1924 British Mount Everest Expedition - First Ascent?

First Ascent?

From 1924 to this day, there are supporting claims and rumours that Mallory and Irvine had been successful and so were actually the first to summit Mount Everest. One counter argument claims that their fleece, vests and trousers were too poor quality. In 2006, Graham Hoyland climbed to 21,000 ft. in an exact reproduction of Mallory's original clothing. He said that it functioned very well and was quite comfortable.

However, human thermo-regulation expert Professor George Havenith of Loughborough University (UK), has tested a rigorously accurate recreation of Mallory's clothing in a weather chamber. His conclusion: "If the wind speed had picked up, a common feature of weather on Everest, the insulation of the clothing would only just be sufficient to minus -10C . Mallory would not have survived any deterioration in conditions."

Odell's sighting is of especially high interest. The description of Odell's sighting and the current knowledge indicate Mallory's 5-minute surmounting of the Second Step is unlikely. This wall cannot be climbed as fast as described by Odell. Only the first and the third step can be climbed quickly. Odell said that they were at the foot of the summit pyramid, which contradicts a location at the First Step, but it is unlikely the pair could have started early enough to reach the Third Step by 12:50 p.m. Since the First Step is far away from the Third Step, confusing them is also not likely. One suggestion proposes Odell confused a sighting of birds for climbers—a result which occurred with Eric Shipton in 1933.

This speculation also involves theories concerning whether Mallory and Irvine could have managed to climb the Second Step. Oscar Cadiach was the first to climb it in 1985 free and rated it V+. Conrad Anker led an experiment to free climb this section without using the “Chinese ladder” for assistance, since that equipment was not installed in 1924. In 1999, he did not manage a complete free climb as he put one foot briefly on the ladder when it blocked the only available foothold. At that time he rated the difficulty of the Second Step as 5.10—well outside of Mallory's capability. In June 2007, Anker returned as a member of the Altitude Everest Expedition 2007, and with Leo Houlding successfully free-climbed the Second Step, after removing the “Chinese ladder” (which was later replaced). Houlding rated the climb at 5.9, just within Mallory's estimated capabilities. Theo Fritsche climbed the step free solo on-sight in 2001 and rated it V+.

An argument against the possible summit claim is the long distance from high camp VI to the summit. It is normally not possible to reach the summit before dark after starting in daylight. It was not until 1990 that Ed Viesturs was able to reach the top from an equivalent distance as Mallory and Irvine planned. In addition, Viesturs knew the route, while for Mallory and Irvine it was completely unknown territory. Finally, Irvine was not an experienced climber and it is considered unlikely that Mallory had put his friend into such danger or would have aimed for the summit without calculating the risks.

How and where exactly the two climbers lost their lives is still unknown.

Modern climbers who take a very similar route start their summit bid from high camp at 8,300 m (27,230 ft) around midnight to avoid the risk of a second night on the descent or a highly risky bivouac without the protection of a tent. They also use headlamps during the dark, a technology which was not used by the early British climbers.