George Mallory and the Assault on Everest

In the early 1920s, British mountaineer George Mallory would be the lead climber in three expeditions to Mount Everest. The goal was to become the first to scale the world’s highest peak.

Episodes

George Mallory and the Assault on Everest – Part 1
In 1921, British mountaineer George Mallory would travel to the Himalayas as part of the Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition. The job was to find a way to Mount Everest – the highest spot in the world – and identify a way to scale the mountain. And – if possible – make a play for the summit.

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1922 British Mount Everest Expedition team

George Mallory and the Assault on Everest – Part 2
This episode covers the 1922 British Mount Everest Expedition, in which three attempts will be made on the summit of the mountain. While the expedition claimed the title for the highest climb in the world at the time, it would end in disaster.

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George Mallory and the Assault on Everest – Part 3
Mallory and his comrades return to the Himalayas for the 1924 British Mount Everest Expedition for three more attempts on the summit of the mountain.

Note: If you want to watch a video of what it’s like to go up Everest via the same route as Mallory – here you go. Highly recommend this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G0fNkk4g0A&feature=youtu.be

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George Mallory and the Assault on Everest – Part 4
We wrap up this series with the final attempt to climb Everest by Mallory and Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine.

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The above image shows Everest’s North Face as seen from the Rongbuk Monestary. It gives you a rough idea as to the route Mallory and Irvine were taking up the mountain. The green line is the typical route up the North Ridge to the Northeast Ridge – and was the route Mallory was following. The Three Steps are labeled (1st, 2nd, 3rd). And the red ‘X’ is the approximate spot where Mallory’s body was found. Everest image is by Carsten Nebel from WikiPedia – I have added the labels.

Map shows the location of the mountains, key glaciers and passes around Everest.

Image by Thincat – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33477417

People and Places

George Mallory – British mountaineer
Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine – Member of the 1924 expedition
Charles Bruce – Leader of the 1922 and 1924 expeditions
George Ingle Finch – Climber on the 1922 expedition; proponent of using oxygen when climbing at high altitudes
Howard Somervell – Climber and doctor on the 1922 and 1924 expeditions
Geoffrey Bruce – Transport officer/climber on the 1922/24 expeditions
Edward Norton – Climbing on the 1922 expedition, commander of 1924 expedition
John Noel – Filmmaker and photographer for the 1922 and 1924 expeditions
Charles Howard-Bury – Leader of 1921 expedition
Guy Bullock – climber on 1921 expedition
Alexander Kellas – Climber on 1921 expedition – died of heart failure before reaching Everest
Harold Raeburn – Lead climber on 1921 expedition – had to return to India due to illness
Sandy Wollaston – Doctor and naturalist on 1921 expedition
Alexander Heron – Geologist on 1921 expedition
Oliver Wheeler – Surveyor on 1921 expedition
Henry Morshead – Surveyor on 1921 expedition, climber on 1922 expedition
North Col – the spot where Mount Everest and its neighboring mountain, Changtse, meet, and site of Camp 4