Maurice Wilson and his Expedition to Everest in Ever Wrest
Maurice Wilson was an early 20th century “soldier, mystic, mountaineer and aviator” who died whilst attempting to climb Mount Everest in 1934.
Maurice believed both that the world’s ills could be solved by fasting and faith in God, and that climbing Everest would prove this. In order to prepare himself for the task, Maurice spent a few weeks hiking in the British Lake District, but declined to undertake any technical mountaineering training.
Despite the Air Ministry forbidding him from flying, Maurice left England in his Gypsy Moth plane named Ever Wrest on May 21st 1933, bound for Nepal. In both Cairo and Bahrain his attempts were almost thwarted by more flying bans, but undeterred, Maurice pressed on. It was only when he had his plane impounded in India and he was refused foot passage into Tibet that a new tactic was sought.
By chance Maurice met three Sherpas who had worked on Everest Expeditions previously. Disguising themselves as Buddhist monks, with Maurice feigning illness, deafness, and blindness to avoid suspicion, they passed into Nepal illicitly.
With absolutely no idea what he was doing, Maurice found the trek even to the base of Everest extremely difficult. At one point he found a set of crampons, which would have made his life on glaciers much easier, and threw them away. He did, however, make numerous attempts at the summit. Bad weather, old war wounds, snowblindness, and a sprained ankle all caused him to turn back at some point. Attempts made with the Sherpas were marginally more successful, though they eventually gave the task up as a bad job and, after begging Maurice to leave with them, left him to it. On the 29th of May he set out alone. He was never seen again.
The last entry in his diary was dated 31st of May and read: "Off again, gorgeous day." His body was found in 1935, 6,920 metres up the mountain. It is likely he died of starvation and exhaustion. There has been speculation that he reached the summit and died on his return.
