Everest 1922

Mick Conefrey is an award winning writer and documentary maker. He made the landmark BBC series <i>Mountain Men</i> and <i>Icemen</i> and <i>The Race for Everest</i> to mark the 60th anniversary of the first ascent. His previous books include <i>Everest 1953</i> the winner of a LeggiMontagna award and <i>The Ghosts of K2</i> which won a US National Outdoor Book award in 2017. <b>*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 SPORTS BOOK AWARDS BEST SPORTS WRITING BOOK OF THE YEAR*</b><br><br>Though it remains by far the world's most famous mountain in recent years Everest's reputation has changed radically with long queues of climbers on the Lhotse Face lurid tales of frozen corpses and piles of high altitude trash. It wasn't always like this though. Once Everest was remote and inaccessible a mysterious place where only the bravest and most heroic dared to tread. <br><br>The first attempt on Everest in 1922 by George Leigh Mallory and a British team is an extraordinary story full of controversy drama and incident populated by a set of larger than life characters straight out of <i>Boys Own</i> and <i>Indiana Jones</i>. The expedition ended in tragedy when on their third bid for the top Mallory's party was hit by an avalanche that left seven men dead. <br><br>Using diaries letters published and unpublished accounts Mick Conefrey creates a rich character driven narrative exploring the motivations and private dramas of key individuals and detailing the back room politics and bitter rivalries that lay behind this epic adventure. <b>The dramatic and compelling account of the first attempt to climb Mount Everest published to coincide with the centenary of the expedition in 2022.</b> 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 <b>Mick Conefrey re-illuminates one of the greatest mountain adventures of all time</b>. 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 <b>in its centenary year that 1922 expedition is celebrated in a gripping new book by mountaineering historian Mick Conefrey</b>. Yes it was a failure - but a glorious one. The history of that <b>derring-do the politics and the drama are wonderfully captured</b> <b>by Mick Conefrey in his new book Everest 1922</b> ... it is good to be reminded of its once dark brooding remoteness and of the courage which conquered it. <b>A nuanced highly readable chronicle</b> 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. An <b>enjoyable</b> ... romp through the pioneering days of Himalayan mountaineering and <b>an engaging and sympathetic portrayal of the almost forgotten 1922 Everest expedition</b>. <b>A renowned author on Himalayan history.</b> 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 <b>captivating account </b>from author and documentary filmmaker Conefrey (<i>The Ghosts of K2</i>). The 1922 attempt whose five total camps ascended from 16000 to 25000 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. <b>This immersive chronicle restores an overlooked expedition to its rightful place in mountaineering history.</b> 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 <b>Mick Conefrey re-illuminates one of the greatest mountain adventures of all time</b>. 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 <b>in its centenary year that 1922 expedition is celebrated in a gripping new book by mountaineering historian Mick Conefrey</b>. Yes it was a failure - but a glorious one. The history of that <b>derring-do the politics and the drama are wonderfully captured</b> <b>by Mick Conefrey in his new book Everest 1922</b> ... it is good to be reminded of its once dark brooding remoteness and of the courage which conquered it. <b>A nuanced highly readable chronicle</b> 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. An <b>enjoyable</b> ... romp through the pioneering days of Himalayan mountaineering and <b>an engaging and sympathetic portrayal of the almost forgotten 1922 Everest expedition</b>. <b>A renowned author on Himalayan history.</b> 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 <b>captivating account </b>from author and documentary filmmaker Conefrey (<i>The Ghosts of K2</i>). The 1922 attempt whose five total camps ascended from 16000 to 25000 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. <b>This immersive chronicle restores an overlooked expedition to its rightful place in mountaineering history.</b>