Did Mallory & Irvine conquer Everest?
The Lost Generation . I will not deny Sir Edmund Hillary deserves the credit for being the first person to ascend and descend Mount Everest, that is beyond question; however, I do contest he was the first to ascend the mountain. Over twenty years before, the expedition led by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine conquered Everest, in my opinion. There is no empirical evidence to confirm what many people believe is true, as they died on the mountain. They were last seen alive by Noel Odell ascending the third step. Several expeditions since that time in 1924 expedition claim to have seen bodies where the men would have fallen. Irvine’s body was found in a crevice in the mid-1970s with a golfball size hole in his forehead; one theory is he slipped and to slow his fall dug his pick into the rock face. When he slid the theory is his axe hit a rock and jumped out, hitting him in the head. At this stage, Irvine would have become a dead weight as he fell, and Mallory knowing the risks...