The Everest Mystery

There is no mystery more compelling than the disappearance of British mountaineer George Mallory and Sandy Irvine, last seen 'going strong for the top' of Mount Everest on 8 June 1924. Mallory was a renowned climber; Irvine was a daring young sportsman embarking on the greatest adventure of his life . . . The question of exactly what happened to them on that fateful day has fascinated people for more than a century. Now, Irvine's great-niece Julie Summers and mountaineering historian Jochen Hemmleb have written a gripping account of the 1924 expedition from Sandy's perspective, challenging misconceptions regarding his role and the skills and knowledge of the two men. The narrative brings to life all the remarkable characters involved in the attempt and describes the extraordinary feats of endurance and planning needed to survive the extreme conditions on Everest. The authors also examine whether the two men reached the summit - becoming the first to do so - or died on the ascent. Were their bodies seen by Chinese expeditions in 1960 and 1975? What can we learn from the discoveries of Mallory's remains in 1999 and Sandy's boot and foot in September 2024? An intriguing detective story, The Everest Mystery is also a moving account of men pushing themselves to their limits in an attempt to make history.

Julie Summers is a biographer, historian and author of fourteen works of non-fiction, including Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine (Weidenfeld). She is Irvine's great-niece and the family spokesperson and curated the Sandy Irvine Trust from 1999 to 2005. She has been closely involved with the mountaineering community, chairing Britain's Mountain Heritage Trust and regularly lecturing about Sandy Irvine. She took part in the IMAX film, The Wildest Dream, and has contributed to documentaries, blogs and radio programmes on the subject of the 1924 Everest expedition. Most recently she co-narrated the Alpine Club documentary Everest: by 'Those Who Were There'. She lives in Oxford. Jochen Hemmleb is the author of fifteen books, including the award-winning Ghosts of Everest about the 1999 discovery of George Mallory. The scope of his writing ranges from investigative stories and personal expedition accounts to climbers' biographies and mountain monographs. He has translated seven books by renowned English-speaking mountaineering writers like Bernadette McDonald and Peter Gillman into German. Jochen was co-instigator and member of the Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition in 1999, which found the body of George Mallory. As a writer and filmmaker, he has specialized in mountaineering, Alpine history, and mountain environments. He has published his autobiography, Spuren am Everest, in German and is working on a film about the 1988 ascent of the Kangshung face of the mountain. He lives in Lana, northern Italy. Together they are the authors of The Everest Mystery.