The most likely alternative leader was John Hunt, a colonel in the army who had been a member of the Alpine Club since 1935 and had mountaineering experience in the Karakoram and the Alps. He had climbed to and was only turned down for the 1936 British Mount Everest expedition because of an adverse (and incorrect) medical report about a heart murmur. During the war he had been an instructor for the Commando Mountain and Snow Warfare school in Scotland. He was well known for his organisational abilities and he was friendly with several members of the Himalayan Committee, having been climbing in the Alps with the secretary Basil Goodfellow. Another option was Charles Wylie, a climber who spoke Nepalese fluently; he became the organising secretary. Hunt and Wylie were in the Army, so were experienced in logistics (and might be available immediately and free of charge).