Who or WHAT Did Odell See? Stephen Venables On The Everest Mystery
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- One of Britain's greatest mountaineers, none other than Stephen Venables, the first British mountaineer to climb Mount Everest without the use of supplementary oxygen in 1988, established a new route on the Kangshung Face with Ed Webster, Robert Anderson and Paul Teare.
In this video Stephen talks about the Mystery of the disappearance of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine, what Noel Odell saw that day, and if they made it to the summit.
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Dear Thom, thanks for this interaction with Mr. Venables and who can ever forget the epic climb of the stupendous East Face of Everest, just four of them without oxygen and more than the climb the descent. Mr Venables has described that heartbreaking descent so poignantly in his book. Thanks for introducing us to this legend of Everest who climbed a route that was for " other men, less wise"....
His take on Odell is interesting and also on the possible route they might have taken. It is just that, Odell, was adamant till the end of his life that he saw two 'Human' figures high on the mountain. Odell was a trained geologist, had a great eye, and was fully acclimatized on June 8, 1924. His account varies in only on the question of where did he see them, the First or the Second Step.
We know that the First Step is not a feasible option, they would have reached there too early..it has to be the Second Step most probably, and perhaps at the base of the Third Step as one more option.( though by then the Third Step was not designated as one). Odell described what he saw thus, "There was a sudden clearing of the atmosphere, and the entire summit ridge and final peak of Everest were unveiled. My eyes became fixed on one tiny black spot silhouetted on a small snow-crest beneath a rock- step in the ridge; the black spot moved. Another black spot became apparent and moved up the snow to join the other on the crest. The first then approached the great rock-step and shortly emerged at the top; the second did likewise. Then the whole fascinating vision vanished, enveloped in cloud once more. There was but one explanation. It was Mallory and his companion moving, as I could see even at that great distance, with considerable alacrity … The place on the ridge referred to is the prominent rock-step at a very short distance from the base of the final pyramid.” I would go with Odell's diary entry where he says he saw them, " ‘nearing the base of the final pyramid’. He does not change the basic sighting which was near the base of the final pyramid. Everything else followed from that first statement. Hence it had to be the Second or the Third Step. His description is precise, to the point, and clear.
After what Norton must have told Mallory as they shared the tent would have put the Norton route out of the way for Mallory.
We do not know if they made it all the way to the Summit...It is also heart breaking to know that Mallory was discovered within a striking distance from their Camp VI...
Thanks again Thom and Mr Venables.
Ajay, your insight and understanding of the full story is beyond impressive. I will be putting together a video SOON from Philip's and your research.... Anytime you have something to add, I take note. Thanks for being a part of this channel. Cheers, -Thom
Totally agree w/you re. both O'Dell and Venables, Ajay. But how could those tiny black spots "approach and shortly emerge at the top" of the Second Step?
@@stayclean777 hi We.Phil my co researcher and I think that they arrived at the Second Step much earlier than we think and Mallory prepared the ascent.Whsg Odell saw was the culmination point of the preparation.
Why on earth would what Norton must have told Mallory put the Norton Route off limits? That makes no sense whatsoever.
Mr Pollard, I love, love all the wonderful people you interview. Thanks so much for letting us see what we can only imagine in our dreams! AND with respect!
Maria, you are so welcome. I'm pleased and blessed that you are here, thank you!
Congrats on the sponsor!! It is fun to be along for the ride as you grow your channel. Keep up the excellent work Thom!!
Great stuff. It is so bracing to hear someone of Venables' experience spell out "well, they fell". He who understands better than many of us will ever, the difficulties of climbing and climbing at extreme altitude. There is a grim reality that, if you didn't make it down, you went down the other way.
Thanks for sharing this and I look forward to hearing the next chapters.
Brendan, as always, thank you!
He makes a good point. People see all kinds of things that are not there. Just because Odell saw Mallory and Irvine doesn't mean that they were actually there. Mallory and Irvine is what he wanted to see, and it was a long way away and Odell didn't have any optics. Everyone puts far too much Creedance on a single eyewitness who could have easily been mistaken.
