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In June 1924, George Mallory and his partner Andrew Irving made a steady walk toward the summit, about 244 meters from the summit of Everest.
It was their last glimpse, and it was the most likely attempt to reach the top of the world in that era. Soon the clouds enveloped Everest, and the two challengers disappeared.
Whether Mallory successfully reached the summit has always been a mystery in the mountaineering community. It wasn't until 75 years later, when his body was found, that people were able to take a step towards the mystery...
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In 1999, in order to solve the "Mystery of Maou", an expedition team went to Mount Everest to search. Conrad Anker, a mountaineer who was part of the expedition, inadvertently stepped out of the search on a clear day.
Curious, I stopped and turned back, where there was a white block. Not snow, dull, absorbing light, like marble. (Source: Wildest Dreams)
Wildest Dream movie poster.
He found the remains of an old man lying on the ground, his clothes torn to pieces by the wind. The team members quickly assembled, and he carefully opened the layers of clothes, and someone suddenly shouted:
Oh my God, it's George Mallory.
Lying on the ground was George Mallory, known as "one of the most successful climbers of the twentieth century."
Discover Mallory's remains. Image source: Wildest Dream
The shirt was embroidered with a string of red names, G. Mallory, and in the midst of the exclamations of the team, mallory reappeared in view after seventy-five years.
Humanity is challenging the Third Pole for the first time
On June 8, 1924, Mallory and his partner Owen were observed for the last time. They were climbing about 244 meters from the summit of Mount Everest, but the clouds immediately obscured the peak, and the two challengers disappeared.
At that time, during the golden age of exploration, human beings reached the North Pole and the South Pole one after another, and Mount Everest became the ultimate challenge for mankind. Climbing Mount Everest is the wildest dream in the hearts of many people, and Mallory has tried three times to bring the dream to reality.
George Mallory (June 18, 1886 – June 8, 1924). Image source: dailymail.co.uk
Out of the map - In 1921, Mallory joined the first British Everest expedition, the main purpose of which was to investigate the northern and eastern parts of Mount Everest, where the map was still blank, and to find a climbing route.
After an eight-week trek, the expedition arrived on 19 June, where Mallory saw the haunting Everest for the first time.
Like the wildest creature in a dream: Everest! Like a rugged giant, a huge white fang, a boulder draped in snow. In the eyes of mountaineers, there is no more magnificent view. (Source: Wildest Dreams)
At the foot of Mount Everest. Image source: Wildest Dream
With no map, no one knowing the terrain, Mallory groped through the unknown, trying to touch the dream little by little. The expedition studied for months and found nothing.
It wasn't until late August that they finally found a huge glacier that stretched for miles, winding between several peaks and leading to the foot of Everest. After several expeditions, Mallory determined the route along the ridge via the Rongbu Glacier and the North Pass.
However, the heavy snow that came with the monsoon every summer soon made the climb a bubble and they had to go home.
Climbing routes. Image source: hesomagazine.com
Seven people were engulfed – a route to the summit was established, and a second expedition was immediately organized. In 1922, Mallory came to Everest again, this time with the aim of reaching the summit.
On May 22, Mallory and three companions climbed the upper slope of the mountain that began in the North Pass, the first time ever that mankind has actually set foot on Mount Everest.
At the first attack, a fifth camp was set up at 7620 meters, but fatigue and injuries forced them to withdraw from 8130 meters. Immediately after the second team established a new fifth battalion at 7770 meters with oxygen, but the oxygen equipment was again problematic, and the team had to turn back from 8360 meters.
The British team first attacked the top team in 1922. Image source: The Ghost of Everest
In the end, Mallory launched a third attack on the top, but this time he could not even go up to the North Pass. He led the team to the first camp, and the next day it snowed all night, and whether he could continue to move forward became a problem.
However, the weather improved the next morning and Mallory decided to continue on the ascent. The team members walked through the deep snow, and with each step up, they had to stop and catch their breath several times.
The sky was clear, and the hope in his heart was rekindled. Suddenly, everyone was startled by a loud noise.
An ominous, sharp, violent sound like thunder, but it sounded a little soft, like the sound of an unsealed gunpowder explosion. (Source: "Everest Epic", By Rong Hepeng/ author, Huang Meifeng / Translation)
In an instant, the snow beneath my feet cracked. A huge snow ball rumbled down, and the team members did not have time to react and were buried by the heavy snow at once.
Eventually, an avalanche buried seven porters.
Encounter an avalanche. Image source: Wildest Dream
The enigmatic ending – Mallory's second Everest climb is over.
Seven brave members of the team were killed, it was all my fault, and the matter was over, and I could not get it back. (Source: Wildest Dreams)
After the avalanche, Mallory returned to Europe, with no intention of returning to Everest. He found a new job, spending as much time as possible with his wife Ruth and the children.
In 1924, someone planned a new journey, and in the face of Everest's call, Mallory's heart once again made waves.
I was so sick and I was about to suffocate. Choosing to leave Ruth would be a bad decision. But how cruel it is to watch others conquer the peak and I am not there. (Source: Wildest Dreams)
Mallory and wife Ruth. Image source: Wildest Dream
Mallory was 38 years old at the time, missed the expedition, and he might never have a chance to try again. Between the stability of home and the passion of the mountain, he temporarily chose the third pole thousands of miles away.
In the early morning of June, Mallory and his partner, Owen, 22, walked out of their tent. Carrying primitive and bulky oxygen devices, they set out from camp six and headed for the highest point on earth.
