George Mallory

George Herbert Leigh-Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer. He is famous for trying to climb Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. He was part of the first three British trips to Everest in the early to mid-1920s.

During the 1924 trip, Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew "Sandy" Irvine were last seen moving upward near Everest's summit. People still wonder if they reached the top before they died.

Mallory was born in Cheshire, England. He began climbing in the Alps after a teacher took him on a school trip. He later studied at Magdalene College, Cambridge and taught at Charterhouse School. He kept getting better at climbing and made new paths up mountains.

Mallory stopped climbing during the First World War but started again after the war. In 1921, he helped find a good way to reach Everest's top called the North Col-North Ridge. In 1922, his team reached a very high point and even won Olympic gold medals for alpinism.

In 1924, Mallory and Irvine disappeared near the top of Everest. Mallory's body was found in 1999, but we still do not know for sure if they reached the summit. When someone asked Mallory why he wanted to climb Everest, he said, "Because it's there."

Early life and teaching career

George Herbert Leigh Mallory was born on 18 June 1886 in Mobberley, Cheshire, England. He was the son of the Reverend Herbert Leigh Mallory and Annie Beridge Leigh-Mallory. Mallory had two sisters, Mary Henrietta and Annie Victoria, and a younger brother named Trafford.

Mallory attended Winchester College, where a teacher introduced him to climbing in the Alps. He became very good at climbing and loved it. Later, he studied history at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he made many friends. After finishing his studies, Mallory started teaching at Charterhouse School in 1910. His friendly teaching style was liked by his students, and he enjoyed sharing his love of climbing and art with them.

Climbing in Europe

The Alps

George Mallory climbed many mountains in the Alps. He went on eight trips there and reached the top of mountains four times for the first time ever. One of his first climbs was on August 5, 1904, when he and two friends climbed Mont Vélan but had to stop before the very top because they felt sick from the thin air. A few days later, they made it to the top of Dufourspitze, one of the biggest peaks in Western Europe. Later, they climbed Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe.

In 1909, Mallory climbed a tough new path up Nesthorn with two friends. In 1911, he and his friends reached the top of Herbétet and Mont Maudit. In 1912, Mallory and two others found a new way up Dent Blanche. In 1919, he and a friend made new paths up Aiguille des Grands Charmoz and Aiguille du Midi.

Scotland

In 1906, Mallory and two friends climbed Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain, through difficult snow-covered paths. They also climbed Stob Bàn and Càrn Mòr Dearg. In 1918, Mallory and two others made new paths up mountains on the Isle of Skye.

Wales

In 1907, Mallory climbed two new paths on a mountain called Tryfan. In 1908, he climbed alone up a difficult path on Lliwedd called Mallory's Slab. In 1911, Mallory and a friend made a very hard new path up Y Garn called Mallory's Ridge.

England

In 1908, Mallory and three friends climbed several paths in the Lake District, including Great Gable. They made new paths on Ennerdale face of Great Gable. In 1913, Mallory made new paths on mountains in Cornwall and on Great Gable.

Marriage and the First World War

Christiana Ruth Turner came from a family that included an architect father and an embroiderer mother. George Mallory became close friends with her family and often visited them. In April 1914, during a holiday in Venice, Mallory and Ruth fell in love. They got engaged on May 1, 1914, and married on July 29, 1914, just before World War I began. They had three children: Frances Clare, Beridge Ruth (called Berry), and John.

When the war started, Mallory joined the army and began training in January 1916. He fought in important battles and sometimes worked closer to home between deployments. In 1917, he was promoted to lieutenant and continued training other officers. Mallory celebrated the end of the war in November 1918 and returned to England in January 1919.

The lure of Everest

After returning from France, George Mallory and his family went back to live in Godalming, Surrey. He taught again at Charterhouse but felt this wasn’t enough. He spent more time thinking about climbing, world politics, and education.

In January 1921, a group called the Mount Everest Committee was formed to plan an expedition to Mount Everest. They wanted to find the best way to climb the mountain. In February 1921, Mallory got a letter asking if he wanted to join the expedition. At first, he wasn’t sure because it would take him away from his family. But after talking with a friend, he decided it was a special chance and agreed to go. He left England in April 1921 to join the expedition.

Everest expeditions

1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition

The first Everest expedition in 1921 aimed to explore the mountain and find the easiest way to the top. Expedition members, including Henry Morshead and Oliver Wheeler, made the first detailed maps of the area. On August 18, Mallory, Guy Bullock, Morshead, and a porter started from their high camp. They climbed to the Lhakpa La pass and found a route to Everest’s North Col. This was the start of the path to the summit. The expedition ended early because of strong winds in late September.

