"I'm quite doubtful if I shall be fit enough. But again I wonder if the monsoon will give us a chance. I don't want to get caught, but our three-day scheme from the Chang La will give the monsoon a good chance. We shall be going up again the day after tomorrow. Six days to the top from this camp!"

--from George Mallory's last letter to his wife prior to disappearing on Mt. Everest with his partner Andrew "Sandy" Irvine in 1924

"My face is in perfect agony. Have prepared two oxygen apparatus for our start tomorrow morning".

- Sandy Irvine's last diary entry

Mount Everest Links

Historians

• Tom Holzel's Mallory and Irvine theories
  
  
• Jochen Hemmleb's webpage, as well as his Mallory & Irvine research contributions at AFFIMER (American Federation for International Mountaineering, Exploration and Research).
  
  
• View Jochen Hemmleb's search map at AFFIMER that summarizes the results of the 1999, 2001, and 2004 searches (scroll to the bottom of the page for the link).
  
  
• Jake Norton still hasn't lost his enthusiasm for the Mystery of Mallory and Irvine, and has made many outstanding contributions to what we know about Mallory & Irvine. Read his 3-part theory on how Mallory and Irvine reached the top:
  
  part 1 part 2 part 3
  
  And make sure you check out his blog and his amazing photography webpage as well.
  
  
• Colin Wallace is the webmaster for Mount Everest: The British Story, a website designed to keep you up to date with all information and news regarding the British on Mount Everest. You can also visit him on his Facebook page.
  
  
• Mark Horrell is an British climber who climbed the Northeast Ridge of Mount Everest in 2012. He has a great blog where he explains why he believes Mallory and Irvine summited in 1924.
  
  
• Read Gareth Thomas' theories on the Mystery of Mallory & Irvine. Well-researched and scholarly article on the fate of Mallory and Irvine where the author argues that after being spotted on the 1st Step, M&I descend and attempt Norton's Great Couloir route.

• Who Climbed Everest First? - Part 1 - First of a three part series by Thomas Noy on Maurice Wilson, the eccentric who attempted to solo Everest in 1934, whom Noy believes actually reached the summit.
• Who Climbed Everest First? - Part 2
• Who Climbed Everest First? - Part 3
• ExplorersWeb interview with Thomas Noy
  
• A German Author Gives his Perspective on Maurice Wilson - Peter Meier-Hüsing is a German author and journalist who wrote a book about Maurice Wilson
• Jochen Hemmleb's statement regarding Thomas Noy and Maurice Wilson
  

• Himalayan Database - Ms. Elizabeth Hawley's encyclopedic documentation of Himalayan expeditions is now available for purchase on CD-ROM. Search by peak, date, climber, expedition, etc; contains extensive notes on many expeditions.

Everest Climbers - Past and Present

• George I. Finch and his pioneering use of oxygen for climbing at extreme altitudes
  
  
• Kiyoshi Furuno's webpage covering the Nihon University First Ascent of the Northeast Ridge Integrale
  
  
• George Mallory's grandson climbed Mallory's route in 1995, and here is his story.

News and Climbing Websites

• Visit ExplorersWeb for daily news about Mt Everest, and AdventureStats.com has compiled many useful statistics on Everest summits.
• MountainZone.com
• The Russian websites Mountain.ru and RussianClimb.com are absolutely awesome.
• 7Summits.com
• GreatOutdoors.com
• RockClimbing.com

• An Interview With Sandra Noel - Part 1 - Sandra Noel discusses her new book about her father, Captain John Noel, official photographer of the 1924 expedition.
• An Interview With Sandra Noel - Part 2 - Sandra Noel discusses the differences between her father’s account of the ill-fated 1924 expedition and the official account, and how he thought Mallory and Irvine could have made the top.

• Mount Everest "Killer Mountains" - An ExplorersWeb Series - Analysis of fatalities on Mt. Everest and how the fatalitiy rate has been dropping in recent years.
• Everest route descriptions with statistical analysis of fatality rates and objective dangers.

News

If you're a devoted Mallory and Irvine fan, please visit my Mallory and Irvine forum.

New articles!

congratulations to the visitor from Seattle, WA who visited at 02:13:42 PM, Wed May 29. You are the 100,000th visitor to my webpage!

Spring 2013

According to the Huffington Post, super climbers Ueli Steck and Simon Moro, while attempting a new route on the SW Face of Everest, got into a fight with the Sherpas fixing ropes up the Lhotse Face. Here is Simon Moro's response given in an interview with Planet Mountain.

This is big news, indeed. In Graham Hoyland's new book (which you can pre-order on Amazon), he reveals that there was a sighting of Mallory in 1933, which has been kept a family secret all of these years. Check out this interview here

No news about any searches for Irvine this year, although there are always things brewing under the radar.

Jochen Hemmleb's documentary of his 2010 search for Irvine is now available with English translation.

The first fatality of the year - Everest icefall doctor Mingmar Sherpa was killed when he fell into a crevasse in the Western Cwn.