Thank you for arranging, filming and posting conversations with such interesting guests!
It's my pleasure....I enjoy doing this and glad that you like the videos. Cheers!
Excellent part 1 Stephen interview keep em coming
Thanks Scott, part two is up....I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for continuing to make quality content along with providing insight from so many renowned individuals including yourself!
Todd, thank you so much, I appreciate it, and hope to keep bringing more good stuff.
Great interview, Thom!
I believe that what Odell initially saw was the truth of what happened. And if what he saw wasn't M&I, what did he see? And we have to remember that Odell was doing geology work when late in the afternoon he looked toward where he thought they may be and saw them before they disappeared in the squawl. Now the timing of his sighting is one of a few reasons why I don't think M&I made it to the summit. The time they made it to the "base of the pyramid" going up is when people should be at the base of the pyramid going down. Odell had exceptional eyesight and even at his old age didn't wear glasses. But shame on those individuals who made him doubt himself of what he saw.
Yes the time they made it to the base is when people SHOULD be coming down if they were to make it down alive. But they didn’t make it back alive. And Sandy had said “If it is a one way trip then so be it”. They could’ve easily just went for it
Mike thanks for your thoughts. Odell's sighting was questioned on the very expedition he was on....From what I have read and heard, it was always in question, his sighting, that is. I believe he doubled down over the years, adding to the strong possibility that he did see something....I have no problem personally questioning where it was he spotted the two. I never thought it was at the summit pyramid, but back closer to the other steps. Cheers and thanks for watching!
On the other hand he could well have seen two black figures!
Hi Thom, thanks again for the vids, these interviews are great! Love hearing their thoughts, looking forward to part 2.
Carl, many thanks. Part II is coming out very soon, within a week...Stephen is an amazing talent. It's an honor to have him here as a guest.
Thanks Thom. Looking forward to part two. 👍
I love your articles don't ever stop you seem like a very knowledgeable mountain man
Doug, thank you very much, I appreciate it.
Hi Thom ,, I have watched the 99 expedition about a thousand times,must have been unbelievable to have been there,Love the channel, Great job...
Thank you so much for being here and a subscriber. Yes, '99 was a trip alright....off the charts. I hope to bring more '99 content soon.
Well done another great video!
I appreciate it, thank you!
I’ve always believed that Odell saw what he initially said he saw. As time passes, it’s easy to start second guessing yourself especially when there are people who doubt it.
Kevin, for sure.... I will do a bit more about the 1933 expedition, which already had cast a doubt on just where the sighting took place, if it happened at all. Pretty cool stuff, none of it even remotely an indictment of Odell. Cheers and talk soon!
Hello. Very cool thumbnail, fyi. I like the collage, it has a mysterious and sort of horror movie vibe. Catchy!
Also I owe you that segment I typed up about Dudley Wolfe in his,tent on K2. From the Ghosts of Everest doc w Ed Webster. Maybe this weekend... I did at least find the file! ...Time is strange.
Cheers, Happy New Year.
Thank you! Please do send me the segment....I truly want to see it! Thanks for watching :)
@@EverestMystery Just posted it under our comments on that particular video : )
You have to respect Venables' opinions. First hand experience, calm, rational, logical, evidence first and reject all conjecture, supposition and interpretation.. No Odell sighting, M&I traversing below the ridgeline, too late in the day, turned back, slipped and fell. Mallory found and identified. Irvine still to be found and identified. I love the way he keeps it simple.
I agree on every count....Stephen is a thoughtful man, very insightful and considerate of all the possibilities. No wonder he made such a good climbing partner!
Thank you for all the great videos. They are awesome. In my humble opinion...
1) Odell's 1st dispatch or note stated very clearly he saw them and where. That is likely the most accurate.
Just as in plane crash investigations, they want to interview witnesses asap and before a witness speaks to other witnesses.
Hard to imagine he would have just made it up as he didn't know (IMO) they were never coming back at the time.
