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| September 21, 2010 | Documentary sheds new light on Everest mystery | | London: A documentary, called 'The Wildest Dream', has claimed Mount Everest may have been conquered almost 30 years earlier than had been thought. The film concludes 1920s adventurer
George Mallory could have been the first man to reach the top of the world's highest
peak - decades before Edmund Hillary. It looks at the mystery surrounding Mallory,
who risked everything in pursuit of his dream, using primitive gear and wearing
gabardine and hobnailed boots. He was last seen alive in 1924 with climbing partner
Andrew Irvine just 800ft below the mountain's peak, before the clouds closed in.
In 1999, mountaineer Conrad Anker discovered Mallory's frozen body high in the
mountain's 'death zone', where so many others have perished. Almost all of the
adventurer's belongings were found intact on his body, apart from a photograph
of his wife, Ruth, which he had promised to place on the summit if he succeeded.
The photograph has never been found, further fuelling speculation that has persisted
ever since. Anker remained so haunted by the story that he returned to Everest
with fellow climber Leo Houlding, in a bid to work out whether Mallory could have
reached the summit. "It is very, very tough and Mallory and Irvine were dressed
in gabardine and wore hobnailed boots," the Sky News quoted Houlding as saying.
"We have huge respect for them. The second step is notoriously difficult to climb.
"It is technically difficult, but having done it myself I believe Mallory could
have conquered it despite his equipment. "But I am glad that we don't know for
sure. That would spoil the whole mystery, perhaps lessen this amazing story,"
he said. The pair had embarked on their own quest to conquer Everest, following
the original North East Ridge route taken by Mallory in 1924.
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