CLUB PROCEEDINGS AND NOTES

Gosainthan, 26,291 feet, from the south west.

The Twenty-sixth Annual General Meeting of the Himalayan Club was held at the Little Theatre, Lighthouse Cinema, Calcutta, on Monday, the 5th July, 1954, at 6-45 p.m. The retiring President, Mr. C. E. J. Crawford, took the chair.

In a short speech, the Chairman outlined the aims and objects of the Club and remarked that the Club's activities had expanded to a great extent. Mention was made of the greatly increased interest in Himalayan climbing since the ascent of Everest and of the record number of expeditions from abroad visiting the Himalayas this year. At the conclusion of his address the Chairman wished the Club and its new President continued success and expressed his thanks to the Committee for the support which they had given him during his term of office as President.

The Minutes of the Twenty-fifth Annual General Meeting held in Calcutta on 29th May, 1953, were confirmed. The Annual Report and Audited Accounts for the year ended 31st December, 1953, copies of which had been circulated by post to all members, were confirmed and approved. Messrs. Price, Waterhouse, Peat & Co., Ltd., were reappointed auditors for the year ending 31st December, 1954. Officers, Elective Members of Committee, and Additional Members of the Balloting Committee were duly elected as follows:—

Officers

President	J. Latimer, Esq.
Vice-Presidents	Lt.-Col. H. W. Tobin C. E. J. Crawford, Esq.
Honorary Treasurer	J. T. Ewing, Esq.
Honorary Secretary	T. H. Braham, Esq.
Honorary Editor	Lt.-Col. H. W. Tobin.
Honorary Local Secretaries
Delhi	R. E. Hotz, Esq.
Darjeeling	R. E. Hotz, Esq.
Bombay	A. R. Leyden, Esq.
Kulu	H. M. Banon, Esq.
Dehra Dun	Gurdial Singh, Esq.
Karachi	Major F. P. A. Goodwin
United Kingdom	Lt.-Col. H. W. Tobin.
Elective Members of Committee
Dr. K. Biswas S. E. Golledge, Esq. R. E. Hotz, Esq. A.R. Leyden, Esq. J. A. Steven, Esq. V. S. Risoe, Esq. J. O. Sims, Esq. Major-Gen. H. Williams, C.B.E.
Other Appointments
Honorary Librarian ..	V. S. Risoe, Esq.
Honorary Equipment Officers	W. R. Henley, Esq. M. H. Mehta, Esq.
Additional Members of Balloting Committee
W. B. Bakewell, Esq. J. T. M. Gibson, Esq. J. N. Matliur, Esq. R. Jennings, Esq. Brig. C. R. Mangat Rai T. D. Welby, Esq.

The Annual General Meeting was followed by a talk given by Dr. William Siri, leader of the Californian Expedition to Makalu, which had just returned to Calcutta. This was followed by a showing of the French Annapurna film. The meeting was attended by about 40 members and wives.

The most important achievement during the year 1954 was the ascent of K2, 28,250 ft., by an Italian team under the leadership of Prof. Ardito Desio. Another important ascent was that of Cho Oyu, 26,867 ft., by an Austrian team under Dr. Herbert Tichy. We congratulate the Sherpa Pasang Dawa who was a member of the summit party. The year was a very active one generally, and the occurrence of some fatalities in the mountains is greatly regretted. Notably the deaths of three Italian climbers on the expedition to Api, and the death through frostbite of I/t. Ibanez, leader of the Argentine expedition to Dhaulagiri.

Club News-letters have continued to appear, giving details of main expeditions to the Himalayas, and recording the activities of the Club in all its Sections. The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was officially opened in Darjeeling by the Prime Minister of India in November 1954 with Major N. D. Jayal as Director and Tenzing Norkhay as Chief Instructor. The Instructors, all of whom attended a course at the Swiss Mountain School in Rosenlaui during July/ September 1954, are Angtharkay, Gyalzen, Da Namgyal, Ang Temba, Nawang Gompu and Nawang Topkie. The Institute has been running regular mountain courses, combining theoretical instruction with practical training. We wish the Institute every success for the future.

An enjoyable dinner was held in Calcutta on the 19th January, 1955, which was attended by a large gathering totalling 86 members and guests. Prof. G. I. Finch, F.R.S., gave a talk of great interest on' The effect on Man of high altitudes' and showed some slides of the 1922 Expedition to Mt. Everest. Mr. T. H. Braham followed with a talk on the 1954 Reconnaissance of Kangchenjunga, after which Dr. D. S. Matthews showed a coloured cine-film of this expedition.