2) As someone who climbs, it seems very clear to me that Mallory was going to push and take chances. For sure, enough to beat Norton's high mark.
How high he got we don't know but he would not have turned back short of beating Norton's record. No way.
3) Based on where George was found and the situation, it appears he was exhausted. Meaning he had pushed above and beyond the limits. A driven person can do amazing things physically.
Most likely they got to the top or very close when they were frozen and could go no further and had to go back down.
4) No reason for them both to have died and not returned in daylight even otherwise.
Thanks so much for the kindness and for your razor sharps points about the fate of M&I. I'm glad you watched and even more so that you took the time to share your insight and thoughts. I tend to agree on all counts. Thanks again!
Agree with the first half of what he said - especially about the second step - it’s one of the things that frustrates me about a lot of the modern narratives is the idea they took the modern route or attempted the modern route over the second the step - Michael Tracy has done a great job showing through Mallory’s own writing and letters he never had any intention of using a ridge route - more to the point he thought it was a terrible idea - as most others have pointed out - the most reliable version of what Odell saw is what he immediately wrote down - when tend to remember things better closer to the event, not further, and further we can allow others or our own conscience to mess with our memories - but I like the idea that either he saw them or he didn’t - but if what he saw was them - I would go with their journal entries - the zig-zag vs the Norton route is a great debate as well as if they turned around early and fell vs fell after summiting late at night, fatigued, out of O2, and tragically within an hour or two of old high camp - If Odell truly saw them above the 3rd step - I have to believe they made it and fell late on the way back - if he didn’t see them - then it could be either really - love and respect what you Stephen do - incredible
Even Odell's teammates immediately questioned where it was that the two figures were seen. Given that they had not yet named the 'third' step, it's very hard to know what Odell meant when he said the last step. Norton got hammered in the couloir only two days before M&I attempted the summit. Sharing a tent with Mallory before descending, I'm sure he told Mallory about the deep snow and horrible footing.
Truly, my gut weighs in the direction of them taking the couloir route. There are some who abjectly refuse to consider the alternative, which is most unfortunate. Even the videos that you refer to have chosen to selectively present arguments without considering the distinct possibility that there were other options.
You might enjoy this interview with Ajay Dandekar about the route debate:
th-cam.com/video/XYWvvKWm7QE/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for watching, glad to have you here and to see your thoughts on this enduring mystery!
@@EverestMystery Norton got hammered in the Couloir?? Not only was he solo and without oxygen, but Norton's writings in no-way reflect what you have just written. It feels like you are not being entirely fair or accurate on this. Firstly, Mallory was a far more gifted and accomplished climber than Norton. Secondly. it is worth noting that Norton's high point wasn't bettered until the swiss in 1952 and wasn't bettered as a solo, oxygenless high point until a certain Mr. R. Messner in 1980! Thirdly, Norton's so-called couloir battering didn't appear to put off the later British expeditions from attempting that same route in the '30s. Fourthly, Mallory's note to John Noel written the day before his and Irvine's attempt appears to directly contradict your narrative here.
@@jdw6925 very cool, it's just an opinion, which I happen to believe in. So many other scenarios exist. I truly appreciate your taking the time to watch the video
@@EverestMystery Fair enough, but all of the evidence points the other way - i.e. Mallory would have gone for the Couloir. He even stated it in his note to John Noel written the day before his attempt. Was still a good video though - thanks for making it.
@@jdw6925 cool, truly appreciate it. The note, though, doesn't give any indication of where he was intending to go...he intimated either possibility when he wrote 'start looking out for us either crossing the rockband under the pyramid or going up skyline'. That is fascinating stuff, indeed. I've always believed that because Norton had reported preposterously horrid footing and deep snow conditions in the couloir that Mallory would have wanted to have a look at the Second Step before heading to the couloir. I love that there is, essentially, no evidence whatsoever. We have nothing other than the ice axe found in '33 and that Noel Odell almost certainly saw them, but where, we cannot know. Cheers, oh and stay tuned for a cool video with Wade Davis coming out in a couple days. Thanks so much
Great presentation. Thx
Glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you :)
hi Thom is the full interview available on your website or anywhere id love to watch or hear the whole interview but still another amazing video .Regards Elisabeth
Hi Elisabeth, I'll post the rest of the interview soon, probably next week...I'm still editing it and adding images to it. Thanks for watching!
