Ascensiones in corde suo disposuit *** 8/6/08 NEW THEORY: Did Mallory and Irvine go into the Couloir? Click here Everest 1924 - British climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine never returned from their final attempt on the north side of Mount Everest on 8th June 1924. Whether or not they were the first to reach the summit of the world's tallest mountain, 29 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, remains unknown. *** Click here for an introduction to the clues in the mystery of Mallory and Irvine Last Sighting - Mallory and Irvine were last seen alive by their companion Noel Odell. This account of what he saw has captivated climbers and historians for over eighty years: "At 12.50, just after I had emerged from a state of jubilation at finding the first definite fossils on Everest, there was a sudden clearing of the atmosphere, and the entire summit ridge and final peak of Everest were unveiled. My eyes became fixed on one tiny black spot silhouetted on a small snow-crest beneath a rock-step in the ridge; the black spot moved. Another black spot became apparent and moved up the snow to join the other on the crest. The first then approached the great rock-step and shortly emerged at the top; the second did likewise. Then the whole fascinating vision vanished, enveloped in cloud once more." George Herbert Leigh Mallory (1886-1924) "I have never known a man so entirely dominated by the spirit within him." F. E. Norton Early Years - George Mallory was considered to be one of the most talented climbers of his generation. He grew up in the Cheshire village of Mobberley and was educated at Winchester College, where he was introduced to Alpine climbing by his housemaster, Graham Irving. He went up to Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1905 to study history, and was later elected Captain of Boats for 1908. At university, his friends included such luminaries as Rupert Brook, James Strachey, and Maynard and Geoffrey Keynes. It was also at Cambridge that Mallory met a future climbing partner in the renowned mountaineer Geoffrey Winthrop Young. After Cambridge - Mallory left Cambridge in 1910 and took a teaching post at Charterhouse School, where his pupils included the poet Robert Graves. At about this time, Mallory completed a biography of James Boswell and fell in love with Ruth Turner. They were married in 1914 and had three children together. George's father had by then changed the family name to Leigh-Mallory, resulting in the rather cumbersome formation of Mallory's full name on the register. During the First World War, between 1916 and 1918, Mallory served on the Western Front as an artillery officer. Everest - Having climbed extensively in Britain and the Alps, Mallory was invited to join the first Everest expedition in 1921 and was instrumental in the first reconnaissance the mountain. He returned to Everest in 1922 and spent much of the following year lecturing in Britain and the United States on the challenges met by the two expeditions. Once, when asked why he wanted to climb Everest, he is famously said to have replied: "Because it is there". In 1924, Mallory moved his young family to Cambridge, where he took an extra-mural teaching post. In February of that year, he left England with the third expedition to Everest, of which he was later made climbing leader. Andrew Comyn (Sandy) Irvine (1902-1924) "He was obsessed to go 'all out' on what was certainly to him the greatest course for 'pairs' he would ever be destined to 'row'." N. E. Odell Early Years - Sandy Irvine grew up in Birkenhead and was educated at Shrewsbury School, where he was appointed Head of Moore's House and Captain of Boats for his final year. As a young man during the war, he took an interest in engineering and made a number of inventions in the field of aircraft technology. At Shrewsbury, Sandy was part of the school's resurgence in rowing, sitting at '4' in the crew that won the Elsenham Cup (for schools and Oxbridge colleges) at the Henley 'Peace' Regatta of 1919. Two years later, his crew became only the second school crew ever to break the course seven-minute barrier. Oxford - Early in 1922, Sandy went up to Merton College, Oxford to study chemistry and to row with the Oxford University Boat Club. He rowed in two Boat Races, beating Cambridge in 1923, Oxford's only victory between 1913 and 1937. In the same year, Sandy joined the Merton College Arctic Expedition to Spitsbergen, and it was from this expedition that he knew Noel Odell, who successfully proposed him for the 1924 Everest expedition. Sandy's mountaineering experience was limited to his climbs in Spitsbergen, the