George Mallory is an oft overlooked figure in the realm of Himalayan mountaineering, overshadowed by figures such as Maurice Herzog and Sir Edmund Hillary. What is astonishing, however, is that his final and fatal attempt on Mount Everest (29,029 ft.) could also have been the peaks first recorded ascent. It is generally accepted by the Himalayan mountaineers and records keepers that Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to reach the summit of Everest, along with his Sherpa and friend Tenzing Norgay in 1953 with that years British Expedition. Few people are willing to accept that this could be a historical inaccuracy. In 1924 George Mallory was well on his way to the summit of Everest. At some point during his summit bid (it is unknown to this day exactly when) he vanished along with other members of his climbing team and could not be found. Enter the 1975 Chinese expedition on Everest. Climbers of the expedition reported that one of their members had found what was described as "a British dead" at 26,570 ft. or about 8100 meters but no further attempts could be made to ascertain more information on the body. The issue left unsolved until 1999 when the Mallory and Irvine Research expedition made their attempt to reach the reported body and identify the remains. Sure enough, some 300 feet below an ice axe that was found in 1933 and reported to be that of Andrew Irvine, a member of the expedition and another lost climber, they found the remains of a British expedition climber. Upon Rolling the body they discovered that it was not the body of Irvine that they had discovered, but rather the remains of George Mallory. The remains were remarkably well preserved which is, in part, what led to the controversy. It was said that Mallory always carried a photo inside his jacket which he planned to place on the summit of Everest when he reached it. Although all of his other forms of paper documentation were found intact, there was no picture found. This led speculators to believe there was a good chance that Mallory had in fact reached the summit as the picture would have been found on him otherwise. Another item that led to the belief that Mallory would have been the first to the top was his snow goggles. They were found in his inside jacket pocket, presumably put there during a night descent. Given the circumstances of the expedition it would be unusual for these not to be worn, unless of course he was descending from the summit during the night. Given known departure dates from camp it COULD be possible that Mallory had reached the summit before his fatal plunge down the snow and ice of Everest. That's right, fatal plunge, not fall, not avalanche, not freezing...plunge, and how can we surmise this? Found in Mallory's head was a golf ball sized puncture wound which was viewed as being very similar to that which would be made by an ice axe. It is thought (and widely accepted) that in an attempt to self arrest the axe broke loose from its purchase in the snow and stabbed Mallory in his head while he was attempting to save his rope mate Andrew Irvine. We will likely never know exactly what unfolded before George Mallory and Andrew Irvine but the mystery is an intriguing one. Perhaps some day, beneath the snow and ice on the summit of the highest peak of the world we will find a picture of the Mallory family, frozen in time but rewriting history nearly a century later.
George Mallory (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mallory
Edmund Hillary (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary
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