Olympics - Part 19

 1924 Winter Olympics, Chamonix
George Mallory

The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in January and February, 1924.  A gold medal in alpinism was awarded to the members of the team that had attempted to climb Mt. Everest in 1922, though the team was unsuccessful in reaching the summit.  One of the members of that team was George Mallory (1886-1924).

Above, one of a series of photos of Mallory by Vanessa Bell in 1912, long before his Everest attempt.

Mallory by Vanessa Bell, 1912.

Mallory by Vanessa Bell, 1912.

Mallory by Vanessa Bell, 1912.

Mallory by Vanessa Bell, 1912.

Above: a painting of George Mallory by Duncan Grant, 1913.

We end with a photo of three members of the 1922 Everest expedition.  From left: Howard Somervell, Arthur Wakefield, and George Mallory.  Are you starting to get the idea that Mallory liked to be naked?

In 1924, after the Winter Olympics, Mallory was on the British team that attempted Everest again.  George Mallory and Andrew Irvine died attempting to reach the summit.  They were last seen about 800 feet below the summit, and then they disappeared and never returned to camp.  To this day there is debate about whether they might have reached the summit before their demise.  In other words, could George Mallory have been the first man to reach the summit of Everest?  We will never know.  

Mallory's body was finally found on Everest in 1999.  Supposedly Mallory had been carrying a photo of his wife Ruth that he intended to leave on the summit of Everest, and the photo was not found on his body.  Does that mean that he left it on the summit?  Maybe, but it's not proof that he was there.

The first verified climbers to reach the summit of Mt. Everest were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.