The Ogden standard-examiner. [volume], January 17, 1921, LAST EDITION, Image 9

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I
THE OGDEN STANDARD-EXAMINER
Aviator Sees Sporting Chance to Reach Roof of World I
. i
Roland Rohlfs Outlines
Plan for Conquest of
Mount Everest, Based
on Scientific Data
and His Own Expe
riences in Even
Higher Altitudes
Man has reached the North Pole, man
Jims reached the South Pole man has
braved ocean depths in diving devices
and submarines, nan has flown to alti
tudes far higher than the earth's loftiest
peak, and across vast marine wastes. To
get foot on the roof of the world, the
crest of Mount Everest, is the one great
feat of exploration remaining to be
achieved, and this is the goal in a new and
Wing enterprise.
By ROLAND ROHLFS
WQE.N I first read lu the pews
papers of a possible attempt 10
scale Mount Ever eat, (lie highest
QVj peak In the world I d iucd thai II rouM
I pot bp done A I am neither a mountain
3 6lmber nor an expert on Himalayan peak
tl,s rnav seem pir-umptimus, bill I have
been hither than Moui I Everest In a piano
i an, i i : OTi;red even
H toJi'1 1 "'' ' " partial vacuum due
6J0ft the r -r' M'" ' ' r " ,r0 how horrlM
it J5 .. nil rnpi : :1c ! nigs with that
thin old .Mr. how quickly conaciousm
fin? to leave one '"'I how Sf-i.il n fi N to
draw breath -'iter hreath of pure oxygen
30' Jrcni a on.
v Mi'T T7 u i-f : 1 1 1 1 V s, I,,,, .NT .v In. is a
ROOo trU I.. ' : -.en t!...u:!i h. 1 !''
lsj break rm altitudi r.l know v. hat hard-
t'fll Pu"lM 'arr lllr' m'n Wn" n''e,npta tO I'OHI i
" iueh .m aitiiuiie a s Mount Everest's 'op. rot
34 It tl P--" of Sehnwl' r i nrd . limb Ii
WB Bypen ,npp:i r.iln- went ivnni a-:.!
jporr than flv e miles before h ' i d corn
felousness and h'ot his ship under control
gjn t
sa Bn :i'h.
L pi i i
jpdiHV linost to impnssihillt I believe
jBcan ! hi i in-,- uso ,.r m
gjp and
Hbe airplane n -- difficult If It n isn'l man
p pVou:: have .i " lone: aC" I don't recall
Hffltand an-.-lh lli-it .nar: li.i-n
pit b dintr-ron- h-ii 'inn't'-i ins never ' il- il
pjuin in iiif omicavor ie it (he location n
saaBbc Vorth
gpVrcb ' r' ; - " 1 1 '
mNo'td Aviator Asj:cs Readers
His Plan of Ascent Is Scientific
Til" -'I'1 I ' 'f "'III Mt l
Tcet. h lit I ii-!,'- - i- nit i -' 1
I rhf - i of tlii nattet
ifjiit'ii'i ' 1 i
opVint im fuonds i" think tluif tint hump u
he lr ad I': I' n
Ifjpmt rne than I was I-'I'm-
''l Granted that t h
lea.:ii' ; prnr.P
BrfctKo a li h 'in i he
!0n-tcrni' " I 11 1 Ifli
ble. TlK-i r- l' m-i Ii
.the hr- m ;n 'c " 'he a ItTimll m
Rll lea
Krhi in--- r.i m , i ., i .1.: i a i . I e '
jefUsr-; Ii r,' . Inld
Bf Thr pi-.i vp
Hed only after month or rvi-n a vear or
ZB-o of prepai illn ic '
ITShther a
nAnou' ' ' ' 1 1
I rial-1 v r or -a force which
tproi id to "T.I i ' t in' ii in -' i'i'i o
CrI the 'a r ': ' - cannot v th
4tMmii'tiL prop:in on ni hi Dropping
I'tlip .:-. r :!io ' limb the i e. mow
.1'ner' , i - , i obataclet. the m-r-
1 !' c of n moi - body to a helffiil of '-' ' "
("fcet i'' hi o- n ' :': ts k . ; f i And m hi n
I'knfeBou ndd In the Mi 'K .iim'-i: S 'I '
jMH:Hrorn 1 s.finn or '.'I'. O'hi ip.var.l In ti . -
I ftaftarn. too an o.xcen tnnl; end Tirar
tfatBeetllnvly thlrk and heavy clothlnf it would
Hun that only a aunerman eould do It.
