george mallory

The headline ‘Mallory’s body discovered on Everest in 1936’ appeared widely on social media sites last week. Had new revelations emerged about whether Mallory reached the summit of Everest? No, the real subject of the story wasn’t George Mallory at all, but arguably a much more interesting character.

In 1924 the mountaineering legend George Mallory vanished into mist on Everest’s Northeast Ridge, never to be seen again. In 2009 and the bestselling novelist Jeffery Archer wrote a novel about it called Paths of Glory, but was it historically accurate? Let’s have a look.

If I had one word to describe The Epic of Everest, John Noel’s historic record of the 1924 expedition, which has recently been restored, then it would be atmospheric. If I had a second one then it would be weird, but then I’m not that familiar with 1920s silent movies and I expect they were all like this back then.

This is a post I have been meaning to write for a while. Much has been written by westerners about Sherpas over the last hundred years, but the voice of the Sherpas themselves is rare. I can’t provide it, but I can provide my own perspective of a people who have given me many happy memories, taken me to places I could never have been without them, and put their lives at risk to help me.

There’s nothing like a negative Everest story to trigger a flurry of publishing absurdity. For example, some people say Everest has now become so crowded with commercial expeditions there is no longer any room for real climbers, an argument that can be easily refuted with a single photograph.

While George Mallory, Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner and Eric Shipton all deserve their place in the Everest pantheon, if there’s to be an award for the greatest of all Everest climbers, then IMHO it should go to Tenzing Norgay, because he had to work so much harder to achieve his ambition than any of the other climbers.

Snow on the hills is great, but it’s best not to go out walking when it’s actually snowing, so last weekend I took the easier option and spent it indoors at the Outdoors Show at London’s ExCeL conference centre, if

I’ve been fascinated by the legend of George Mallory, and whether he was the first person to climb Everest, since long before I became a mountaineer. Many years and many mountains later I finally had the chance to follow in

Some people will probably say the title of this post is tautological, but all things are relative. On Everest this year there was an elderly Italian climber who, justified or not, had a reputation for being a bit of a

I’m no climate change sceptic, and I’ve seen its effect on shrinking glaciers many times. While scientific evidence for climate change is clear, not everyone is convinced it’s happening. One of the most powerful methods being used to convince sceptics is photographs showing how much glaciers have changed over time. But photos aren’t always what they seem.

Frank Smythe is more interesting than George Mallory

George Mallory was murdered … by Jeffrey Archer

The Epic of Everest – Captain John Noel’s film of the 1924 expedition

A tribute to Sherpas, the tigers of the snow

Everest is not for climbers – you’re joking aren’t you!

Why Tenzing is the greatest Everest climber

Kenton Cool and the Olympic gold medal for climbing Everest

What climbing Everest taught me about George Mallory’s final hours

A menagerie of mad mountaineers

Mystery of the vanishing Himalayan lake