Last Climb: The Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory

The issue will shortly be decided. The third time we walk up East Rongbuk Glacier will be the last, for better or worse.

George Mallory wrote those words in May 1924, just days before he and Andrew "Sandy" Irvine made their final attempt to summit Mount Everest. They disappeared on June 8, 1924, and mystery has swirled around them ever since. Did they reach the summit, 29 years before Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary?

The recovery of Mallory's body in May 1999 provoked more questions than it answered. Clearly Mallory fell and then died of exposure. But was he on his way up or down? David Breashears (of IMAX Everest fame) and mountaineering historian Audrey Salkeld devote a thoughtful chapter to the discovery, examining the clues found with Mallory and speculating on his experiences on that fateful day. As is to be expected, however, Breashears and Salkeld leave it to others (including Conrad Anker and Jochen Hemmleb) to make conclusions; their book is about much more than Mallory's disappearance. Last Climb is an affectionate biography of Mallory, his fellow climbers, and their three Everest expeditions. Diaries and letters written by expedition members bring their voices into the present, while the authors' considerable Everest expertise ensures historical accuracy. Dozens of vintage photographs taken by Mallory and the other expedition members illustrate the text, revealing a time when "gentlemen mountaineers climbed in leather boots and tweeds"--their gear better suited to a bright day in the Scottish highlands than the slopes of Everest.

The morbid-minded may be disappointed that the only photograph of Mallory's remains is of his hobnailed boot, but others may see this as a mark of respect for the great climber. Beautifully presented and carefully written, Last Climb is easily the classiest book on the Mallory mystery. --Sunny Delaney

Book Description
From renowned Everest mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears and historian Audrey Salkeld, comes the first lavishly illustrated account of Englishman George Mallory's 1920's Everest expeditions, including the ill-fated 1924 attempt with Andrew Irvine to be the first to summit Everest. Included are rare, never-before-published archival photographs, as well as an account of the recent, sensational discovery of Mallory's body, 75 years after his disappearance.

The question of whether George Mallory and Andrew Irvine reached the summit of Everest in June 1924, thirty years before Edmund Hillary remains one of the great mysteries of twentieth century exploration. That mystery was partially solved on May 3, 1999 when the body of George Mallory was found on a rocky ledge about 2,000 feet below the summit. But was he on the way up, or down, when he died in a fall? David Breashears and Audrey Salkeld have culled remarkably evocative archival photography from Mallory's expeditions to Everest and, by virtue of their long familiarity with Everest, bring a uniquely insightful perspective to this dramatic story.

The world's tallest mountain, lying on the border between Tibet and Nepal-though it had been identified since 1856 and its summit was distantly visible as a small bump on the Himalayan horizon from the Indian hill station of Darjeeling-had remained remote because both countries were at the time strictly out of bounds to travelers. Having negotiated permission to enter Tibet, three expeditions in the 1920s (1921, 1922, 1924) succeeded in surveying and mapping territory unknown to outsiders, and climbing to heights above 28,000 feet-and just maybe all the way to the top of Mount Everest. All in all, while it was a magnificent achievement, these first three ventures cost the lives of at least twelve men. These brave explorers brought home the magnificent images of Himalayan mountains and a medieval way of life on the roof of the world, which are dramatically showcased in this book. AUTHOR BIO: David Breashears is a world-class filmmaker and mountaineer, who has worked on such feature films as Seven Years in Tibet and the award-winning documentary Red Flag over Tibet. In 1983 he transmitted the first live pictures from the summit of Mount Everest. Breashears is the recipient of four Emmy awards for his achievements in cinematography. In 1987 he directed and produced the documentary film, "Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine." In 1996, he co-directed, photographed, and co-produced the acclaimed IMAX large-format film Everest, and contributed his still photographs from that climb, as well as a foreword, to the best-selling National Geographic book Everest: Mountain Without Mercy. David is largely credited with spearheading rescue efforts during the harrowing tragedy of May 10, 1996. The first American to summit Mount Everest twice, he has made four successful ascents of the world's highest mountain. David Breashears is the author of High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places, recently published by Simon & Schuster. Audrey Salkeld maintains one of the most comprehensive private archives on mountaineering. She has written the scripts for a number of films including David Breashears' The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine, for which she took part in Tom Holzel's 1986 expedition and climbed to the North Col of Everest. With Holzel she is the author of The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed book on her Himalayan travels in Mustang and Tibet, People in High Places.

