Though it remains by far the world's most famous mountain, in recent years Everest's reputation has changed radically, with long queues of climbers on the Lhotse Face, lurid tales of frozen corpses and piles of high altitude trash. It wasn't always like this though. Once Everest was remote and inaccessible, a mysterious place, where only the bravest and most heroic dared to tread.
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 Boys Own and Indiana Jones. 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Using diaries, letters, published and unpublished accounts, Mick Conefrey creates a rich character driven narrative, exploring the motivations and private dramas of key individuals and detailing the back room politics and bitter rivalries that lay behind this epic adventure.
'The 1922 expedition was perhaps the most exciting of all Everest ventures. One hundred years ago virtually nothing was known about the effects of extreme altitude and those brave pioneers were making it up as they went along, pushing the boundaries of human possibility. With his usual forensic analysis and keen eye for the previously untold anecdote, Mick Conefrey re-illuminates one of the greatest mountain adventures of all time.' - Stephen Venables
'A gloriously British failure: The lost story of the tweed jacket-wearing and Kendal mint cake-eating band of eccentrics who were the first to try to conquer Everest is finally told 100 years on ... The story of that first attempt on the mountain is one history has largely erased. Failure tends to be forgotten. But in its centenary year, that 1922 expedition is celebrated in a gripping new book by mountaineering historian Mick Conefrey. Yes, it was a failure - but a glorious one.' - Daily Mail
Author
About Mick Conefrey
Mick Conefrey is the acclaimed author of Everest 1953 and How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt . He has produced several BBC films on mountaineering and exploration, including The Race for Everest. He lives in Oxford.
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