After the story, we can only look for it from the memories of other team members. Geographer Odale took supplies to Camp Six, and the fog began to slowly invade Mount Everest.
In 1924, Mallory and Irving were the last photographs before they reached the top. Image source: The Epic of Everest
At 12:50, the surrounding fog suddenly dissipated, and the entire ridge and summit were suddenly exposed. Two small black dots immediately caught my eye as they were on a small snowy slope under the stone wall. A black dot moved. The other also began to move noticeably and caught up with the one on the snowy slope.
The previous one then slowly climbed up the rock wall and soon to the top; then the second one went up. Then the clouds came again, and the exciting scene was obscured... (Source: The Ghost of Mount Everest, by Qiao Chen Hamley/Wang Yan/Translation)
This is Mallory's last legacy, and the clouds of history have spread out until 75 years later.
Recreate the climb from 75 years ago
After discovering Mallory's body, Conrad reached into the pocket of the deceased's jacket and felt for a bag. He opened it carefully, afraid that the relic would be destroyed in his own hands. If he can find what he wants, the mystery will eventually be solved.
A bald pencil, a note on an envelope, a department store bill, a watch with a pointer off, a letter to his wife... The belongings in the bag were well preserved, except for the missing photograph of his wife Ruth.
Before climbing Everest, Mallory had promised to leave a picture of his wife on top of the world. Does this mean that Mallory had already climbed Everest as early as 1924?
Climbing teams. Image source: douban.com
Climb Everest in a tweed coat – in search of answers, Conrad decided to conduct an experiment. He remade the clothes and boots on the body, tried to wear a replica, and followed Mallory's footsteps to climb Everest. Conrad chose The British climber Leo Houlding as a partner, and similar to Owen, the young man did not have extensive experience with high-altitude climbing.
Wearing flat-toe spikes and a judarine jacket, Conrad and Leo were tied together only by a thin cotton rope and headed for the summit. The 7-layer clothes barely cope with the weather on Mount Everest, but the boots are far from protecting the feet. Conrad could not imagine how Mallory could walk above 8,000 meters:
Wearing those shoes, if you keep walking, it's fine, but once you stop, it's life-threatening.
Both Conrad and Leo's feet were frozen, and for the sake of their lives, they ended up having to change into modern mountaineering gear.
Dressed in a replica, follow in Mallory's footsteps as you climb Everest. Image source: douban.com
Climbing the second step with bare hands – following Mallory's footsteps all the way – they finally came down the second step.
The journey from the Sixth Battalion to the summit of Mount Everest is only about 610 meters, but it contains several difficulties:
The first is the "yellow zone", a large area of broken limestone, which is very easy to slip under the feet;
Then there's the "First Steps", a more difficult steep rocky slope of about 30 meters high, which simply rises from a dangerously broken ridge;
Then came a dangerous, exposed ridge route. (Source: The Ghost of Mount Everest, by Qiao Chen Hamley/Wang Yan/Translation)
Steep second step. Image source: Wildest Dream
The "second step" is the biggest obstacle before reaching the summit, it is 30 meters high, extremely steep, known as the "front of the battleship", much more difficult than the first step. If Mallory can climb the second step, it is equivalent to winning, he only needs to climb a gentle snow slope to stand on the top of the world.
Conrad asked The Sherpa Guide to remove the fixed ropes and the hanging ladder, and the second step was restored to the appearance of 1924. On the first climb, Conrad stepped on the air, but fortunately he grabbed the rope, otherwise he and Leo could have been taken down the edge and fall off the cliff.
Climb the second step. Image source: Wildest Dream
After a long time of adjustment, Conrad tried again, using both hands and feet, and finally climbed the second step. Immediately after that, Leo also arrived smoothly, and he couldn't help but sigh:
I thought of Mallory, who went up the second step, showing the possibility that they had ascended the second step. I used to think that the second step was an unattainable goal for the climbers at that time, but now that I have changed my mind, they can definitely do it. (Source: Wildest Dreams)
Successfully turned over the second step. Image source: Wildest Dream
Because the mountains are there
For Mallory, the second step is not an insurmountable obstacle. At the end of the film, the scene of that year was restored with special effects shots. Mallory turned over the second step and saw the summit standing quietly in front of him.
If we are only about 183 meters away from the summit, we will continue to move forward, even if there is no return. (Source: Wildest Dreams)
Standing at the highest point in the world, he placed a picture of his wife on top of the snow and ice. Ruth's idyllic countenance remained on top of the world, staring at a sea of clouds that humans had never seen before.
Ruth's photo. Image source: Wildest Dream
The clouds of history have temporarily dispersed and re-enveloped. While Conrad proved the possibility of Mallory climbing to the top, whether they climbed to the top remains an unsolved mystery. The mystery will one day be solved, and is the mystery really that important?
In 1923, before the last expedition to Everest, a reporter from The New York Times asked Mallory why he climbed Everest. Mallory simply replied:
Because the mountains are there.
The New York Times report. Image source: Wildest Dream
It is true that Everest conquered his flesh, but it still could not stop Mallory from becoming an immortal legend.
Climbing Mount Everest was his undisputed determination; it was not an accident in his life, but his whole life. (Source: "Everest Epic", By Rong Hepeng/ author, Huang Meifeng / Translation)
As The first Chairman of the Everest Committee of the Royal Geographical Society of the United Kingdom, Rong Hyppeng, commented:
Their spirits do not die, and from now on, anyone who climbs the mountains of the Himalayas will think of Mallory and Owen. (Source: "Everest Epic", By Rong Hepeng/ author, Huang Meifeng / Translation)