Mallory & Irvine

Project to determine the location of Andrew Irvine.

"Mallory told me himself, when he talked to me of his possible routes up the final pyramid and told me where to watch for him, that he expected to go up the northeast of the final pyramid, but if he found the Gully particularly difficult, or if the west wind were particularly bad, he would take the eastern ridge, missing the Gully by passing across the head of it and gaining better protection from the west wind."
- John Noel, expedition photographer

"Norton has suggested the possibility of breaking through the lower of these two bands east of the great couloir, and traversing along the slabs between it and the supper band until it is possible to break through the latter." -- Everest 1933

Overview

This site presents a viable theory that Mallory and Irvine summited Mount Everest on June 8, 1924.  They climbed a moderately difficult route just above the Couloir (pictured above) which had been identified by E.F. Norton two days earlier.  They did not climb the Second Step, but instead took a lower route to bypass the obstacle, just the way Mallory described in the 1921 reconnaissance report.

Mallory described his potential route to John Noel, the 1924 expedition photographer, in the days prior to his climb.  Mallory stated his first route choice was to go up the Couloir to access the north-east section of the final pyramid.  His backup route was to cross above the top of the Couloir and access the ridge of the East Face at a point above the Couloir.  It is this second route that matches with the sighting of Odell at 12:50.

Mallory and Irvine reached the summit and died on the descent from a fall in which exhaustion, dehydration, and hypoxia were all contributing factors.

UPDATE:  I was at Mt. Everest in 2018 but the snow coverage was too much and it was not possible to get to the ledge safely.   I will post some information about Mallory’s route as time permits, but no additional information is available about the location of Irvine.

Watch the route fly through video.  Watch the video on Odell’s sighting of Mallory.  Read the theory.

The Crux: Mallory’s Planned Route to Bypass the Second Step

May 21, 2017

Mallory’s published statements show that he never intended to climb the entire crest of the North-East Arete.  Instead, he planned on following a route below the ridge in order to bypass the obstacles on the crest.  Mallory did not consider climbing the Second Step.  Indeed, in all his expedition journals, letters home, and documented conversations, the … More The Crux: Mallory’s Planned Route to Bypass the Second Step

Thus Spoke Mallory

May 20, 2017

The conventional wisdom is that Mallory attempted to climb the Second Step and may have been successful.  This theory is articulated in The Wildest Dream, Detectives on Everest, and numerous online postings.   In contrast, my website puts forth the idea that Mallory would not have bothered with the First or Second Steps because there was an … More Thus Spoke Mallory

Irvine's Climb and Possible Final Resting Place

A breif re-cap of Mallory and Irvine's climb and possible Irvine location.

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