Through the Eyes of History: The Robert Bates Room
By LILY RAMPE ’26
Walking into the Class of 1945 Library, one is overwhelmed with the sheer amount of books. Portraits hang on the walls and shelves are full of all types of literature that span topics from European History to fantasy books. It is hard to discover everything in the nine-story building, but if you climb up the steep spiral stairs to floor 2M, you will see a small room facing the McConnell Quad. This room is dedicated to Robert Hick Bates and the audacious life he lived.
Bates, a member of Exeter’s class of 1929, spent his life traveling between the Academy and the mountains. Born in 1911, he was originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended the Academy as a new Upper. At Exeter, Bates participated in the Boxing Club, Christian Fraternity, Historical Society and the football and tennis teams. After graduating from Exeter, Bates went on to attend Harvard University, where he found his love for mountaineering in the Harvard Mountaineering Club.
Bates gained his experience in climbing by summiting many peaks in the Tetons and St. Elias Regions. Soon following college, Bates took part in the first American expedition to K2, the second highest mountain on Earth located in the Himalayas. The expedition took place in 1938, with the goal of surveying the mountain and finding the best way to the summit for a later expedition in 1939. Six men, including Bates, with the help of six Sherpa porters, set up base camp at an altitude of 16,600 feet. From there, they explored different avenues to the summit, facing bad weather and challenging climbing terrains. After successfully climbing 25,600 feet of K2, the team could see the summit in the distance, but were running out of supplies and forced to turn around. They did, however, complete their mission, finding a way they believed would work for the future expedition.
In 1939, Bates returned to Exeter as an English instructor until 1976. In addition to being a beloved teacher, he served as the faculty advisor of the Lantern Club and Mountaineering Club. Through the Mountaineering Club, Bates organized trips to the White Mountains in New Hampshire, fostering the skills of climbers of all levels.
Bates took a leave of absence from teaching during 1942-1946 for War Service. During his War Service, Bates used his expertise in mountaineering to help the US Military test and develop climbing gear. He also organized a US Army expedition to Denali, Alaska. Bates assisted the postwar advancement of climbing gear, helping other talented climbers summit new mountains.
After his leave of absence, Bates left the Academy again in 1953 to take part in another American expedition of K2. This time, Bates was part of an eight-man team, of which one of the members was on the previous expedition with him. All members of the expedition team hoped to reach the summit. This expedition, however, ended in tragedy. Arthur Gilkey, one of the members, suffered from thrombophlebitis at 25,500 feet elevation. The team scrambled to find the safest and quickest way down, but faced avalanches and bad weather. Gilkey has been swept away in an avalanche, leaving the rest of the team physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted.
As Bates continued to teach at Exeter, he kept his love of mountaineering by remaining in the mountaineering community outside of Exeter. He served as the President of the American Alpine Club and assistant editor of the American Alpine Journal. He also was the Assistant Director of the Outward Bound program in 1966, sharing his love of mountaineering with teenagers and young adults. Additionally, Bates established and directed the first Peace Corp program in Nepal in 1962 and authored and co-authored many books about his expeditions.
Throughout his retirement, Bates continued to return to and speak at the Academy, inspiring students, faculty, and alumni with his adventurous mountaineering stories.
After Bates died in September of 2007, his wife, Gail Bates was the one to propose the idea of dedicating a room at the Academy to him at a place where he had spent so much time. The purpose of the room is to “honor Bob’s passion for, and foster interest in alpine mountaineering and the environment,” the Deed of Gift for the Robert H. Bates Room said. The Robert Hicks Bates Mountaineering Library Endowment Fund was also established in December 2007 to further help fund the room.
With the generous donations of numerous donors, the Robert H. Bates Room was created. It is full of artifacts from Bates’s expeditions, maps, photos and literature discussing mountaineering. Part of the Robert H. Bates ‘29 Mountaineering Collection is also stored in this room, consisting of over eighty books.
Leaving a lasting impression on both the mountaineering and Exeter community, the Bates Room honors him and his memory for future generations of Exonians to discover and be inspired by.
