George Mallory

George Herbert Leigh Mallory (June 18 1886 – last seen June 8 1924) was a British mountaineer.

Lost on Everest

On May 1, 1999, an American expedition, sponsored in part by Nova and BBC, found the frozen body of George Mallory at 8,000 metres (27,000') on the north face of Mt. Everest. However, they could not locate either of the two cameras that the two had apparently carried with them. Experts from Kodak have stated that if one of the cameras is found with film, there is a good chance that the film could be developed to produce "printable images" due to the nature of the black and white film that was used and the fact that it has been in continual "deep freeze" for over three-quarters of a century.

Related Topics:
May 1 - 1999 - Nova - BBC - Kodak

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Pictures from these cameras could finally settle the question of whether they did in fact reach the top before they died. In 2004, another expedition was made to search for the cameras and for other clues, no matter how small, that either had summited, but no new evidence was found. A third search expedition was made in 2005, which also proved futile. The question of the pair's success or failure to achieve the summit will likely remain unknown forever, unless some new evidence is found on the mountain. With each passing year, the chances of finding something new lessens.

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In 1975, a Chinese climber named Wang Hongbao reported seeing the body of an "old English dead" (Englishman) near the summit. Tragically, he was killed in an avalanche a day later, before the location could be precisely fixed. Current information indicates to most analysts that the body he saw would have been Irvine's.

Related Topics:
1975 - Wang Hongbao - Avalanche

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Aside from the missing cameras, two details noted when Mallory's body was discovered are tantalising, although not conclusive in their own right:

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• Firstly, Mallory's daughter has always said that Mallory carried a photograph of his wife on his person with the intention of leaving it on the summit when he reached it. This photo was not found on the body when it was discovered. Given the excellent preservation of the body and its garments, this lack points to the fact that he may have reached the summit and deposited the photo there.
• Secondly, Mallory's snow goggles were in his pocket when the body was found, indicating that he died at night. This implies that he and Irvine had made a push for the summit and were descending very late in the day. Given their known departure time and movements, had they not made the summit, it is unlikely that they would have still been out by nightfall.

However, it remains uncertain whether they reached the summit, which would have been an extraordinary achievement predating Hillary and Tensing's 1953 ascent by 29 years. From where it is commonly believed they started their climb – although the 1924 expedition cameraman John Noel maintained to his death that he knew they had departed from a higher camp than is usually believed – it would have taken them around eleven hours. They only had about eight hours of oxygen available, so – although this depends on the flow rate, which could be controlled and was not necessarily used on full flow – may have run out before they got there.

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Many experienced modern climbers also disagree on whether Mallory was capable of climbing the fierce and infamous "Second Step" on the North Ridge, now surmounted by an aluminium ladder permanently placed by the Chinese in 1975 in order to avoid the problem. However, Mallory is known to have "swarmed up" a very similar obstacle in alpine conditions on the Swiss Nesthorn, and his companions were under no illusions about either his considerable ability or his visionary, idealistic self-motivation.

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Harry Tyndale, one of Mallory's climbing partners, said of Mallory: "In watching George at work one was conscious not so much of physical strength as of suppleness and balance; so rhythmical and harmonious was his progress in any steep place ... that his movements appeared almost serpentine in their smoothness."

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His close friend and mentor Geoffrey Winthrop-Young, the most accomplished alpine climber of his day, held Mallory's ability in awe:

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"His movement in climbing was entirely his own. It contradicted all theory. He would set his foot high against any angle of smooth surface, fold his shoulder to his knee, and flow upward and upright again on an impetuous curve. Whatever may have happened unseen the while between him and the cliff ... the look, and indeed the result, were always the same – a continuous undulating movement so rapid and so powerful that one felt the rock must yield, or disintegrate."

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Winthrop-Young was convinced he made the summit. He wrote:

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"After nearly twenty years' knowledge of Mallory as a mountaineer, I can say that difficult as it would have been for any mountaineer to turn back, with the only difficulty past, to Mallory it would have been an impossibility."

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