(1875–1964)

Tom Longstaff was chief medical officer and naturalist on the 1922 Everest Expedition. He was also the team’s amiable non-climbing father figure, whose ascent of Trisul (23,385 feet/7128 m) in 1907 was a record altitude at the time.

Longstaff’s vast expedition and mountaineering experience, contained in 50 volumes of diaries, included 20 visits to the Alps, 6 to the Himalayas, and 5 to the Arctic. As an early proponent of lightweight alpine-style expeditions, his other notable Himalayan achievements included a bold attempt on Gurla Mandhata (25,350 feet/7726 m) in Tibet (1905) and the discovery of the Siachen Glacier (1909). Longstaff eventually retired to Scotland, where he indulged his love of fishing and birdwatching.