I had thought about buying this book, but I came across it at the public library and checked it out. I'm kinda glad I didn't buy it, because the text isn't that well written--people are referred to by their last name and then formally introduced several pages later, some details are left out, other details are repeated, etc.--but the photographs from the 1920's expeditions and of the items recovered from Mallory's body are absolutely captivating. It just fascinates me to no end to think about these guys making the first attempts to climb Everest, experimenting with oxygen tanks, and reaching a height on Everest not surpassed until the 1950's.

I think the main problem with the book is this: the authors had made two expeditions to find Mallory's body in 1986 and 1995. They were unsuccessful. Another team was successful in 1999; this was documented in a PBS/NOVA documentary and they have their own book, which deals more with the discovery of the body. It seems like the authors of this book pulled out the material they had been working on and wrapped it up somewhat hurriedly to capitalize on the publicity (as another reviewer has also noted). So they don't talk much about their own attempts to find Mallory, and they don't talk enough about the successful team's discovery of his body (because they weren't there).


A pictorial history of British Everest Expeditions   December 19, 2000
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

There are many books on the market dealing with the summit attempts of George Leigh Mallory. No one tome has yet encapsulated the adventures to stand out as the consummate work. It will be necessary to read several books to lay claim to being fully informed. The great strength of LAST CLIMB is in its wonderful collection of vintage photographs from the 1920's British Everest Expedition and its members. Its one thing to read of gentlemen climbers in tweed and quite another to see it, a picture being worth a thousand words and all that. The many dozens of photographs, some taken by Mallory himself, breath life into a much exhausted realm of discussion. Mallory was an aesthete and I believe he would not want his story to be told in the mere blandness of words but exhorted on the artistic level provided by the beautiful photography collected here. Hats off to MR. Breashears and Ms. Salkeld for presenting these heroes in all their glory.


Excellent visual history...   October 24, 2000
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

It states in the prologue that this book was started prior to the discovery of Mallory's body on Mt. Everest. With that said, after reading it; I'm of the impression that it was completed quickly and rushed into print after finding the body so it could sell the maximum number of copies.

I've now read what I think are all the post discovery expedition books. This is an excellent book. There are wonderful pictures of the early British expeditions which are not found in other books and the writing was concise and tried to cover all areas. After reading it, the historical aspects seems to be a greatly pared down version from Audrey Salkeld's previous book with Tom Holzel "The Mystery of Mallory & Irvine".

Overall this is a wonderful coffee table book. It covers Mallory's history with Everest; has plenty of 1920's photographs; a section on how he went into legend like he did: pictures of what was removed from the body and a section which reviews the clues based on where the body was found and what he had on his person. If you have a casual interest in the topic, this is a great book to choose. If you are looking for something a bit more involved, try the aforementioned "The Mystery of Mallory & Irvine" by Tom Holzel and Audrey Salkeld. Looking for a book on the history of the expedition to find clues on the disappearance? The exclusive team story is in "Ghosts of Everest". Conrad Anker's version is in "The Lost Explorer" (he's the one who actually found Mallory's body). My favorite of the expedition books however, was "Lost on Everest" by Peter Firstbrook. It covers historical background on Mallory and the early Everest expeditions in more of a conversational yet detailed manner, and this I found overall the most intriguing.


Look elsewhere for the story of the "Last Climb"   March 11, 2000
 18 out of 22 found this review helpful

I bought this book thinking that it was written to accompany the wonderful television programme I saw about a 1999 expedition to Everest to discover what became of Mallory and Irvine. It is not.

The book is well presented book and nicely bound. The most attractive aspect of the book is the 1920's photographs; they are very evocative of a lost era when parts of the earth were distant and unexplored. However it is not particularly well written and the discussion of the mystery of Mallory and Irvine's fate is unclear and ineffective. It does not shed light on its subject, and I have had to look elsewhere for that. Poorly served by maps and diagrams it leaves the reader struggling to appreciate the terrain, routes and location of camps. It's weakest point is where the authors try to recreate the last climb by describing what was going through the head of Mallory; this is very unconvincing, not least because no attempt is made to take into account the character of men with English public school backgrounds (to my mind, a key factor). Thus the book fails at the point which is of most interest.

In conclusion, a nice book to browse through thanks to the photographs (hence the 3 stars) but otherwise unsatisfactory.


Captivating tale of adventure.   February 11, 2000
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I have read pieces of information about the legendary early expeditions of Mt. Everest and therefor really wanted to read this book. From the start to finish I found this book to be well researched and written. I very much enjoyed the photographs. Now I am curious about the other books written about George Mallory. This book made the men of the expedition come alive.