The Worst Mountain Climber
In April of 1918 Maurice Wilson found himself as the lone uninjured survivor of his entire unit as the German Army mounted a furious attack. The units on both of his flanks had withdrawn, and now he, and he alone was left to defend his machine gun post. His heroics that day earned him the Military Cross. The citation for the award read:
2nd Lt. Maurice Wilson, W. York. R. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He held a post in advance of the line under very heavy shell and machine-gun fire on both flanks after the machine guns covering his flanks had been withdrawn. It was largely owing to his pluck and determination in holding this post that the enemy attack was held up.
A military career is the last thing Maurice would have envisioned for himself. Born in 1898 to the owner of a woolen mill, he grew up expecting to spend his life working in the mill with his father and brothers. The outbreak of the first World War changed those expectations, and he joined the British Army on his 18th birthday.
Like so many of the “lost generation” the transition to postwar civilian life was difficult for Maurice. He never returned to his father’s woolen mill, and for many years he wandered, living in London, the US and New Zealand. He never did lose the courageous spirit that had compelled him to earn the Military Cross, and after coming into some financial success, he set his sights on a new adventure – Mt. Everest.
Wilson formed a plan to fly a small de Havilland Moth to Tibet, where he would crash land it into the upper slopes of Everest, and then walk to the summit…alone. To say it was a bold plan would be the understatement of the year. This was 1933. A time when just completing a safe flight halfway around the world garnered world press.
Maurice had a fighting spirit and incredible determination. What he lacked was the skill needed to fly an airplane, and the discipline needed to train for mountaineering. He purchased a three-year-old airplane and took nearly twice as long as normal just to earn his pilot’s license. His preparation for the climb was even worse. He bought no equipment and made no attempt to learn the specialized skills needed in alpine environments. He spent about five weeks walking around the hills of Scotland and declared himself ready.
From the moment he started the engine on his Gypsy Moth airplane, the trip was a complete disaster. In one of his final training flights, he crashed. While he was unhurt, the crash gained the attention of the Air Ministry, who forbade him from flying to India.
Ignoring the ban, Wilson took off for India on May 21, and somehow, despite the best efforts of the British government, he made it. It took two weeks, a detour over Bahrain, lying to airport officials, and arriving with his fuel tank at zero, but he made it.
He would not however reach Tibet. After arriving in India his plane was impounded. He was also denied permission to enter Nepal on foot. But remember, this is a man who single handedly held down a machine gun nest. He was not an easy man to stop. Him and three new Sherpa companions disguised themselves as Buddhist monks and snuck into Nepal to make their attempt at the summit.
Most of what is known about his time on the mountain comes from his diary, which was recovered the following year. Completely inexperienced, he found travel across the glaciers extremely difficult, constantly losing his bearing and retracing his steps. At one point, he found a pair of crampons at an old camp, and not knowing what they were, threw them away.
His first attempt ended due to bad weather, and he returned to the Rongbuk Monastery snow blind, and in poor health. Two weeks later he made another attempt. This time he took his Sherpa friends with him and was able to reach the Everest base camp. The furthest he made it was to a 40-foot ice wall at around 22,700 feet. After returning to camp unable to climb the wall, the Sherpas pleaded with him to return to the monastery. Whether he refused to return because he still believed he could climb the mountain, or because he could not face the shame of returning to Britain in defeat is still debated, either way Maurice Wilson, was never seen alive again.
Maurice had a lofty goal. One of the loftiest possible in fact. Climbing Mt Everest is widely considered one of the most treacherous tasks a human can accomplish. Like Maurice, you may have lofty goals. I hope you do. I also hope you do better than Maurice in accomplishing your goals. Maurice failed not because he lacked determination, but quite simply because he utterly failed to plan.