Francis Sydney Smythe, better known as Frank Smythe or F. S. Smythe (6 July 1900 – 27 June 1949), was an English mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps as well as in the Himalayas, where he identified a region that he named the "Valley of Flowers", now a protected park. His ascents include two new routes on the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc, Kamet, and attempts on Kangchenjunga and Mount Everest in the 1930s.[1] It was said that he had a tendency for irascibility, something some of his mountaineering contemporaries said "decreased with altitude".[2]
Smythe was born at Maidstone in Kent[3] and educated in Switzerland after an initial period at Berkhamsted School. He trained as an electrical engineer and worked for brief periods with the Royal Air Force and Kodak before devoting himself to writing and public lecturing. Smythe enjoyed mountaineering, photography, collecting plants, and gardening; he toured as a lecturer; and he wrote a total of twenty seven books.[4] Smythe's focused approach is well documented, not only through his own writings, but by his contemporaries and later works.
Among his many public lectures, Smythe gave several to the Royal Geographical Society, his first in 1931 titled "Explorations in Garhwal around Kamet" and his second in 1947 titled "An Expedition to the Lloyd George Mountains, North-East British Columbia".
Smythe was a prodigious writer and produced many popular books. However his book The Kangchenjunga Adventure launched Smythe as a legitimate and respected author.[5]
During the Second World War he served in the Canadian Rockies as a mountaineer training officer for the Lovat Scouts,[citation needed] and in Braemar, Scotland, where he led the Commando Mountain and Snow Warfare Centre, and where John Hunt worked for a while with him as an instructor.[6] He went on to write two books about climbing in the Rockies, Rocky Mountains (1948) and Climbs in the Canadian Rockies (1951). Mount Smythe (10,650 ft) was named in his honour.
In 1949, in Delhi, he was taken ill with food poisoning; then a succession of malaria attacks took their toll. He died on 27 June 1949, at age 48.
Mountaineeringedit
1927 and 1928 Smythe, together with T. Graham Brown, made the first ascent of two routes on the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc, the Sentinelle Rouge and Route Major. These were the first routes to be put up on the face.
1930 Smythe was a member of the international team (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Great Britain), to attempt Kangchenjunga, under the leadership of Günter Dyhrenfurth.
1931 Smythe was the leader of the first successful expedition to climb Kamet (7,756 m) in 1931, at the time it was the highest peak yet climbed. During the Kamet expedition Smythe and R. L. Holdsworth discovered what they called the Valley of Flowers[7] in the Himalaya, now in the state of Uttarakhand, India.
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Not to be confused with Frank Smyth or Frank Smith Francis Sydney Smythe better known as Frank Smythe or F S Smythe 6 July 1900 27 June 1949 was an English mountaineer author photographer and botanist He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps as well as in the Himalayas where he identified a region that he named the Valley of Flowers now a protected park His ascents include two new routes on the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc Kamet and attempts on Kangchenjunga and Mount Everest in the 1930s 1 It was said that he had a tendency for irascibility something some of his mountaineering contemporaries said decreased with altitude 2 Francis Sydney SmytheBorn6 July 1900Maidstone KentDied27 June 1949 1949 06 27 aged 48 LondonOccupation s botanist explorer mountaineer photographer writer Contents 1 Biography 2 Mountaineering 3 Bibliography 4 Citations 5 ReferencesBiography edit nbsp c 1937Smythe was born at Maidstone in Kent 3 and educated in Switzerland after an initial period at Berkhamsted School He trained as an electrical engineer and worked for brief periods with the Royal Air Force and Kodak before devoting himself to writing and public lecturing Smythe enjoyed mountaineering photography collecting plants and gardening he toured as a lecturer and he wrote a total of twenty seven books 4 Smythe s focused approach