Lake District, and North Wales, where his feats included riding a motorbike over Foel Grach in the Carneddau range. During the expedition to Everest, Sandy practically rebuilt the unreliable oxygen apparatus, making it much lighter and easier to use. Memorials There are memorials to George Mallory in the parish church at Mobberley, Cheshire and in Cloisters at Winchester College. Mallory Court at Magdalene College, Cambridge was named in his memory. There are memorials to Sandy Irvine in the chapel at Shrewsbury School and in the gardens of Merton College, Oxford. A stained glass window dedicated to both men and their time on Everest can be found in the South Cloister at Chester Cathedral. Mount Mallory (13,850 feet) and Mount Irvine (13,770 feet) are located in the Sierra Nevada, California, United States. Archive This paper considers what might have happened to Mallory and Irvine after they disappeared from Odell's view. It has now been superseded by the article added on 8/6/08 (top). Further discussion of the mystery can be accessed via the recommended websites listed below. Suggested Reading Holzel and Salkeld provide what is probably the best introduction to the 1924 expedition and Mallory and Irvine's last climb. Hemmleb, Johnson and Simonson are indispensable for background to the discovery of Mallory's body in 1999. The Gillmans and Julie Summers have written excellent biographies of Mallory and Irvine respectively. The pre-war expedition reports are difficult to find, but are included here for reference purposes. Anker, Conrad and Roberts, David, The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest, 2001 paperback edition Breashears, David and Salkeld, Audrey, Last Climb: The Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory, 1999 Carr, Herbert, The Irvine Diaries, 1979 Firstbrook, Peter, Lost on Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine, 2003 paperback edition Gillman, Peter and Gillman, Leni, The Wildest Dream: Mallory, His Life and Conflicting Passions, 2000 Hemmleb, Jochen, Johnson, Larry and Simonson, Eric, Ghosts of Everest, 1999 Hemmleb, Jochen and Simonson, Eric, Detectives on Everest, 2002 Holzel, Tom and Salkeld, Audrey, The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine, 2000 edition Messner, Reinhold, The Second Death of George Mallory, 2001 Robertson, David, George Mallory, 1999 paperback edition Summers, Julie, Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine, 2001 paperback edition Younghusband, Sir Francis, The Epic of Mount Everest, 2000 edition Hemmleb, Jochen, The 'English Dead' A Deconstruction, High Mountain magazine, August 2003 Holzel, Tom, How Far Did Mallory And Irvine Get?, High Mountain Sports magazine, June 2001 Holzel, Tom, Mallory And The Missing Camera, High Mountain magazine, June 2003 Howard-Bury, Lieut.-Col. C. K. et al, Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance 1921, 1922 Bruce, Brig. Gen. C. G. et al, The Assault on Mount Everest 1922, 1923 Norton, Lieut.-Col. E. F. et al, The Fight for Everest 1924, 1925 Ruttledge, H., Everest 1933, 1934 Exhibitions Artefacts discovered on Everest in 1999 are presently held and exhibited at the National Mountaineering Exhibition at Rheged near Penrith in Cumbria, England. Please check availability before visiting. Recommended Websites www.wou.edu/las/physci/poston/everest - Pete Poston's superb site dedicated to Mallory and Irvine, including news, links to archived discussion, and photo analysis. www.sbg.ac.at/mat/staff/revers/mallory1.html - another good site with superb photographs of Mallory and Irvine. www.mounteverest.uk.com - John Noel purchased the exclusive photographic rights to the 1924 expedition. This is the web version of his archive. www.everest1953.co.uk - this is a good site which tells the Everest story from a British perspective. www.mountain-heritage.org - the Mountain Heritage Trust does a good job of conserving historical records and undertaking interesting projects. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5076634.stm - the BBC's coverage of Graham Hoyland's latest exploits. Hoyland's great-uncle was Mallory and Irvine's companion Howard Somervell. www.velocitypress.com/mallory_irvine.shtml - Tom Holzel's reply to Hemmleb, Johnson and Simonson. See Pete Poston's site for the ensuing debate. www.cetneva.spb.ru/en_mall2.htm - a version of Conrad Anker's views about Mallory and Irvine's chances of reaching the top. www.theboatrace.org - the University Boat Race home page. users.ox.ac.uk/~acirvine - the Irvine Travel Fund for adventuring Oxford students. If you would like to get in touch with me, you can do so here. |