Tnc puke of tl '- AbrUCll, 1 note rei
:it Ion K-2 anothrr Himalayan peak, an altitude
Kf 24.600 fret the present world's rerord.
(1)Mf before he ua compelled to descend 1 don't
I know hew he pot thnt far hat I think he
' flMnust hav e moKt remarkable powers Of en
.ijflBuraticr, and I douht ir tl Is record Is ever
.' J beaten by ru:' prr-n! diManre. TIerschell C,
Dker. I underlHiid. hos : '' h- believes
7ta5,Oo(' fret Im Iii I hi limit In moantnln
bf SMllmlur -a
brping down to earth the first task be
Bore an expediiiun which plans, to send a
Agati Ty plnim In t':,f Kiimri it wo i'.J he In
tkW r-A , - i Id ni I hn e lo be S
Si rnnv al-h- base, i would be rco' 1 ' 1 ,; 1
Jjf ni''" 'a ' IiimI.'.mi; i i . i i T ' I'lrlfiah
?Jfcaae should v,i in tin ,n tl mountain
rjHrfiil tl-e priin ipal pr- vailing wind. TWO
lor three I an a with snffbdrnt space for a
I Bfltne to land, rrnuped triangularly nrwnit
t Rhe peak v.n iii in- hettrr. but not absoluiel.
aftiecesorv Tho first bic advantage possessed
PWby b ii airplane expedition would be the fan.
''flsWUU this base rnuld be as far as Inn miles
AJSbum the prak without endanperlni
iimHh the least Of lourse the nearer It was
iyhe better, but 100 miles It would seem
Kpld be enough allowance of distant o to
lawure a landlnp field even In the grumbled
opotrraphy of this hlchet of all mountain
l.lihilns. Some clearing of a likely spot might
iJilbe P'lf.irv Tin inn rniles which would
Anean weeks of havel f,,r an f. pedilion I ld 1
WBKith the Impedimenta of a mountain llmb
BAVg expedition would be a matter of gonie
1 JPBtorntr under an hour for the airplane
1 Onre skilled at the base the pilot and the
Bfean who expects to land on the peak would
Jr.ot i.il.o off, 700m up to 2'.'. 140 feet and ac
PVCOmpUsh the stunt. Tl,- ,. '-I
jJBn c'd' '"u i M.e in. ,n . .hin, ultlcs. one
--Jby ope rui before Una described 11 mlzht
imaamW?9 ,0 y something ahouf the piano
mm. ttteir
Ifjl-Cuntsi W,jp Tn,,lar.o
Might Accomplish the Task
XpW Th h'ane use, by Major Bchrocder and
hf- Piano I piloted in altitude clnbf wore
TIBnot bulli or the work. Both were war
models which -had high speed and hiph
pjfclimblnp ability, but were not built for "cell
ln ' 'rk alone. Consequently T think I am
P ilntlr,!ly m ''''''' ln ,lint il would be com
pl -Wtlvely oajy f0r a pood engineer to build
pa; la plane which eould carry two men oxygen
nd oiher supplier . to ., helpht of thirtv
pousand feet or so Instead of one man and
Fesorles. Personally, I believe the Curtlss
BBBBB sar
New picture of Mount Everest, thegiant peak of the Himalayas and the loftiest summit in the world The most recent survey gives it I
a height of ?q.j- feet. Map i'nws the distances from Mount Everest to large places in India where climbing expeditions might be organi I 1
MT. EVEREST
29, 140 FT.
life" ' Wsm. ' -.
fea , f
- , jtfV M01A fitlC ; f ' ,
1 , 1 yt M4 EVEREST ?-
rfr-7 v. I 29J40Flei w, . .
tt(WiR
s--'' Av" ex f ; f !' f
" .V ( ROLAND ROHLFS.