is well documented not only through his own writings but by his contemporaries and later works Among his many public lectures Smythe gave several to the Royal Geographical Society his first in 1931 titled Explorations in Garhwal around Kamet and his second in 1947 titled An Expedition to the Lloyd George Mountains North East British Columbia Smythe was a prodigious writer and produced many popular books However his book The Kangchenjunga Adventure launched Smythe as a legitimate and respected author 5 During the Second World War he served in the Canadian Rockies as a mountaineer training officer for the Lovat Scouts citation needed and in Braemar Scotland where he led the Commando Mountain and Snow Warfare Centre and where John Hunt worked for a while with him as an instructor 6 He went on to write two books about climbing in the Rockies Rocky Mountains 1948 and Climbs in the Canadian Rockies 1951 Mount Smythe 10 650 ft was named in his honour In 1949 in Delhi he was taken ill with food poisoning then a succession of malaria attacks took their toll He died on 27 June 1949 at age 48 Mountaineering edit1927 and 1928 Smythe together with T Graham Brown made the first ascent of two routes on the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc the Sentinelle Rouge and Route Major These were the first routes to be put up on the face 1930 Smythe was a member of the international team Germany Austria Switzerland and Great Britain to attempt Kangchenjunga under the leadership of Gunter Dyhrenfurth 1931 Smythe was the leader of the first successful expedition to climb Kamet 7 756 m in 1931 at the time it was the highest peak yet climbed During the Kamet expedition Smythe and R L Holdsworth discovered what they called the Valley of Flowers 7 in the Himalaya now in the state of Uttarakhand India 1933 Smythe was a member of Hugh Ruttledge s Everest expedition 8 1936 Smythe was again a member of Hugh Ruttledge s 2nd Everest Expedition 1938 Smythe was a member of the Mount Everest expedition led by Bill Tilman 9 Bibliography editThe following is a list of the books written by Frank Smythe 4 Climbs and Ski Runs 1930 Blackwood Edinburgh The Kangchenjunga Adventure 1930 Gollanz London Kamet Conquered 1932 Gollanz London An Alpine Journey 1934 Hodder London The Spirit of the Hills 1935 Hodder London Over Tyrolese Hills 1936 Hodder London Camp Six 1937 Hodder London The Valley of Flowers 1938 Hodder London Peaks and Flowers of the Central Himalayas 1938 The Geographical Magazine article The Mountain Scene 1937 A amp C Black Peaks and Valleys 1938 A amp C Black A Camera in the Hills 1939 A amp C Black Mountaineering Holiday 1940 Hodder London Edward Whymper 1940 Hodder London My Alpine Album 1940 A amp C Black Adventures of a Mountaineer 1940 Dent The Mountain Vision 1941 Hodder London Over Welsh Hills 1941 A amp C Black Alpine Ways 1942 A amp C Black Secret Mission 1942 Hodder and Stoughton London British Mountaineers 1942 Collins Snow on the hills 1946 A amp C Black The Mountain Top 1947 St Hugh s Press Again Switzerland 1947 Hodder London Rocky Mountains 1948 A amp C Black Swiss Winter 1948 A amp C Black Mountains in Colour 1949 Max Parrish Climbs in the Canadian Rockies 1950 Hodder LondonMany were subsequently republished in the USA some of the best have been gathered into collections Citations edit Odell NE 1949 Mr F S Smythe Nature 164 4163 266 Bibcode 1949Natur 164 266O doi 10 1038 164266a0 George Band 2003 Everest The Official History HarperCollins Publishers Ltd Search Results for England amp Wales Births 1837 2006 a b Smythe Frank S 2000 The Six Alpine Himalayan Climbing Books Appendix V Baton Wicks pp 933 and 934 ISBN 1 898573 37 9 Harry Calvert 1985 Smythe s Mountains F S Smythe and his Climbs Gollancz Hunt John 1978 Life Is Meeting London Hoddon and Stoughton pp 63 64 ISBN 0340229632 F S Smythe 1949 The Valley of Flowers W W Norton Hugh Ruttledge 1933 Everest 1933 Hodder and Stoughton H W Tilman 1938 Mount Everest 1938 Pilgrims Publishing References editArnold Lunn Smythe Francis Sydney 1900 1949 rev A M Snodgrass Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004 Royal Geographical Society Imaging Everest Simon Smythe Grandson s recollection dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frank Smythe amp oldid 1212094461, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
