Climbing Everest: The Complete Writings of George Mallory

by George Mallory, Peter L. Gillman (Editor)

'Climbing Everest is all about heart.' - George Leigh Mallory

George Leigh Mallory was both the first modern climber and the last towering figure of the Great Age of Exploration. Enveloped by mystery whether he reached Mount Everest's summit before his fall, he continues to grip the imagination. An exceptionally gifted and driven climber, his spell-binding memory inspires mountaineers to this day, attracting lively speculation as well as fact-finding expeditions to retrace his steps. Climbing Everest gathers for the first time Mallory's influential canon on mountaineering from its disparate locations in archives.

Mallory was unique in drawing a new literature from his mountain craft. For him, as for his predecessors, earth was still a heroic place with hidden parts promising novel experiences while the eyes of history were trained upon them. But he was strongly inspired by the Bloomsbury group, unlike previous explorers, and a talented writer and poet. He chose to break with the Edwardian stiff upper lip in favor of emotional truthfulness about the art of climbing. The result created a novel branch of mountaineering literature, as fresh and vivid as the feelings he recorded in handwriting under the most harrowingly extreme mountain-top conditions.

--From the 2010 edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mountaineering, Travel, Biography, History, Climbing, Adventure

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

George Leigh Mallory was an English schoolteacher and mountaineer. He was educated at Winchester College and Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read history under the tutelage of A.C. Benson and wrote a biography of James Boswell. While at Cambridge, Mallory developed close friendships with several members of the Bloomsbury Group, including Duncan Grant and Lytton Strachey. He was keenly interested in political issues of the day, and was a Fabian socialist who favored women’s suffrage and Irish home rule. Mallory later worked as a schoolmaster at Charterhouse School, where he taught the future poet Robert Graves. Graves credited Mallory with encouraging his writing and introducing him to the work of modern authors.

Mallory is best known for participating in the three Mount Everest expeditions of the 1920s. Along with Andrew Irvine, he died attempting to be the first to climb Mount Everest. It is not known whether or not they reached the summit before their fatal accident.

Reviews

[Jean Dupenloup · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Mallory has always been a mystical, confusing being who holds a nebulous and magnetic pull over me.

I am utterly fascinated by his quest to climb Everest in the 1920s, described here in all its fanfare, splendor, and tragedy through Mr. Mallory’s inspired essays, journals, and letters.

The writing is beautiful, lyrical, has a noble quality to it, infused by Mallory’s greater purpose, and almost elevates mountaineering to a moral imperative.

Mr. Mallory’s outlook on climbing, perhaps influenced by the writing style of his epoch, was romantic in the extreme, and perhaps could never have ended any way but the one it did.

In any case, it’s hard to select a good book from the ridiculous, screaming mess that is Everest literature. This is not only one of those precious few volumes, but also the seminal, grandfather of them all.

Don’t miss it.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Occasionally very specific. I myself, who am not an expert in climbing and do not climb either, got a little lost in certain sections...

Beautiful descriptions of nature, mountains.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Mallory is an important figure in my own life, and Peter and Leni Gillman's biography 'The Wildest Dream' is amongst my most treasured books as it takes Mallory away from simply being a 'did he / didn't he' dispute in the history of Mount Everest and brings out the man himself, and the many lives he touched along the way.

'Climbing Everest' is a welcome addition to my Mallory collection, although it is far from the 'Complete Writings' that the title suggests. What it is does do is collect the journal writing that would have been lost otherwise and present two very different sections - pre Everest, and Everest. The 'Mountaineer as Artist' is a wonderful read and Mont Blanc brings out his love for what he did.

Inevitably Everest dominates the book, as it does his legacy, and it is nice to have the subtle differences laid out between what he intended to be read and presented, and articles that were purely for the printed Journal. Mallory was an excellent writer and his personality leaps out between the sections when he is giving serious technical opinion and findings.

In his own words, this is recommended to anyone who '...can compare the call of the hills to the melody of wonderful music, and the comparison is not ridiculous'.

[Sicofonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Climbing Everest claims to be a collection of the complete writings of George Mallory. That's basically a compilation of articles he wrote for the Alpine Journal and other publications, and they comprise the Mallory's account on the 1921, 1922 and (very briefly) the 1924 British expeditions to the Everest.

One thing that should be noted is the Mallory's thorough writing style. Without being pompous, he strove for producing text that were worth to be published. His texts also have a lyricism which enhances and makes us, his readers, more aware on the reasons that drove him to climb mountains and why it was such a riveting experience.

This book is a little gem that I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in mountaineering or adventure literature.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would really like to give this book 2.5 stars. I listened to the audiobook.

The first half of the book was fairly boring. The second half about the 1922 and 1924 expeditions was much better.

If you have read other books about Everest or are interested in the history of Everest you would enjoy this book, it’s about 5-hours worth of listening.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The early chapters are dull and overly verbose but the chapters on the 1921 expedition to Everest are stunning. Now that routes up Everest are fixed and well known you forget what it must have been like then, to be the among the first to try and climb the mountain and to forge the route.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult read due to the level of detail and the style of writing that reflected that the book was from nearly 100 years ago. One interesting aspect was that amongst all the detail was the fact that 7 Sherpas/coolies that were swept to their deaths in an avalanche was only mentioned in passing.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, though it dragged in places, it was still interesting to read about finding a path to the top of Everest, though the end of Mallory's life was sad.

[Zachary Rudolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Have we vanquished an enemy? None but ourselves. Have we gained success? That word means nothing here. Have we won a kingdom? No… and yes.”