1 . ,-r-, Roland Rohlfs. the writer of this ar-
".- - J tf!1 ' "fPlfr tide, is one of the foremost aviators of
V y i America. What is not quite so generally
) . fllA3U-S i ; cnoivn f5 that not alone daring and en-
Wuranro u Mm h hird thimht tnri rrn.
asp trlplani'. with a llttk- area added Ifl
the three wins, and a f Improvement!
would be satlsfuvi or-. The IllCreagCd ana
would cut down tho speed somewhat, bul
when you have a top speed of 161 miles an
luur you can afford to drop a few mllp
The reason I like a trlplanc le that It has
a greater range of speed than a biplane
This range Is Important in our expedition.
Th Wasp, for Instance, varies between r0
and 162 miles In landing with the throttle
open to the last notch.
The base should tie on the ev aide of the
mountain because In the unlikely event thai
t motor quit work on one of tho flights It
would ptolu.bly bo possible to glide back to
camp, A PlUM will glide seven fee? for
every font nf height with a ''dead stick."
that Is, a propeller nut jiulllne, and to thi
dlhlance tho wind IU add much more.
The first fllcU over I he mountain would
be purely for purposee of obsorvaMon ,s"-
bndv knows much about Mount Kv crest. (
Underffttnd, oixl photographs have beon
tgkn only from a distame of almost oi.e
hundred miles The pilot and the observer,
therefore, must look ovor the ground and
take a few pictures themselves at close range.
That helpht of 2!. 140 feet. too. sounds BUS"
ph loualy accurate for a ffgore derived from
intricate triangulatlou at ureat distance, iinl
t-.-nic one may have skidded in mathematics
or observation It may be appreciably' high
er Ol lower
Other things which must be noted on this
and subsequent flights aro he winds their
strength, direction and vain-i- the tempera
ture of the air at tho altitude of the peak,
the topography of the ground all around the
mountain and. most impoitant of ull. h
actual formation of tho peak and the areas
betow the peak
The temperature Isn't of as gieat Impnr
tance as the winds. Wo know It Is ndd up
tiicie. If It s anything like six miles up
on Long Island It is 44 degree below zero.
Fahrenheit. This even behind the wlndfhleld
of a plane. Is cold. Incomprehensibly roU.
But it is merely ono of the things that taki
this out of the easy class.
The winds are Important, Smoke bombs
must bo thrown on the mountain und on tho
peak. If possible, in order to pet some idea of
local wind currents. Let us hope, for rea
sons that appear later, that tin prevailing
wind it the summit is heading somewhere :t
between fifty and one hundred and fifty miles
an hour. Personally I think the wind spo I
will be between fifty and Onc hundred mil I
At thirty thousand feet I have headed ln'.o
wlnCs of 175 miles an hour The altitude
record I made was established forty miles
east of Garden City, but I was heading west
ward at tcp speed all the inn- Tho wind
simply pushed me back. I don't expert sui h
I Bj - Bag .'r, BBKBgBJBJBJBSBagBBI Hgwgi -Mt&i, WW . I UM
Curtiss Wasp triplane used in altitude climbs and which Rohlb
says could Dc modified to make the Mount Everest attempt.
It rrlfic K.ilp at Kvercst, for the reason tin
the friction of surrounding mountain la
even though at considerably lower altitude s,
will cut down the rate.