Aside from his questioning O'Dell even seeing Mallory & Irvine (huh?), the legendary Stephen Venables' assessment of Mallory & Irvine's likely route and possible (probable?) outcome seems about as spot on as one can be at this time.
Hard to argue with Stephen, for sure. Thank you for watching, truly appreciate it!
Odell didn't seem vague in the interview I saw him in. He said "base of the final pyramid" and that the dots were moving, and it only took them a short while to climb the step (so unlikely to be the second step). But yes of course it's possible he hallucinated all of it.
Hi Ann, wondering which interview was this one? I've onlly seen the one in his older years but he said they would be arriving at the base of the final pyramid later in the afternoon
@@WellyCoaster It was in a documentary and sadly I couldn't find the original. But didn't he also say he was worried they might not make it before turn around time? They wouldn't have had a prayer to make it in time from the second step right, no doubt involved? Anyway the controversy will most likely never be solved.
On a little different note, Thom have you done a video or any research on the Hillary Step disappearing? Or do you know someone who has climbed Everest since its disappearance? That would be a very interesting interview. I saw before and after photos of the massive boulder that was there completely missing most likely due to the earthquakes. Would be curious to hear your take on how different the climb is now without that. To me, that somewhat changed history with something that was so grand that it was named after Hillary now being gone. It will never again be climbed like it was since the beginning.
Hey Tim, I have been hoping to do a bit of a story on it...but lack some photo assets. In 2016 as we were approaching the Lhotse Face above Camp II my friend Lhakpa Sherpa pointed to a huge boulder just off trail, said 'that is the Hillary Step, it fell from up there' then he pointed up to near the top of the mountain, which has a direct view (from where we stood) to the final ridge to the summit. When Lhakpa and I climbed the Hillary Step a couple nights later we didn't even use the fixed rope, and were up it in about a minute. On our way down we grabbed the fixed rope, however, it had become so frayed that the sheath was cut and only a thread the size of a pencil remained. No worries. It was so easy to downclimb, we didn't need to even tug on the rope. That's my only time up there....I know several who have been there before and after, and would love to get some photo evidence of it. Cheers and thank you as always Tim for being here.
@@EverestMystery Oh ok. For some reason I was thinking your summit was much longer ago than that.
Fascinating but the only thing I might disagree with, with Stephen is that if the time of day is correct that Odell saw them and imo on either step George would have had time to get up and back before nightfall and most important, if both men turned back and never made the attempt, this would be inconsistent to where Mallory was found all those years later. Any proposed belief for Mallory making the summit would be somewhat a radical belief for those whom lived most of their lives believing Hillary and Tensing were the first. Also, if the two turned back together, it becomes even harder to explain why Mallory's body wouldn't have been with or near Irvin's out on the snow ledge when seen by Chinese climbers back in the 60's. We'll never know but sure appreciate the thoughts of this mountaineering legend Stephen Venables. Thank you for this.
Thank you, super glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I subscribed in the first minute I saw one of your videos. Like I said, you gave me my groove back. I'm an old artist and artisan, a sorcerer with mirrors. We used to have men come over when I was a younger kid, the mountaineers were all missing the tip of this or that fingers. At that age that was so much. Guys who had had frostbite. My parents were poets and writers.
lets sum up:
Stephen basically tells us that Odell was hallucinating. "I saw them climbing swiftly up the last step but one"
From where Odell was when he sighted them, the first/second step are out of the question leaving only the third step.
They never intended to go up via the ridge route anyway.
The zigzag/couloir route leads up the thrid step which can be climbed at a fairly fast pace.
Odell told us he had a good view until the clouds blocked that view after a few minutes.
