Blue toned photograph of the meandering Rongbuk Glacier leading through the frame from the foreground to the background where Mount Everest can be seen.
On June 26th the expedition members reached the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier and established Base Camp at 16,500 ft with Advance Camp at 17,800 ft. In the mean time, the other members continued their own pursuits in terms of geologizing and mapping the area. These findings would prove invaluable in the search for a reliable route to the summit of the mountain. The Rongbuk Glacier proved exceptionally hard to negotiate due to the 50 ft ice pinnacles visible in the foreground. These pinnacles are formed when the sun heats the ice which in turn forms a vapour that in turn froze. It took Mallory and Bullock 4 ½ hours to cover a mile in this terrain.
Presented to King George V by the Royal Geographical Society's Mount Everest Committee and the Alpine Club, May 1922