The year 1955 has again been a very active one in the Himalayas and, indeed, another year of notable climbs. Kangchenjunga, 28,168 ft., the world's third highest mountain, was climbed by a British party under Charles Evans. Fulfilling a promise made to the Sikki- mese before starting, the climbers left untrodden the last five feet of the mountain's summit. The ascent was made by two pairs of climbers, George Band and Joe Brown on 25th May; Norman Hardie and Tony Streather on 26th May. Thus the ascent of Everest in 1953 has been followed closely by that of K2 in 1954 and of Kangchenjunga in 1955. The other main achievement of the year was the ascent of Makalu I, 27,790 ft., by a strong French team, led by M. Jean Franco. Some members of this party had carried out a reconnaissance of the mountain in the autumn of 1954 in the course of which Makalu II, 25,130 ft., was climbed. A unique feature of the splendid achievement of the French this year was the fact that all eight members of the climbing team and one Sherpa Gyalzen Norbu climbed to the summit in three separate parties of three, on 15th, 16th and 17th May. Surely, a record on a major Himalayan peak.

The second ascent of Kamet, 25,447 ft., was made this year on 6th July by an Indian party led by Major N. D. Jayal. On the same day other members of this team made the third ascent of Ibi Gamin, 24,120 ft. A very fine effort indeed; and a noteworthy example of the great strides forward which mountaineering has taken in India. Details of the very numerous expeditions that have visited the Himalayas and adjoining ranges in 1955 for the purpose of climbing and exploration have appeared in our news-letters. Mention should be made of the British ladies party of three, the first ever of its kind we believe, which carried out a successful expedition to the Langtang Himal in Nepal and climbed a peak of about 22,000 ft. The lust for mountain adventure appears to have maintained its post-Everest increase and with the unlimited scope offered by these vast areas of mountains, we hope that it may continue to do so. Political difficulties still provide a barrier to access to some of the most beautiful regions, but we hope that it is not unreasonable to assume that some relaxation will be granted to bona fide expeditions in the not too distant future.

The Twenty-seventh Annual General Meeting of the Himalayan Club was held at the Little Theatre, Lighthouse Cinema, Calcutta, on Wednesday, the 22nd June, 1955, at 6-45 p.m. The President, Mr. J. Latimer, took the chair.

The Minutes of the Twenty-sixth Annual General Meeting held in Calcutta on 5th July, 1954, were confirmed. The Annual Report and Audited Accounts for the year ended 31st December, 1954, copies of which had been circulated by post to all members, were confirmed and approved. Messrs. Price, Waterhouse, Peat & Co., Ltd., were reappointed auditors for the year ending 31st December, 1955. Officers, Elective Members of Committee and Additional Members of the Balloting Committee were duly elected as follows:—

Officers

President	J. Latimer, Esq.
Vice-Presidents	Lt.-Col. H. W. Tobin C. E. J. Crawford, Esq.
Honorary Treasurer	J. T. Ewing, Esq.
Honorary Secretary	T. H. Braham, Esq.
Honorary Editor	Lt.-Col. H. W. Tobin.
Honorary Local Secretaries
Delhi	R. E. Hotz, Esq.
Darjeeling	R. E. Hotz, Esq.
Bombay	A. R. Leyden, Esq.
Kulu	H. M. Banon, Esq.
Dehra Dun	Gurdial Singh, Esq.
Karachi	Major F. P. A. Goodwin
United Kingdom	Lt.-Col. H. W. Tobin.
Elective Members of Committee
Dr. K. Biswas S. E. Golledge, Esq. R. E. Hotz, Esq. A.R. Leyden, Esq. J. A. Steven, Esq. V. S. Risoe, Esq. J. O. Sims, Esq. Major-Gen. H. Williams, C.B.E.
Other Appointments
Honorary Librarian ..	V. S. Risoe, Esq.
Honorary Equipment Officers	W. R. Henley, Esq. M. H. Mehta, Esq.
Additional Members of Balloting Committee
W. B. Bakewell, Esq. J. T. M. Gibson, Esq. J. N. Matliur, Esq. R. Jennings, Esq. Brig. C. R. Mangat Rai T. D. Welby, Esq.

Printed by Norman A. Ellis at the Bapist Mission Press, 41A Lower Circular Road, Calcutta.

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