Everest 1922

March 7, 2022
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. Agent: George Lucas, InkWell Management.