Copper, received 3.28 p.m. on 19 Feb
1. George Leigh Mallory
2. Hmmm I understand that this is the greatest unanswered question of the last century!
In the absence of witnesses and photographic evidence to prove that George Mallory made it to the top of Everest, we have to look at circumstantial evidence.
Arguments for he made it to the top:-
He was a skilled and experienced climber
He was determined to get to the summit
He had a photo of Ruth which he was going to leave at the summit
He was seen still climbing up and surmounting the Second Step (near the summit)
When his body was found the photo of Ruth was not found with him
His snow goggles were found in his pocket which suggests he was on his way down when he fell
Arguments for he did not make it to the top
Tom Holzel has done a lot of analysis on this climb by Mallory and Irvine. These are the relevant points:-
They were never going to have enough oxygen to get to the top together
Mallory could have taken both their oxygen and possibly made it to the top but it would have been suicidal
They were both tired and progress was not as fast as planned
The person (Odell) who claimed to see them at Second Step had in fact made a mistake and they were at First Step (lower down)
On their way down they were hit by a sudden bad snow storm
They roped together for safety
An ice ax belonging to either Mallory or Irvine was found on a smooth area which also has loose pebble in places - so this is where one or both possibly fell. The feeling is that one fell and the other put the ax down in order to pull on the rope.
Irvine has not been found yet (the search goes on)
Mallory had only half the expected length of rope attached to his body when found
From the rope burns on his waist Mallory had not fallen as far as Irvine
Mallory was badly injured but managed to slide? down to try and find Irvine
Eventually the weather and his injuries killed him
If I was a member of the family I would like to think that he made it to the summit and left the photo of Ruth there.
I find it more likely that time and lack of oxygen forced them to come back down to base camp. They would have been tired and Irvine was not that experienced. Their tiredness, dehydration, the snow storm and their shattered dream of making it to the summit contributed to their deaths.
That photo of Ruth?
I would like to think that as Mallory realised that he was not going to survive, took the photo of his beloved wife out from the safe place where he had kept it and looked at it. Sadly after he succumbed to the inevitable the photo was blown away.
So the short answer is no he did not realise his ambition to climb to the summit of Everest.
Results 21 to 30 of 51
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19-02-2010, 6:25 PM #21MutleyGuest
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19-02-2010, 6:34 PM #22MutleyGuest
pennydog, received 3.38 p.m. on 19 Feb
Answer 1 - George Herbert Leigh Mallory
Answer 2 - Yes he did,
although it may never be proved that he did reach the summit before he died, his photograph did as did his dna when his grandson George reached the summit in 1995.
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20-02-2010, 9:49 AM #23MutleyGuest
RobinC, received 08.31 a.m. on 20 Feb
1. What is my full name?
George Herbert Leigh Mallory
2. Did I achieve my aim?
No, George Mallory disappeared whilst climbing Everest and his frozen body was discovered in 1999 at 27,000 feet on Everest's North face.
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21-02-2010, 12:17 PM #24MutleyGuest
Thank you again to all who took the time to enter.
We hope you enjoyed reading the replies
and did he achieve his aim, well that remains to be seen, what do you think?
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21-02-2010, 12:27 PM #25RobinCGuest
I really should have put more thought into my answer for question 2!
Congratulations Kerrywood & Jellylegs.
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21-02-2010, 12:33 PM #26
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21-02-2010, 12:34 PM #27pennydogGuest
Well done to the prize winners Kerrywood and Jellylegs, I really enjoyed reading your answers. Have we now got a Brit Gen poet Laureate?
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21-02-2010, 12:37 PM #28Jan1954Guest
Kerrywood and Jellylegs!
Also, many thanks to Mutley for such a terrific competition.
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21-02-2010, 12:40 PM #29bjelkierGuest
Many congratulations to the winners - and all who managed to 'find' the right answer.
However, I was hoping you would also explain how you managed to do it without a surname to use as a 'starting point' for the search.
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21-02-2010, 12:47 PM #30Sadly, our dear friend Ann (alias Ladkyis) passed away on Thursday, 26th. December, 2019.
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