American Cinematographer - August 1990 - 39

Opposite: Captain

of finding a route to the world's highest mountain,
he struck out for Everest while on a two-month
summer leave. Dying his fair Englishman's skin and
hair brown, he donned traditional Tibetan clothing
and set off with a few local hill men and two weeks
of food. But it was 1913, white men were forbidden
to enter Tibet and approach it's sacred mountain,

Noel with the
Newman Sinclair
camera

camp,

1922. Left:

Noel, second from
left with his

arm

around the mule's

Chomolungma "mother goddess of the world", and
no

at the

Everest base

neck, with his

Westerner had ever tried it before.
After nearly two months of secret

photographic
team of Sherpas.

trekking
through the harsh plains and highlands of Tibet,
young Noel got to within 40 miles of Mt. Everest
before being confronted with Tibetan soldiers and
forced to turn back. This was the closest a white
man had ever been to Everest. Arriving back at his

regiment nearly

a

while

Photo from

month overdue Noel explained

to his commander

that he had lost his calendar

a glacial river. He could have been
court martialed but instead he was told to take two
calendars next time.
Such an escapade might of itself make for
the high point in many an adventurer's career, but
not for Noel who was determined to experience the

fording

great Everest. Undaunted by the failure of his first
attempt, he schemed new plans. Before he could try
again he'd have to survive the horrors of front line
warfare in World War I.
In 1914 he was called to

join the King's
Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in Dublin. From
there he boarded a troop ship to Havre, France and
then a cattle train to Mons. There, the ill-equipped
British army faced off with the rampaging German
forces. In action that caused horrendous casualties
Noel surprisingly survived unscathed the battles of

Mons, Hill 60, and the German chlorine gas

battle
Ypres. At the battle of Le Cateau his Regiment of
600 was out-gunned four to one and Noel was one
of only 20 men who survived and was taken pris¬
oner. Escaping from his captors, he hid in the for¬
est by day and. traveled alone at night for two and
a half weeks, following the star Arcturus westward
until he rejoined his troops.
Noel's next opportunity to challenge Ever¬
est came in 1922 when the first attempt to climb it
was formally launched by the Royal Geographical
Society. Permission was secured from the Tibetan
government for the climb and Noel asked to go
along as the official photographer. But there was
considerable resistance from the expedition mem¬
at

Royal Geographic Society

in Switzerland. His inspiration to be¬
cinematographer came at the age of 14 when
he attended film lectures by the famous adventure
cameraman Herbert
Ponting at the Philharmonic
Hall in London. Too shy to introduce himself, Noel
came to the same lecture every night for weeks
where Ponting described his stunning cinematog¬
raphy with a wooden Debrie camera during the
Scott Expedition to the South Pole. Years later Noel
years spent
come a

and Scott would become friends.
The novelty and uncertainty

of filming at
high altitudes was nearly the same for climbing in
the 1920's. At the time nobody knew if climbers
could survive at Everest's 29,000-foot height nor
was it known if cameras could function. Not only
would Noel have to survive like the other climbers,
but he also would have to develop his own film on
location in the mountains. He wanted to see results
as he filmed to make sure he was getting an image
and he also knew that sensitive 35mm nitrate film
would never survive the 300-mile trek from the

cold, dry heights of Everest through the hot, humid
lowlands of India and then the
to

long ship journey

England for development.

Noel modeled his camera gear after that of
his mentor, Ponting. He had Newman Sinclair craft
a 35mm camera out of "duralumin"; strong as steel
but light as aluminum. It weighed just 25 pounds
but totalled 40 pounds when the lens and motor
added (still considered light for the time).
Ponting discovered that oil congealed in the intense
cold so Noel's camera incorporated jewel bearings
were

like

a

watch which needed

no

lubrication. Antici¬

bers at the time to include a cine person amongst
them for they considered climbing a gentlemanly

Sinclair built

sport and didn't appreciate the vulgar intrusion of

vent

cinema on the purity of their endeavor. However,
the expedition was not fully funded and Noel found

moisture - and then added a magnet in the gate
mechanism in hopes of attracting static electricity

sponsorship to help pay for the trip in return for his
filming and he was accepted.
Noel's interest in photography was first
influenced by his mother's talent as a successful still
photographer of landscapes and alpine flowers. His
love of mountains was nurtured during high school

away

August 1990

pating static electricity problems in the very dry air,
a

humidifier into the

camera

to pre¬

fogging of the film - a small sponge to release
from the film.
Noel had learned another precaution

from
Ponting's misfortune of one day touching his
tongue to his metal camera and having it freeze
there immediately - his only recourse to tear it
away leaving the top layer of his skin. Noel decided
American

Cinematographer

37
American Cinematographer - August 1990

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 1990