*The words of a hallucinating climber, he is lying or saw two rocks flying up the mountain*
Im sorry but whats the point of this? He has ZERO new insight and makes claims based on feelings. Its insane how many people fight so hard to negate simple arguments as wishfull thinking.
ANYTHING could have happened but don´t tell us Odell was a liar or hallucinating based on your feelings.
Could he have lied? Ofcourse!
Is it very likely? No!
Only in the Mystery of Mallory & Irvine could someone be offended by this video.
@@EverestMystery Only when the words of a Man like Odell are questioned over and over again.
Is it really that unlikely that he saw them on the third step like he claimed?
Is there any evidence that I am missing here?
And do not confuse me with someone that is offended, keep the discussion civil and respect everyones opinion but I am seriously confused how so many people claim that Odell was either lying or hallucinating.
He was Mallorys friend and a mountaineer, I doubt that he would make this story up just to give false credit to Mallory knowlingly.
@@vitanus it's known that Odell changed his story on a number of occasions. He even pointed out on a topo map for Brad Washburn saying exactly where he saw them (he pointed to somewhere along the ridge but not where most have maintained). Honestly, I don't know Odell and never met him. He's a rock star and ended up probably the strongest man on the mountain in 1924. I do know Stephen and find his words anything but a slight of Odell's integrity. Good day, sir.
@@EverestMystery I dont agree that Brads Washburns meeting with Odell tells us much, the photograph itself can be missleading.
Odell changing his story where he saw them exactly is not helping but given the circumstances, him having doubts is understandable, its only human .
Good day to you too
It is also known that a witness' earliest statement is the best evidence of their recollection of an event due to the reality of the details of memory fading with time. Odell's first statements should be given the highest weight; not later statements after the fact, clouded by time and later experiences.
What follows is a quote from expedition leader Hugh Ruttledge's article "The Mount Everest Expedition of 1933", which was published in "The Himalayan Journal Vol. 6" (1934):
"At about 200 yards east of the first step and 60 feet below the crest of the North-east Arete, Wyn Harris found an axe lying free on smooth, gently-sloping slabs. It looked quite new, the wood of the haft unstained and the steel head polished. Yet that axe must have lain more or less in that position for nine years. It could only have been carried by Mallory or Irvine, for no other party had passed that way. Presumably it marked the scene of a fatal accident, for it is highly improbable that any climber would voluntarily abandon his axe on the mountain. Whether the accident occurred during the ascent or descent will perhaps always remain matter for conjecture.
Odell remains convinced that he saw both Mallory and Irvine on a snow-slope near the foot of the second step, much farther along, and Mallory actually on the top of the second step itself.
Our party does not think that the latter could be climbed during the five minutes that the vision lasted before becoming obscured by mist. Moreover, Smythe and Shipton on this day of their ascent to Camp VI thought they saw figures (Wyn Harris and Wager) on the second step, until they realized that they had been deceived by small protruding rocks.
Yet Odell may be right; he tells me that he was able even to distinguish the one climber from the other, by his climbing gait. Perhaps we shall never know, unless on some future occasion a trace is found on or near the arete, or even on the summit-an oxygen cylinder, maybe."
This contradicts Venables' stand that Odell was vague if he saw M & I at all. To the contrary, Odell said that he was able even to distinguish the one climber from the other, by his climbing gait. Per Odell, it was Mallory (and not Irvine) who climbed the second step first.
Ralph, thanks so much. The 1933 expedition is really fascinating to read about. Smythe's book Camp Six is a must read. Cheers and thanks for your input!
Dear Thom. Great content once again! There are some assumptions but there are some facts coming from your team's discoveries.
No photo of GLM's wife (strange since he had many photos in his pocket)
No goggles on. (No risk of sun blindness, descending after sunset)
What time was the sunset of June 8th?
How much time a medium rate climber needs to get back from the summit to the fall point?
For example if sunset was at 18:00 and the time to descend from summit to the fall point is 2 hours, there is a high possibility that they could be on top at 16:00.
Could you please provide us with the details?
Thank you once again for sharing your research.
