It’s 70 years since the first climbers reached the world’s highest peak, but the 1924 episode remains the biggest mystery in Everest’s history. Did two Britons reach the summit of Everest 99 years ago? What we know about Mallory and Irvine’s final hours.

The bravest people of a century ago

Two years after the first people climbed over 8,000 meters, in 1924, the British again sent a large expedition to conquer the summit, convinced that this time Everest would be reached. It went down in history under the name “British Expedition to Mount Everest in 1924”, led by General Charles G. Bruce (head of the 1922 expedition).

Much of the talented climbers present in 1922 were still present, and the year remains famous in mountaineering history as having produced the greatest mystery in Everest’s history.

This 1924 expedition set a new altitude record when Edward Norton reached a height of 8,572 meters, less than 300 meters from the summit. But he decided not to continue due to the difficult terrain and the fact that it was very late and there was no time to return to the tents in time.

Although he was close to victory, Norton had no chance of reaching the top: he had only climbed 40 meters in the last hour, and it was already after 12:00. In addition, Norton had impaired vision due to the very high altitude at which he was located.

Unsolved mystery – have Mallory and Irvine reached the top?

On June 8, 1924, George Lee Mallory and “Sandy” Irvine made another attempt, but disappeared without a trace at an altitude of more than 8000 m. They were seen for a few minutes from a great distance by their colleague Odell, but bad weather closed everything. It is not known if they reached the summit, and there is no evidence that they conquered Everest, only speculation.

“MALLORY AND IRVINE DIED TRYING TO CONQUER EVEREST; It is reported that the climbers were close to the summit when the tragedy occurred,” wrote the New York Times on June 21, 1924.

(Mallory and Irvine died trying to climb Everest. Apparently the climbers were close to the summit when tragedy struck)

The mystery was not solved even after Mallory’s body was discovered in 1999, and only the discovery of the camera could clear up the mystery. But the prevailing opinion is that none of them reached Everest because there was a very technical section near the summit, which is extremely difficult to handle with century-old equipment.

The height record achieved by climbers in 1924 was broken only 28 years later, in 1952, when a Swiss expedition came extremely close to Everest. Raymond Lambert and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (who reached the summit a year later) spent a terrible night at 8,400 meters, the highest he had spent the night on Everest, and in the morning they set out for the summit, but because of the storm they could “only” reach 8,600 meters

Many have criticized the fact that expeditions were organized to find the bodies of both, and after Mallory’s body was discovered 24 years ago, criticism was fierce as photographs of the Briton’s body were published.

Konrad Anker is the one who found Mallory’s body and also published a book called “The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest”.

There have been many theories about what happened to the two. Two were believed to have reached the summit but died on the descent either because they slipped or because they ran out of oxygen.

Mallory, a man who really wanted to reach Everest

George Lee Mallory is considered by many to be the first great Everest enthusiast, conquering this mountain became his life’s goal. He was 38 when he died on the mountain, but he was aware of the great dangers at height. This is clear from the letters sent to his wife: in one of the last ones, he describes the force with which the wind hits the tent, ready to tear it apart, and writes that he is coughing and has a headache from altitude sickness.

“Sandy” Irwin was only 23 years old, he was not a famous rock climber, but he was chosen for the top team for his excellent physical form and “iron” spirit.

Mountaineers of a century ago were no less capable than today, but equipment was of great importance. 90-100 years ago, the clothes used for climbing in the Himalayas were not much different from urban clothes, and synthetic materials did not yet exist.

A test carried out in 1999 showed that the clothes in which the legendary British climber Mallory disappeared more than 8,000 meters high on Everest would have allowed him to reach the summit and would have provided the necessary protection, but at the limit. The woolen clothing of the time had less freedom of movement and offered less protection against the wind, which at high altitudes could exceed 200 km/h. Also, clothing and gloves of the early 20th century did not provide the same reliable protection against cold and frostbite caused by temperatures that could drop below -50 degrees.

After 1950, there was a revolution in equipment and ultralight down jackets and boots with plastic insulation and Vibram soles appeared. Previously, oxygen devices weighed much more than 15 kg, and now they can be found under 3 kg.

Sources: BBC, Reuters, New York Times

Photo source: Dreamstime.com