Earl Denman

Earl Denman was a Canadian mountaineer who attempted to summit Mount Everest in 1947. His attempt was very different from the large-scale efforts by British mountaineers around the same time. He had little experience, having only climbed the smaller Virunga mountains in East Africa before this expedition. He did not have much money, equipment, or fuel, and did not enter Tibet with permission. Two Sherpas (one of whom was Tenzing Norgay, later to make the first ascent of Everest) joined his attempt. Norgay later said that he knew Denman had little chance of succeeding, but that he agreed to join Denman because "the pull of Everest was stronger for me than any force on earth." Denman and the two Sherpas reached 22,000 feet (6,700 m) before a storm compelled them to abort the attempt and turn back.