[Dr. Kshitija · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while going to the Everest base camp trek. I had initially thought that Mallory's writing would be irrelevant in this age. But I was wrong. There is something about the cimbers of the early 20th century. It was the era of summiting all the major mountains, and how! With minimal equipment, poor technology, and very heavy clothing. It was a daring feat, indeed. I already knew about George Mallor and the turn of events. I had read the book "Ghosts of Everest" many years ago where the 1999 mountaineering team searched and found the body of Mallory. However, Irvine, the one who had the camera, is still missing, and hence, whether they summited or not is still a mystery. Jeffery Archer's Paths of Glory beautifully captures the story of Mallory. Mallory's writings about Everest and his preparation for the climb, his detailed reconnaissance efforts, and his utmost concerns for the Sherpas are heartening. It reminded me of the books by HW Tilman- The Ascent of Nanda Devi, where the groundwork has to begin with finding a suitable approach road to the base of the mountain. And also of the book "Spies in the Himalayas" by MS Kohli that details the secret joint Indo-US operation to install antennas on top of Nanda Devi peak to intercept signals from China in the pre-satellite days. All these books are about men pitching their skills against the formidable mountains - at times they succeed and at other times they are humbled and often pay a huge cost.

[Susan Grimshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

The earlier chapters were of less interest to me, but the accounts of the expeditions to Everest earn the 5 star rating, telling tales of incredible fortitude as these intrepid explorers sought to find a way to the summit. The question will always remain, did Mallory eventually succeed? Reading about the difficulties faced by the 1921 and 1922 expeditions it seems very unlikely that he did, but who knows?

[Miguel Panão · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great achievements start with small attention to details. Climbing Everest both physically and literally is one of those achievements. Mallory’s writing is genuine and compelling.

[Pat Knauss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected. Very esoteric.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

RIP

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had recently read "Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest", and thought it too long and too detailed. And I had thought, at that time, that it was too bad that Mr. Davis didn't shorten the book and concentrate just on one aspect of Mallory's climb. Well, as they say, be careful of what you wish for, and this book reminds me why that phrase is often used. "Climbing Everest - The Writings of George Mallory" seemed, on the surface, to be exactly what I asked for after reading the longer book, "Into the Silence", about Mallory's climb. But in comparison, I regret not rating "Into the Silence" much higher. "Climbing Everest" lacks all the background and insights into the personality of Mallory and the background of the climb, the other climbers, and the history that Davis provides in his book. And comparing the two, "Into the Silence" was a much better story. "Climbing Everest", as expected, is basically simply the writings of Mallory while attempting to climb Everest. It contains detailed descriptions of what he saw, but there's an expectation that the reader has familiarity or other background being provided somewhere else. On it's own, it really doesn't provide the the story behind the story, or sufficient background, to truly appreciate the hardship and massive undertaking of the climb. As I had previously noted, personally, I found Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" a much more interesting and much more readable book about climbing Mt. Everest.

[C.interruptus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of Mallory's articles about reconnoitering and attempting to climb Everest is probably best read after, or concurrent with, reading more generally about Everest, its geography and its major routes. That background makes it easier to visualize what Mallory is talking about regarding exploring, eg, the East Rongbuk Glacier, the Northeast Ridge, etc. In keeping with the conventions of Serious Alpinist subculture of the time, Mallory's writing here may strike today's readers as rather dry. For a nitty-gritty account of Sisyphean task of figuring out how best to crack the puzzle of the mountain's maze, false leads up the wrong sides of glaciers and all, it's great. Probably better suited to people with a hardcore interest in mountain culture than readers looking for the excitement of something like Krakauer's Into Thin Air.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A extremely interesting collection of the writings of George Mallory in relation to his mountaineering experiences, especially his attempts to climb Mount Everest.

After reading so much about Mallory, it was fascinating to actually read his own writing about his mountaineering experiences. It gave a real, personal insight into his motivations and drive to climb Everest.

I throughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Mallory and his story and wishes to have an insight into his personal thoughts, feelings and opinions on mountaineering and climbing Everest.

However I would recommend doing some background reading beforehand. I heartily recommend 'Into the Silence' by Wade Davis and 'The Wildest Dream' by Peter and Leni Gilman.

[Steve Webster · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't get through the whole book. To be fair to Mr. Mallory, he didn't write his logs with the intent that they would end up as a book. The writings contain detailed agendas in a very matter-of-fact tone. Lots of quaint terms like "Cooleys" pop up, or maybe that term is common in Britain, but not in America. Anyway, it is hard to follow a story that is basically about rocks and ice without having a means of visualizing. It all started blending together into a droning monologue due to the sameness of all of it.

[Erneilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Mallory was intelligent, articulate, and literary. His writings describing the reconnoitering of Everest in 1921 and 1922 are still classic mountaineering literature. His description of his last expedition in 1924, the one in which he lost his life, is poignant. I am impressed that even in those days they were talking about the sportsmanship of using oxygen to climb above the death zone.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a fair amount of effort for me to get through this. Although the language was tight and elegant, it was terribly detailed in the ascents, the arêtes and the assaults on the mountain. It reminded me, like after reading "Into Thin Air," how much I don't feel the need to climb Mount Everest.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating audio account of his explorations. It does help if you understand mountaineering terminology and it might be good to have a map of the area handy. Knowing Mallory's ulitmate fate made the audio that much more moving.

[Tim Riddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mallory and his fellow explorers were truly brave people. They also had a lot of money to be doing what they did and I am sure that helped in putting such expeditions together.