiched among more recent 1960’s era debris (we tentatively think this might be from two other camps, possibly 1960 Chinese and the other from the bold and unpermitted 1962 W.W. Sayre attempt). Apparently, this year the very warm weather and low snow has caused things of different vintages to melt out of the East Rongbuk Glacier simultaneously, and at the same place.

This is understandable if one considers the flow lines of ice within the glacier. Items buried higher in the accumulation zone will move deeper and further downstream than items buried closer to the equilibrium line of the glacier. It is entirely possible that artifacts from different eras, buried at different places, might emerge next to each other when climatic variation melts down the glacier surface, as has happened the past few years (Glacial Geologist Dan Mann estimates that the surface of the Central Rongbuk Glacier has dropped over 150 feet vertical at the 18,000 foot level during the past eight years, indicating a hugely accelerating melting regime of the glacier mass).

These artifacts, accurately located with GPS, can provide some clues to the glacial motion of the East Rongbuk as they traveled down glacier during the past decades. Among the items that we have inventoried to date from the site include several very old tents made of cotton and/or silk fabric, many brass tent stakes ("made in England"), several old pitons and screws, a remarkable hammer, samples of several different types of cords and ropes, and many very old (but largely unrusted!) tin cans with different writing and codes on them. It will be fun to work through the evidence over the coming months!

Of more interest to us will be the sites of the 1922 and 1924 Camp VI, which can potentially provide clues to the Mallory and Irvine mystery. In particular we will be looking for further evidence about the oxygen systems that were known to be used in 1922 and 1924. We think that there may be further clues out there that are applicable to Mallory and Irvine in 1924. We’ll have to wait and see!

—Eric Simonson, Expedition Leader

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