The two men who make the attempt must
In i loser than brothers, for they - uist. at
the crucial moment In tho cxpedli Ion ai t
unc piece if machinery Thi y must of
1 1 urse be skilled airmen, a qualification not
so unusual us before the war struck us, and
they must have had copaldergbla i xpcr'once
0 altitude work so that they will be as mm h
a' home physhally In tho "are air a ii pos
sible for men to be. That isn't very much
at home. 1 may add. During tho first fllHht.
and during all the others, they must become
accustomed to read th" slightest Mgn or mo
tion of the other, must almost read tho
other's mind. Conversation, with a four
hundred horsepower motor marine ahead,
mid with a wind carrying all utterances
astern at 100 to 1 .0 miles. Is an Impossible
luxury six mil's up, particularly since each
man's face Is covered by a mask and he Is
pulling for dear life at n lube connected with
tho life-giving oxygon lank. H Is sign
language or nothing.
In these trial flights the men m i-t study
that great summit It may be a mere pin
nacle, a shaft of rock upheaved higher than
all it n fellows In the birth of tho world as
We know it It may l-e a plateau hundreds
of feet across. It may be a rounded surface
siopinp gradually to steeper declines But
whatever the peak Is. It must ho studied from
every side as the plane circles around It.
coming nearer and nearer, but keeping sultl-cic-ntly
Car away to prevent a chance gust
from dashing tho plane upon It
If the summit Is a steeple of rock for
thousands of feet the expedition is through.
If the summit has on or within hundreds of
fret of It a comparatively level place, tho
size of the top of a freight car or larger.
ihe expedition is Just starling, Kor on Hint
spot I think It entirely possible to lund from
nu airplane in full flight the man who ts to
tmvc, the honor of reaching the highest poliu
1 the K'obe.
Before the reader has time to conjure up
)USt what a man who had landed on a moun
tain peak from an airplane travelling J50
miles or CSJ would look like let mc say that
he will bs alive, uninjured but rapidly free:
ing to d'aih. Moreover, the man will huvo
an even better chance of getting away than
he had In getting ther-v which is all that
could be expected by a i-portKmun
Among tne things the,! the world had
carefully catalogued us Impossible a yfgi DC
two ago waa Changing from ono plane tit
flight to another Then Norman Locklear
did it nnil the world hunted up something
else to ball impossible. Tho sumo principle
Locklear I iiipbivcd' can he used In this In
stance. His two planes were each travelling
sixty miles an hour Put they were travel
ling this speed In the same direction, so
relatively they were not paQyipg,
Tho airplane from which the pioneer visi
tor to Everest will descend win not he mov ing
at all yet Its motor may be roaring
full on. For the piano will bo heudlng Into
the wind at precisely the same fpeod at
which the wind Is shooting by it. In other
words, (f the westerly movement of the wind
Ii at the rate of seventy-five miles an hour
the easterly speed of tho plane will be
seventy -five miles an hour, and the result,
nr motion In relation to the earth, will be
zero.
This may seem to be one of those condi
tions which are theoretically true but actu
ally Imposelble. It may be thought that It
Simply could not be done on top of a moun
tain or anywhere else In real life. As a
matter of fact, however, men have changed
from n.rplano? to automobiles and to freight
chanical geinu:. wrnt into the making of
his world's altitude record on September
18. 1919. when he reached a height of
32.450 feet. In the present article he
works out roughly the manner m which,
in his opinion, the summit of unattained
Everest, highest of the Himalayas and of
the world, may be rciched. The moun
tain lies between British India and Tibet.
Mr. Rohlfs. who is twenty-seven years
old and married, is the sou of Anna Kath
arine Green, the novelist, who is Mrs.
Charles Rohlfs in private life. Tie has
been flying for about four years. Unnl
peace curtailed the activities of the Cur
tiss Company he was its chief pilot. The
day after his altitude record be demon
strated fast climbing by soaring 1 9.500
feet in 0 minutes 42 2 5 seconds, in
upward dash of jj feet a second, in the
same plane, a Curtiss Wasp triplane. He
has made other records. Just before the
recent Cordon Bennett cup race in
France Mr. Rohlfs was injured in at
tempting to land a fast racing plane on a
rough field in an effort to reach the
starting point in time to get Into the race.
