Frank Sydney Smythe was an extremely gifted and well-travelled mountaineer who wrote many very popular books about mountaineering during the first half of the last century. He achieved prominence in mountaineering circles following two impressive seasons in the Alps in 1927 and 1928. He subsequently climbed extensively in the Himalayas. In 1931 F Smythe and other members of the expedition climbed Kamet in the Himalayas. At 25,442-feet it was the highest mountain then climbed.
Following that success he was invited to join the 1933 British Mount Everest Expedition during which he climbed to 28,200 feet on the north side of the mountain without oxygen.