It was bound to happen. Using Google Earth, you can now trek to Mount Everest as viewed from street level. Google has also announced in the past that they plan to use climbers to photograph the way all the way to the summit.

Mark Horrell is an British climber who climbed the Northeast Ridge of Mount Everest in 2012. He has a great blog where he explains why he believes Mallory and Irvine summited in 1924. Horrell is also the author of numerous Kindle books about the history of the Himalaya which you can download from Amazon.com. Highly recommended reading.

Fall 2011

The politics of Mallory and Irvine continues - the British climbing establishment is quiet about Hemmleb's search but Holzel's is roundly condemned.

Spring 2011

Hemmleb has been spotted in Kathmandu, and will be searching again even though he says they won't be. He said the same thing last year, and we know how that turned out.

According to KSL.com, Graham Hoyland is searching this year as well.

UPDATE: Hemmleb is at Advanced Base Camp (ABC) on the North side with lots of heavy video cameras.

UPDATE: Hemmleb failed to find Irvine this year.

UPDATED - 4/19/11

The results of Hemmleb's 2010 search expedition were unsuccessful, and here is a map of where he looked (look for the Big and Little Cracks on the ridgecrest). Hemmleb also has posted his latest theories on his webpage, as well as some complaining about criticism.

Fall 2010

Who owns the camera? Who has the copyright to any images? Read these great articles on Tom Holzel's website.

Attention searchers! - Tom Holzel tells you how to handle the film

Did bad weather seal M&I's Fate? A recent article based on the actual weather conditions on June 8th, 1924, and Graham Hoyland's involvement with it.

Jake Norton - outstanding M&I theorist and historian. Read his blog here, and his three part theory of how M&I could have made the summit!

>> Spring 2004
>> Spring 2006
>> Fall 2006
>> Spring 2007
>> Summer 2008
>> Spring 2009
>> Summer 2009
>> Fall 2009
>> Winter 2010
>> Spring 2010
>> Fall 2010

Articles and Editorials

Harvey V. Lankford, MD, has written a paper documenting the origin of the term "Glacier Lassitude" as a diagnosis for the debilitating effect of altitude as experienced by members of the early British Everest expeditions.

My new theory about Mallory and Irvine's last climb, where I believe Odell's sighting was erroneous, and have them taking the Couloir route instead.

Part 1: the ascent
Part 2: the descent

Warwick Pryce is a new researcher who has arrived on the scene, and he has a new theory about how Andrew Irvine could have been the first person to stand on the top of the world.

Wim Kohsiek has a new interpretation of what Mallory's altimeter can tell us based on scientific applications of meterology.

Mallory and Irvine researcher Wim Kohsiek has two new thought-provoking articles about Mallory's watch and Irvine's location:

• Does Mallory's watch point to the time of his death?
  
  
• Where is Irvine?

Mallory's Watch - Does it Really Point to 12:50 PM?

1924 Oxygen by Richard McQuet and Pete Poston

Why the Camera and Film are not Doomed to Destruction!

The Politics of Mallory and Irvine

Why Andrew Irvine Will Not be Found in a Sleeping Bag! Part 1 and Part 2 on ExplorersWeb

Chomolungma Nirvana: The Routes of Mount Everest

Rust Marks on Mallory's Altimeter

Mystery of Mallory and Irvine's Fate Google Earth Tour - my own ideas in 3-D with audio!

Little Known Free-Solo Ascent of the Second Step in 2001 by Theo Fritsche - I should never have written this - Anker and Houlding deserve credit for the first free ascent

Criticisms of the 2004 EverestNews.com search for Irvine --

The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine's Fate (with J. Hemmleb): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Mallory and Irvine - Comments on the 'real Second Step' route: Part 1 and Part 2

Conrad Anker's comments on the unlikeliness of a direct route up the prow of the 2nd Step

Articles about my heroes Walter Bonatti and Chris Bonington --

Spilling the Beans - Lino Lacedelli's Book "Price of Conquest: Confessions from the First Ascent of K2" Part 1 and Part 2

The Life and Climbs of Chris Bonington, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 final - interview

About Me

Celebrating my 50th birthday on pitch 3 of Prodigal Son, Zion National Park, Utah

In my free time, I love to photograph and hike the spectacular redrock wilderness of the Colorado Plateau - please visit my Colorado Plateau Homepage.

And for most of my life I've been fascinated with the history, people, and culture of the Himalayas and Karakoram - browse my Mount Everest Trek (1996), Overland Journey from Kathmandu to Lhasa (2000), and K2 Base Camp Trek (2007) webpages.

As for my employment, I work for Western Oregon University where I have been a Professor of Chemistry for the last 20 years. My research interests are in applications of Laser Raman Spectroscopy to such diverse fields as Nanotechnology, Analytical Chemistry, and even a bit of Achaeology through the study of rock art pigments found in the Colorado Plateau. You can access my academic webpage here.