Description
"I looked up at a patch of white. It wasn’t rock and it wasn’t snow," explains Conrad Anker, world-renowned climber and mountaineer. It was the half-buried body of British mountain-climbing legend George Mallory. Clothed in a tweed jacket and leather boots, Mallory had set off to scale the final slope of Mt. Everest on the morning of June 8, 1924. Soon after, he was seen for the last time just 1,000 feet from the summit. 75 years later in May 1999, Mallory’s frozen remains were discovered by Anker, a member of the world-class climbing team charged with solving a mysterious question: Was Mallory the first to reach the top of Everest?
Discover what new clues Mallory’s body, bones, clothes, personal items and letters offer. Climb the daunting slopes that challenged Mallory’s mind, body and archaic equipment. See remarkable exclusive archival film footage from Mallory’s deadly expedition. And take part in mountaineering history as NOVA brings you an up-close look at this headline-making quest.
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In 1924 British "gentleman climbers" George Mallory and Andrew Irvine attempted to reach the top of the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest (28 years before the successful expedition of Sir Edmund Hillary). Mallory and Irvine were last spotted 1,000 feet from the summit, at which point they vanished, never to be seen again. Seventy-five years later, a nephew of a member of the 1924 expedition sponsored a search for the bodies of Mallory and Irvine, hoping to prove that they had been the first to conquer Everest. The PBS documentary series Nova was there to record this exciting quest. We follow the searchers as they brave the world's harshest climbing and weather conditions. Their efforts are amply rewarded when they find Mallory's frozen remains, the name tag on his clothing still intact, a moment of discovery that's thrilling to witness. Archival footage of the 1924 expedition provides a fascinating counterpoint as the viewer is struck by how incredibly underdressed and ill prepared the 1920s climbers were compared to today's trekkers, with their high-tech clothing and equipment. Also engrossing is the analysis of the clues surrounding the body, in the attempt to settle the question Did Mallory and Irvine actually attain the summit, or not? --Laura Mirsky