Everest 1922

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 *
The history of that derring-do, the politics and the drama are wonderfully capturedby Mick Conefrey in his new book Everest 1922 ... it is good to be reminded of its once dark, brooding, remoteness and of the courage which conquered it. * Daily Express *
A nuanced, highly readable chronicle of the first attempt on the summit 100 years ago ... The Himalayas were an unknown frontier, and Mr Conefrey captures the awe that adventurers felt in their mighty company. * The Wall Street Journal *
An enjoyable ... romp through the pioneering days of Himalayan mountaineering and an engaging and sympathetic portrayal of the almost forgotten 1922 Everest expedition. * Asian Review of Books *
A renowned author on Himalayan history. * Trail Magazine *
George Mallory's first attempt to summit Mount Everest, in 1922, was more significant than the better-known 1924 expedition that took his life, according to this captivating account from author and documentary filmmaker Conefrey (The Ghosts of K2). The 1922 attempt, whose five total camps ascended from 16,000 to 25,000 feet, "set the style of big-expedition, 'siege'-style mountaineering, with large teams and multiple camps," Conefrey explains. It was also the first expedition to equip its climbers with bottled oxygen, a practice that sparked debates over the legitimacy of oxygen-aided ascents until the 1970s. In addition, the 1922 attempt "created the link between the Sherpa people and Everest which has turned their name into a global brand." Conefrey's exhaustive history documents the initial request for permission to climb from the insular state of Tibet and complications faced by the Mount Everest Committee in acquiring the necessary funds. He draws vivid sketches of the mountaineers-including Mallory, Edward Norton, and Howard Somervell, who shared a "flask of brandy" when they broke the world altitude record-and details disagreements over the expedition's third and final attempt to reach the summit, which triggered a deadly avalanche. This immersive chronicle restores an overlooked expedition to its rightful place in mountaineering history. * Publisher's Weekly *