Eric Shipton had been to Himalaya when he had taken part in the 1933 Everest expedition after which he and Lawrence Wager had travelled back to Sikkim separately from the rest of the party using an entirely unexplored route. This led to him favouring mountain climbing by trekking, with exploration being the main aim, rather than the type of large scale expedition such as the one he had just been on. The following year he and Bill Tilman led a lightweight trekking expedition to the region of Nanda Devi and in so doing they became the first people to get into the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, which they did by ascending the Rishi Ganga gorge. Shipton and Tilman started planning a return trip for 1935, this time hoping to reach Nanda Devi's summit by its South Ridge. In February 1935, before that trip had been started, Shipton spoke about Nanda Devi at a Royal Geographical Society meeting and received a rapturous reception by a large audience who was attracted as much by his charisma as his mountaineering achievements. One aspect would turn out to be of great interest to the Everest Committee - the entire expedition had cost £287.