In his flight from one Held to another he
attained a speed of 19s miles an hour
Although he treats the feat of reaching
the raof of the world impersonally he
has expressed the desire to try it him
self while aviation is dull and uninterest
ing during the post-war slump.
cars :tnd Sack again. In those. COiee It was
the air that was stationary and the points
:f departure and arrival that were moving
in this oaae It wljl be the plane, and the
air that ate moving and the mountain win, h
la still.
Of course there are ditlcullles In the WtU
The air m iy ho no bumpy or rough that near
the wind. The pilot, meanwhile will zoom
UpWard ami away fiom the mountain and
start circling around. ,
Once sure of his footing the man on the
the mountain the plane will dnnco like a
crazy thing. In this case Hie expedition Is
off, at b ast fur that day. I believe, however,
thai 1 day will come, perhaps after weeks or
months of waiting, when tho wind curre'i's
ar" blowing parallel to a level spot In a falr'y
smooth stream.
The pilot will keep his most unwavering
attention on the height of the plane above
the landing place and Its zero speed while
his partner climbs down a weighted ropo l id
der suspended from the axle of the plan
He will be climbing In a wind blast of from
fifty to a hundred miles an hour, or even
more. He will be handicapped and numbed
by the Icy wind. He must be carrying
stra ptied to him not only a small oxygen
m m
Famed Pilot Tells of
Great Risks In
volved, Including
Stunts Like Chang:
ing Planes in Flight,
and How Disaster
May Be Avoided
'ottle with hose attached to Kla mnak hut ggH
BWO a parachute folded tightly against his figH
nce down on the ground or ice his gJgH
lrst move will ho to. fling himself flat to the pfgfl
ground or catch hold of ,ome projection to gffflH
l""' "if himself f.om being . arr.ed awav bv BgH
!' wiM worl; QUkJkly. A man cannot" llv.
long under such conditions, even with oxvgn gffflfl
and the warmest of warm 1 lothe- HiB flrt 1
step win be toward some o' the padded batre gjgfl
containing oxygen tanks, additional clothlna;
and other supplies which la- been thrown H
near the spot upon which he flrsf landed. H
Th e Imp- would ho brightly colored in van- LH
is hues easily distinguishable. The oxyjon lja
supply In the sm.-,M bottlo be carried with
him would last only for ten or fifteen minutes
and be must gel a lugger boltle t0 attach to lpH
tfie tube projecting fi om his mask If in- H
Struments for scientific observations are re- H
uiiired they may also be contained In th H
rbaga Unlike his theoretical rival, the.
climber, the man on the mountain top can In pH
advance decide upon taking with him any- lpH
1 lung be wishes. These bags, if they con- H
tained anything of grrat weight, would, of H
ourse be planted on a previous flight m td j pH
only by the pilot. The different colors would ppV
ti,. adventurer to tell the difference ppp
no containing oxygen and one with ppV
food or anything else. ppp
The parachute strapped to the back of h ppH
man on the mountain Is needed not only tr.r ppp
tin ordinary possibilities of trouble in the ppp
air. iii the event that thfl landing In ppV
'lie wind is madi ai a place whera ppp
sie,., slopes menacingly near. If he did H
go over It is certain that the terrific wind pmmj
blow him de.tr of the mountain. pH
Home first hand experience convinces me H
(hat a man who wants to leave a nmuntn'.n
lop I 1 the teetb of a howling gale may do to 1
without trouble. In order to test out a para-
but"' I Intended using In the t"!orden Benneit ppp
race I went up a plane at flarden City
with the silk life saver strapped securely lo
my bul. We Brers making seventy-flvn H
miles an hour as I crawled out on the wine ppa
lo make Hi Jump from the tip In order to pfpH
,v ..id the In that wind speed it whs pH
. pii-sihli- tn move, although the pressure n
tlte body Wka decidedly heavy. At the dpi pmmp
looking backward, I gave the ring a jerk. I
had packed that parachute myself and I H
certain I had done it right. BO I Wag pmmV
highly Jnteroated in the result.