Hi and thank you for watching and your questions. Very interesting on the missing photo of Ruth! GLM was carrying two pair of goggles, so it's hard to tell when he fell based on those being in his pocket.
Alan Arnette suggests the times between high camp and the summit and back are as follows (and this is for modern day climbers with perfectly functioning O2 equipment, so assume M&I would be much, much slower). Alan uses the Second Step route....this is not to insist on what route they took but merely to show times.
Camp 3: 27,390' - 8300m
Yellow Band
First Step: 27890' - 8500m
Mushroom Rock -28047' / 8549m - 2 hours from C3
Second Step: 28140' - 8577m - 1 hour or less
Third Step: 28500' - 8690m - 1 to 2 hours
Summit Pyramid - 2 hours
Summit: 29,035' / 8850m - 1 hour
Return to Camp 3: 7 -8 hours
Cheers, thanks again!
Very interesting indeed.
Lately I've been wondering about something, the photo Mallory wanted to leave at the summit in case of their success, to be exact.
We know that the photo was not with him when he was found.
But does that mean that Mallory and Irvine reached the summit?
Also, being the leader of the team with way more experience than Irvine wouldn't Mallory have wanted to carry the camera himself?
But neither was found with his corpse.
It would be one thing were it just the camera, but Mallory would not have let go of the photo unless he reached the summit.
But that, while not out of the question, is still somewhat unlikely given the circumstances, isn't it?
So what happened to these objects then?
Now here is my "What if....." scenario:
What if George Mallorys' remains have actually been found once before?
Imagine this: A group of mountain climbers climbs Everest and coincidentally they stumble over Mallorys' remains.
As we all know when climbing in this altitude time is of the essence, but since Mallorys' and Irvines' story is well known they may have had an idea that they just found someone famous.
What would be the objects you'd take with you from that scenario?
I think it would indeed be the photo and the camera, one of which proofs whom you found and the other possibly even solving some of Everests' greatest mysteries.
And then? What happened next?
Well, said potential group of mountain climbers may have found reasons to not talk about their discovery.
Or maybe they themselves had an accident and never got around to do it.
Obviously this is just a wild theory but it would explain why the photo has vanished, would it not?
Do we know that the body that Wang found in 1975 was really Mallory? Watching Lost on Everest Hasegawa describes the body as lying on its side while Mallory was flat? Obviously the location of the body would suggest he saw Mallory but its difficult not to note the discrepancies in the story
I've thought a bunch about this.... Wang was speaking about his experiences seeing the body to a Japanese climber. The possibility that there was a bunch of confusion between the Chinese and Japanese is there. I've always been mystified by the idea of him describing a hole in his cheek. I found a hole in Mallory's forehead....and wonder. It's really hard to say, perhaps it WAS Irvine? Jochen Hemmleb would probably be a good person for me to ask about this. Thanks for watching!
Quick question:
Is there a source/document with "all" the times Odell changed his story on where he saw them?
It´s pretty hard to find enough reliable sources (Other than the picture where he "maybe" pointed at a "specific" spot).
I do not believe the opinion/words of others in such a case before seeing some evidence where I can make up my own mind and so far all I got was the picture (not very reliable) and some articles where he supposedly changed his story from:
"I probably saw them on the third step" to "Could have been the second step" to "I am now certain that I do saw them on the third step"
If there is any other evidence I would like to know, finding out more about Odell is key and im sorry but you needed to put some of the "Odell evidence" into this video, if you let someone talk about Odell and tell us he was probably not seeing them, we need some evidence at least.
Its the same with Conrad Anker, we´d love to believe him but his story has way too many flaws in it and cant be taken as a reliable source.
To the best of my knowledge these are the different accounts of Odell:
1924 expedition diary entry for June 8th:
“At 12.50 saw M. & I on ridge nearing base of final pyramide.”