1922 British Mount Everest expedition

In 1922, the goal was to reach the top of Everest. Mallory joined the team, which sailed from Marseille to Bombay and then walked to the Rongbuk Monastery. They set up Base Camp. In May, Mallory and others tried to climb higher but had bad weather and hard conditions. During one climb, an avalanche happened, and some porters were lost. The expedition stopped in June because of these problems.

1924 British Mount Everest expedition

The third expedition in 1924 tried once more to reach the summit. Mallory and Andrew Irvine made a final climb. On June 8, a climber named Noel Odell saw them near the top but then could not see them because of clouds. They were never seen alive again. A memorial was later built at Base Camp to remember those who died in the expeditions.

Lost on Everest for 75 years

Discovery of the ice axe, 1933

In 1933, climbers Percy Wyn-Harris and Lawrence Wager found an ice axe on Mount Everest. They thought it might belong to George Mallory or Andrew Irvine, two climbers who had gone missing years before. The axe was left where they found it.

Smythe's sighting, 1936

In 1936, climber Frank Smythe saw something unusual on the mountain. He thought it might be related to Mallory or Irvine, but he did not tell anyone at the time.

Holzel, Everest historian

Historian Tom Holzel thought Mallory and Irvine might have separated during their climb. He believed Irvine might have fallen while going down, and Mallory might have tried to reach the top alone.

1986 Mount Everest North Face Research Expedition

In 1986, a team tried to find clues about Mallory and Irvine. They hoped to find cameras that might show if the climbers reached the top. Bad weather made this hard.

1999 Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition

In 1999, a team found Mallory’s body on Everest. They looked for a camera that might show if he and Irvine reached the top, but the camera was not found. This suggested Mallory might have reached the summit before he died.

Timeline

• 1893: At age 7, George Mallory climbed the roof of a church.
• 1904: At age 18, he climbed Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe.
• 1909: He climbed the Southeast Ridge of Nesthorn for the first time.
• 1911: He climbed the Western Ridge of Herbétet and the Southeast Ridge of Mont Maudit for the third time.
• 1912: Mallory created a new route on the West Face of Dent Blanche.
• 1915–18: He served as an officer during the First World War.
• 1919: Mallory made a new route on the Aiguille des Grands Charmoz and Aiguille du Midi, later called the "Rectified Mallory-Porter Route."
• 1920: He reached the top of the Matterhorn and Zinalrothorn.
• 1921: Mallory joined the first British expedition to Everest to explore possible routes to the summit.
• 1922: During the second British Everest expedition, his team set a world record for climbing high using extra oxygen.
• 1924: Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew "Sandy" Irvine disappeared near the top of Everest, creating a famous mystery.
• 1953: [Edmund Hillary] and [Tenzing Norgay] became the first people known to reach the summit of Everest, which brought new interest in what happened to Mallory and Irvine.
• 1975: A Chinese climber reported finding an old climber’s dead body on Everest, which was likely Mallory or Irvine.
• 1999: Mallory’s body and belongings were found, but it is still unknown if he reached the summit.
• 2007: Climber Conrad Anker repeated Mallory’s climb using the same kind of old equipment.
• 2010: The film The Wildest Dream showed Mallory’s life and modern efforts to solve the mystery.
• 2024: A team found some of Irvine’s remains on a glacier far below where Mallory’s body was found.

Theories

Mallory and Irvine faced a very hard part of their climb called the Second Step. It was a steep, shaky rock wall about 100 feet high. It was very hard to climb, especially without extra air.

Some scientists think bad weather might have played a big role in what happened to Mallory and Irvine. They found old weather records that showed a big drop in air pressure and temperature around the time of their climb. This kind of weather change, called a western disturbance, can bring strong winds and snow. The bad weather and thin air high up could have made it very hard for them.

Legacy

At Winchester College there is a memorial for him in the cloister near the college chapel. Mallory was honored by naming a court after him at Magdalene College, with a stone above a doorway remembering him. The Friends of Magdalene Boat Club changed their name to the Mallory Club in his honor. There is also a plaque remembering him in the South African Cloisters at Charterhouse. A special stained-glass window at St Wilfrid's Church, Mobberley, Cheshire, shows figures from stories and has writings about Mallory. Two tall mountains in California's Sierra Nevada, Mount Mallory and Mount Irvine, are named after him and his climbing partner.

Mallory was filmed during an expedition, and this footage was used in later films about climbing. His story inspired books and animations, including a novel and a film released in 2021. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy mentioned Mallory in a famous speech, using his famous words, "Because it is there," to describe the challenge of space exploration.