THE HARDEST NIGHT
Australian Geographic Magazine|September-October 2024
The first Australian ascent of Mt Everest in 1984 is one of the great feats of mountaineering. Climbed by a small team semi-alpine style, with no bottled oxygen, via the Great (Norton) Couloir, it remains unrepeated 40 years later.
ROSS TAYLOR
THE HARDEST NIGHT

FORTY YEARS AGO at 8pm on 3 October 1984, Tim Macartney-Snape breathlessly picked his way onto the summit of Mt Everest. Below him was an ocean of cloud broken by darkened peaks – only his peak, the highest of them all, was still catching the last light of the setting sun.

As he waited for Greg Mortimer, so the pair would become the first Australians to climb Everest, he recorded his thoughts between ragged breaths on a tape recorder: “This is the summit of Mt Everest, Qomolangma, Mother Goddess of the Earth, the world is staggeringly beautiful from up here. In fact, it’s beyond superlatives.” Greg soon arrived in a state of total exhaustion. In the photos Tim took, Greg, clad in his red down suit, is unfurling a Buddhist prayer flag, his face a black blur in the poor light. The mountaineering cliche that “reaching the summit is only halfway” looms menacingly over the tableau like the imminent darkness.

Fifty metres below, fellow climber Andi Henderson, his frostbitten hands turning to claws, had turned around and was slowly retreating. Unable to swap his glacier glasses for prescription glasses, he was increasingly blind in the gloaming.

The hardest night of their lives was ahead of them.

IN HIS BOOK, Everest: the Ultimate Book of the Ultimate Mountain, British climber and acclaimed outdoor writer Walt Unsworth later wrote in awe about the Aussie ascent, which was achieved without bottled oxygen and in semi-alpine style. “Australia is not a nation with any great tradition of mountaineering and yet the Everest Expedition of 1984 was a model of what an expedition should be,” he observed. “Not only that, their actual achievement was astonishing; one of the greatest climbs ever done on the mountain.”

This story is from the September-October 2024 edition of Australian Geographic Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the September-October 2024 edition of Australian Geographic Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINEView All
SULAWESI SENSATIONS
Australian Geographic Magazine

SULAWESI SENSATIONS

There are worlds within worlds and marvels untold waiting to be experienced on Indonesia's remote islands.

time-read
9 mins  |
September-October 2024
SEARCHING FOR AUSSIE DINOSAURS
Australian Geographic Magazine

SEARCHING FOR AUSSIE DINOSAURS

Our understanding of where to find ancient life in Australia has been turned on its head by a new appreciation of the country's geology. Now the world is looking to our vast outback as the latest hotspot to locate fossils.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September-October 2024
THE HARDEST NIGHT
Australian Geographic Magazine

THE HARDEST NIGHT

The first Australian ascent of Mt Everest in 1984 is one of the great feats of mountaineering. Climbed by a small team semi-alpine style, with no bottled oxygen, via the Great (Norton) Couloir, it remains unrepeated 40 years later.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September-October 2024
WEDGE-TAILED WONDER
Australian Geographic Magazine

WEDGE-TAILED WONDER

The chance discovery of an eagle nest leads to an extended vigil observing normally hidden behaviours of one of nature's supreme winged marvels.

time-read
3 mins  |
September-October 2024
BURDENED BY BEAUTY
Australian Geographic Magazine

BURDENED BY BEAUTY

Northern Australia's Gouldian finch survives in huge numbers in cages around the world, but its wild population continues to struggle.

time-read
4 mins  |
September-October 2024
A TELESCOPE FOR A GOLDEN AGE
Australian Geographic Magazine

A TELESCOPE FOR A GOLDEN AGE

After a stellar 50 years as one of the country's major scientific assets, the AAT continues to play a major role in keeping Australian astronomy on the world stage.

time-read
7 mins  |
September-October 2024
COCKY WHISPERING AT COOMALLO CREEK
Australian Geographic Magazine

COCKY WHISPERING AT COOMALLO CREEK

This patch of remnant bush on the edge of the West Australian wheatbelt is a place loved by one of Australia's rarest bird species and the man who has studied the site for more than 50 years.

time-read
6 mins  |
September-October 2024
A PIONEERING PAIR
Australian Geographic Magazine

A PIONEERING PAIR

Louisa Atkinson and her mother, Charlotte, were among Australia's earliest authors, and pioneers in women's rights.

time-read
9 mins  |
September-October 2024
THE LONGEST WALK
Australian Geographic Magazine

THE LONGEST WALK

Lucy Barnard is walking from Argentina to Alaska -the length of the Americas - on an extraordinary journey of endurance and adventure.

time-read
6 mins  |
September-October 2024
SECLUDED, BUT NOT ALONE
Australian Geographic Magazine

SECLUDED, BUT NOT ALONE

In an era of heightened social isolation, where many of us lead lonely lives, Dangar Island offers the chance to be part of a supportive, connected community.

time-read
7 mins  |
September-October 2024