Then in a dispatch to The Times on June 14th, printed Saturday, July 5th (also in Alpine Journal 36, 1924):
“At 12.50, ... My eyes became fixed on one tiny black spot silhouetted on a small snowcrest beneath a rock-step in the ridge, and the black spot moved...The place on the ridge mentioned is a prominent rock-step at a very short distance from the base of the final pyramid, ...”
And then in the official expedition account The Fight for Everest, 1925, from p.102:
“At about 26,000 feet I climbed a little crag ... and I saw the whole summit ridge and final peak of Everest unveiled. I noticed far away on a snow slope leading up to what seemed to me to be the last step but one from the base of the final pyramid, ... It was of course none other than Mallory and Irvine, and I was surprised above all to see them so late as this, namely 12.50, at a point which, if the ‘second rock step,’ they should have reached according to Mallory’s schedule by 8 a.m. at latest, and if the ‘first-rock step’ proportionately earlier. The ‘second rock step’ is seen prominently in photographs of the North Face from the Base Camp, where it appears a short distance from the base of the final pyramid down the snowy first part of the crest of the North-east Arête. The lower ‘first rock step’ is about an equivalent distance again to the left.[2] Owing to the small portion of the summit ridge uncovered I could not be precisely certain at which of these two ‘steps’ they were, as in profile and from below they are very similar, but at the time I took it for the upper ‘second step.’ However, I am a little doubtful now whether the latter would not be hidden by the projecting nearer ground from my position below on the face."
In my mind the introduction of the first step as a possibility feels coerced (possibly/probably by Everest committee?) and not really Odell's true opinion. Except for that mention of the first step in the official account, Odell's statements seem entirely consistent with his initial diary entry.
Greetings, I don't know if there is a single source for the occasions. However, in a future video I'll read (perhaps I have done this in a previous video...) from the pages of Camp Six, Frank Smythe's book about the 1933 British expedition. I just go by that. There is sufficient doubt less than a decade from the 1924 expedition, nothing ill-willed whatsoever.
👍
❤️❤️❤️
"Dont think we will wind up doing it ourselves." I get that this is a comment made frivolously and informally, yet I think it hints a little at the inherent arrogance and hubris of the contemporary mountain climber, as it presupposes equivocation between what they're doing (1924 & prior expeditions, all expeditions after 1953), and what the very first persons to have climbed the mountains did, and aside the obvious physical similarities and literal "footsteps following," there is no genuine comparison, sorry. It cannot be overstated how much of a difference exists between being #2 to accomplish something, and being #1 to accomplish that thing. Funny how a whole cascade of runners suddenly broke 4:00 AFTER Roger Bannister. Its a phenomenon which frequently happens, but it gets at the greatness of those who do something without knowing going into that thing whether or not that thing can even be accomplished. There is an ocean of a divide between the two things, both mentally and emotionally, with those two things greatly impacting the physical aspect, too.
Going somewhere and scaling a mountain that has been demonstrably bested inumerable times is not a feat which parallels what true pioneers have done (or tried to do). Yeah, the guy climbed a piece of the mountain which possibly hadn't been done before...yet the pinnacle had been reached, we knew it was possible that man could get to the summit, and that breaks apart the monumentally perilous chore mentally of being #1.
❤
I appreciate that you watched and happy you enjoyed it!
Just saw a Hillary interview clip where he stated that if Mallory and Irvine didn't make it down alive than making it to the top wasn't success. He knows he wasn't the first on top. He seems a little smug to me
In some measures I'd say Ed Hillary is the pillar of mountaineering not because of that first ascent of Everest, but primarily because he spent the entire rest of his life giving back to the country and people that helped him gain his fame. That is an example we all could do well to emulate (probably could never equal it). Think about the hundreds, maybe thousands, of times people asked him to recount the first ascent of Everest story. When I interviewed him in 2004 I was full aware that he was spent on that story, so I asked him about giving back to the Sherpa, Khumbu and Nepal. That interview is on this channel. It's short, would love you to check it out: th-cam.com/video/h3zEfPnrvUI/w-d-xo.html
Cheers, thanks for watching!
Venables being awfully vague about the climb altogether!
Logic over romatisism, very English.