The big silk bundle -1ml out In a Jumbl pH
cords and material until It reached ih J
1, I of the cords attaching it to me.' Then pH
suddenly, the parachute opened Wide. In pH
stantty I wu- jerked 01 r the wing. For a H
f w seconds thereafter gravity had absolutely H
nothing lo do with my movements. I was H
nulled horizontally backwards for hundreds pH
1 ft 1 in pu r 1 lost a foot of altitude. Then ppV
my weight pulled down under the big silk bTbTpj
n. Su lla, and. oscillating considerably, the ppV
ami 1 started for earth. We got there. ppV
That experienced convinced me that in fro BjBjfl
moving air a man has little to fear In leav- Kfpfpj
Ing BVch abrupt decllVltj as a mountain ppV
How the Successful Aviator ppV
Will Plant His Flag on Summit
Returning to our man on Bverest, he must, ppV
ifl getting his Mg oxygen bottle. . .imb
to the peak, if he is not already ther. plant ppV
his flag, or make his observations, an.i get fXVJ
ready to leave before his circulation Quits. ppV
rlis blggeat difficulty is going to be to kee;i BTBTpj
his fingers warm Even with the warmest ppV
of fur lined buckskin gloves they niav b pmmj
1 omo like clubs on the way down the ladder. Bpp
In the plane, of course, electric gloves wi:h Hmfpj
nmlng current from a storage battery Hmfpj
or generator are used In thin sort of work. ppp
bile the observer Is on the mountVn ppV
the man In the plane will be busy taking ppV
photographs of him from the air For this a ppV
pe lal airplane camera attached to some pjpjfl
part of the plane and operated by a trigger pjpjfl
In the pilot's cockpit Is used. This type, ppV
like a fixed muchtne gun. Is sighted by pfpV
heading the plane at the object to be. photo- pfpV
graphed or shot and then letting go the ppV
Fifteen minutes or half an hour after the pH
man has landed he will be ready to leave. pmmj
lie has two alternatives. If the wind Is still ppV
1 rvoraba he may crouch behind some roc' BpfJ
or ico bank while the pilot manoeuvres direct- pH
ly over him and gradually sottles down so ppS
the ropi ladder, twenty or thirty feet long. p
dangles before him. Then up that ladder,
with Ids oxygen tgnk and parachute, he must
climb to safety In the plane If this Is not
feasible he st',11 liny a method of leaving the
mountain. That is the parachute. As the pH
ono he carries on his back la an emergency ppS
chute of Quick descending pattern. It will
be advisable to ice another, which Is. of ppffl
course. In one of the baga previously thrown
pverboard The hlfger the chute the faaiav jH
and Cuvthgr Je Will be canted from the peak pH
or the edge of the precipice trom which he ppS
makes his little leap In this case he isn't
at all u.i' where he Is going to land, but he
is headed for thicker air and solid earth. pfAV
As In downward Into the almost ppw
ut know n territory around the mountain I bo pfpS
will tollMW 111 order to observe the spot
he land- Th. or plans made-
of the country beforehand will be valuable pV
hi re. lor the pilot will probably be unoWo
t 1 land within miles of tho 'chute Jumper. pH
1 mm landed the big difficulties arc over.
- man out in the wlldorness is hooked pH
up with his camp by the plane, which can
bring him maps, compass food, firearms, or pH
anything else he reQulree. pH
The conquest of Mount Everest by air
piano may seem weirdly Imaginative, but T
am convinced that if tho peak Is ever pV
reached It will bo in this or some similar pH
waj ''he human heart has certain llmita- pmV
turns ry easily reached In high altitudes, pfH
and If ui-m cannot get to Mount Everest's ppj
hlr.h point by the most improved method of pV
transportation he cannot get there by the pH
primitive. ppj
Such an expedition would be long, costly. pV
dangerous and unpleasant, but it would be pmp
Interesting, and the pursuit of the interesting pfpfJ
l closely connected with the pursuit Of hap- pV
plneaa. Why not be blown off the highest pH
mountain pcuk tn the world trying to do pV
something; worth while when any day a germ pV
lay you low? ppj
I