Ascensiones in corde suo disposuit *** 8/6/08 NEW THEORY: Did Mallory and Irvine go into the Couloir? Click here Everest 1924 - British climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine never returned from their final attempt on the north side of Mount Everest on 8th June 1924. Whether or not they were the first to reach the summit of the world's tallest mountain, 29 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, remains unknown. *** Click here for an introduction to the clues in the mystery of Mallory and Irvine Last Sighting - Mallory and Irvine were last seen alive by their companion Noel Odell. This account of what he saw has captivated climbers and historians for over eighty years: "At 12.50, just after I had emerged from a state of jubilation at finding the first definite fossils on Everest, there was a sudden clearing of the atmosphere, and the entire summit ridge and final peak of Everest were unveiled. My eyes became fixed on one tiny black spot silhouetted on a small snow-crest beneath a rock-step in the ridge; the black spot moved. Another black spot became apparent and moved up the snow to join the other on the crest. The first then approached the great rock-step and shortly emerged at the top; the second did likewise. Then the whole fascinating vision vanished, enveloped in cloud once more." George Herbert Leigh Mallory (1886-1924) "I have never known a man so entirely dominated by the spirit within him." F. E. Norton Early Years - George Mallory was considered to be one of the most talented climbers of his generation. He grew up in the Cheshire village of Mobberley and was educated at Winchester College, where he was introduced to Alpine climbing by his housemaster, Graham Irving. He went up to Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1905 to study history, and was later elected Captain of Boats for 1908. At university, his friends included such luminaries as Rupert Brook, James Strachey, and Maynard and Geoffrey Keynes. It was also at Cambridge that Mallory met a future climbing partner in the renowned mountaineer Geoffrey Winthrop Young. After Cambridge - Mallory left Cambridge in 1910 and took a teaching post at Charterhouse School, where his pupils included the poet Robert Graves. At about this time, Mallory completed a biography of James Boswell and fell in love with Ruth Turner. They were married in 1914 and had three children together. George's father had by then changed the family name to Leigh-Mallory, resulting in the rather cumbersome formation of Mallory's full name on the register. During the First World War, between 1916 and 1918, Mallory served on the Western Front as an artillery officer. Everest - Having climbed extensively in Britain and the Alps, Mallory was invited to join the first Everest expedition in 1921 and was instrumental in the first reconnaissance the mountain. He returned to Everest in 1922 and spent much of the following year lecturing in Britain and the United States on the challenges met by the two expeditions. Once, when asked why he wanted to climb Everest, he is famously said to have replied: "Because it is there". In 1924, Mallory moved his young family to Cambridge, where he took an extra-mural teaching post. In February of that year, he left England with the third expedition to Everest, of which he was later made climbing leader. Andrew Comyn (Sandy) Irvine (1902-1924) "He was obsessed to go 'all out' on what was certainly to him the greatest course for 'pairs' he would ever be destined to 'row'." N. E. Odell Early Years - Sandy Irvine grew up in Birkenhead and was educated at Shrewsbury School, where he was appointed Head of Moore's House and Captain of Boats for his final year. As a young man during the war, he took an interest in engineering and made a number of inventions in the field of aircraft technology. At Shrewsbury, Sandy was part of the school's resurgence in rowing, sitting at '4' in the crew that won the Elsenham Cup (for schools and Oxbridge colleges) at the Henley 'Peace' Regatta of 1919. Two years later, his crew became only the second school crew ever to break the course seven-minute barrier. Oxford - Early in 1922, Sandy went up to Merton College, Oxford to study chemistry and to row with the Oxford University Boat Club. He rowed in two Boat Races, beating Cambridge in 1923, Oxford's only victory between 1913 and 1937. In the same year, Sandy joined the Merton College Arctic Expedition to Spitsbergen, and it was from this expedition that he knew Noel Odell, who successfully proposed him for the 1924 Everest expedition. Sandy's mountaineering experience was limited to his climbs in Spitsbergen, the Lake