Everest 1922
The Epic Story of the First Attempt on the World's Highest Mountain
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
The dramatic and inspiring account of the very first attempt to climb Mount Everest, published to coincide with the centenary of the expedition of 1922.
The first attempt on Everest in 1922 by George Leigh Mallory and a British team is an extraordinary story full of controversy, drama, and incident, populated by a set of larger-than-life characters straight out of an adventure novel.
The expedition ended in tragedy when, on their third bid for the top, Mallory's party was hit by an avalanche that left seven men dead. Using diaries, letters, and unpublished accounts, Mick Conefrey creates a rich, character-driven narrative that explores the motivations and private dramas of the key individuals—detailing their backroom politics and bitter rivalries—who masterminded this epic adventure.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
George Mallory's first attempt to summit Mount Everest, in 1922, was more significant than the better-known 1924 expedition that took his life, according to this captivating account from author and documentary filmmaker Conefrey (The Ghosts of K2). The 1922 attempt, whose five total camps ascended from 16,000 to 25,000 feet, "set the style of big-expedition, ‘siege'-style mountaineering, with large teams and multiple camps," Conefrey explains. It was also the first expedition to equip its climbers with bottled oxygen, a practice that sparked debates over the legitimacy of oxygen-aided ascents until the 1970s. In addition, the 1922 attempt "created the link between the Sherpa people and Everest which has turned their name into a global brand." Conefrey's exhaustive history documents the initial request for permission to climb from the insular state of Tibet and complications faced by the Mount Everest Committee in acquiring the necessary funds. He draws vivid sketches of the mountaineers—including Mallory, Edward Norton, and Howard Somervell, who shared a "flask of brandy" when they broke the world altitude record—and details disagreements over the expedition's third and final attempt to reach the summit, which triggered a deadly avalanche. This immersive chronicle restores an overlooked expedition to its rightful place in mountaineering history.