District, and North Wales, where his feats included riding a motorbike over Foel Grach in the Carneddau range. During the expedition to Everest, Sandy practically rebuilt the unreliable oxygen apparatus, making it much lighter and easier to use. Memorials There are memorials to George Mallory in the parish church at Mobberley, Cheshire and in Cloisters at Winchester College. Mallory Court at Magdalene College, Cambridge was named in his memory. There are memorials to Sandy Irvine in the chapel at Shrewsbury School and in the gardens of Merton College, Oxford. A stained glass window dedicated to both men and their time on Everest can be found in the South Cloister at Chester Cathedral. Mount Mallory (13,850 feet) and Mount Irvine (13,770 feet) are located in the Sierra Nevada, California, United States. Archive This paper considers what might have happened to Mallory and Irvine after they disappeared from Odell's view. It has now been superseded by the article added on 8/6/08 (top). Further discussion of the mystery can be accessed via the recommended websites listed below. Suggested Reading Holzel and Salkeld provide what is probably the best introduction to the 1924 expedition and Mallory and Irvine's last climb. Hemmleb, Johnson and Simonson are indispensable for background to the discovery of Mallory's body in 1999. The Gillmans and Julie Summers have written excellent biographies of Mallory and Irvine respectively. The pre-war expedition reports are difficult to find, but are included here for reference purposes. Anker, Conrad and Roberts, David, The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest, 2001 paperback edition Breashears, David and Salkeld, Audrey, Last Climb: The Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory, 1999 Carr, Herbert, The Irvine Diaries, 1979 Firstbrook, Peter, Lost on Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine, 2003 paperback edition Gillman, Peter and Gillman, Leni, The Wildest Dream: Mallory, His Life and Conflicting Passions, 2000 Hemmleb, Jochen, Johnson, Larry and Simonson, Eric, Ghosts of Everest, 1999 Hemmleb, Jochen and Simonson, Eric, Detectives on Everest, 2002 Holzel, Tom and Salkeld, Audrey, The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine, 2000 edition Messner, Reinhold, The Second Death of George Mallory, 2001 Robertson, David, George Mallory, 1999 paperback edition Summers, Julie, Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine, 2001 paperback edition Younghusband, Sir Francis, The Epic of Mount Everest, 2000 edition Hemmleb, Jochen, The 'English Dead' A Deconstruction, High Mountain magazine, August 2003 Holzel, Tom, How Far Did Mallory And Irvine Get?, High Mountain Sports magazine, June 2001 Holzel, Tom, Mallory And The Missing Camera, High Mountain magazine, June 2003 Howard-Bury, Lieut.-Col. C. K. et al, Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance 1921, 1922 Bruce, Brig. Gen. C. G. et al, The Assault on Mount Everest 1922, 1923 Norton, Lieut.-Col. E. F. et al, The Fight for Everest 1924, 1925 Ruttledge, H., Everest 1933, 1934 Exhibitions Artefacts discovered on Everest in 1999 are presently held and exhibited at the National Mountaineering Exhibition at Rheged near Penrith in Cumbria, England. Please check availability before visiting. Recommended Websites www.wou.edu/las/physci/poston/everest - Pete Poston's superb site dedicated to Mallory and Irvine, including news, links to archived discussion, and photo analysis. www.sbg.ac.at/mat/staff/revers/mallory1.html - another good site with superb photographs of Mallory and Irvine. www.mounteverest.uk.com - John Noel purchased the exclusive photographic rights to the 1924 expedition. This is the web version of his archive. www.everest1953.co.uk - this is a good site which tells the Everest story from a British perspective. www.mountain-heritage.org - the Mountain Heritage Trust does a good job of conserving historical records and undertaking interesting projects. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5076634.stm - the BBC's coverage of Graham Hoyland's latest exploits. Hoyland's great-uncle was Mallory and Irvine's companion Howard Somervell. www.velocitypress.com/mallory_irvine.shtml - Tom Holzel's reply to Hemmleb, Johnson and Simonson. See Pete Poston's site for the ensuing debate. www.cetneva.spb.ru/en_mall2.htm - a version of Conrad Anker's views about Mallory and Irvine's chances of reaching the top. www.theboatrace.org - the University Boat Race home page. users.ox.ac.uk/~acirvine - the Irvine Travel Fund for adventuring Oxford students. If you would like to get in touch with me, you can do so here. |
Mallory and Irvine |