{"id":818,"date":"2024-05-14T22:27:39","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T22:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/?page_id=818"},"modified":"2024-06-06T16:16:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T16:16:46","slug":"mallory-irvines-ascent-beyond-8500-m-28000-ft","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-8-1924\/mallory-irvines-ascent-beyond-8500-m-28000-ft\/","title":{"rendered":"Mallory &amp; Irvine\u2019s ascent beyond 8500 m\/28,000 ft."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-regular has-small-font-size\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fbfbfb\"><tbody><tr><td colspan=\"2\"><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/\">Introduction<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-5-1924\/\">June 5, 1924<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-6-1924\/\">June 6, 1924<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-7-1924\/\">June 7, 1924<\/a><br> <em>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-7-1924\/comments-on-mallorys-note-to-noel\/\">Comments on Mallory\u2019s note to Noel<\/a><\/em><br> <em>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-7-1924\/comments-on-mallorys-note-to-odell\/\">Comments on Mallory\u2019s note to Odell<\/a><\/em><br> <em>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-7-1924\/some-notes-on-the-oxygen-question\/\">Some notes on the oxygen question<\/a><\/em><br> <em>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-7-1924\/some-notes-on-mallorys-equipment-list-the-sleeping-bag-issue\/\">Some notes on Mallory\u2019s equipment list \u2013 The sleeping bag issue<\/a><\/em><\/td><td><a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-8-1924\/\">June 8, 1924<\/a><br>  <em>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-8-1924\/mallory-irvines-ascent-to-8500-m-28000-ft\/\">Mallory &amp; Irvine\u2019s ascent to 8500 m\/28,000 ft.<\/a><\/em><br>  <em>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-8-1924\/mallory-irvines-ascent-beyond-8500-m-28000-ft\/\">Mallory &amp; Irvine\u2019s ascent beyond 8500 m\/28,000 ft.<\/a><\/em><br>  <em>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-8-1924\/climbing-the-second-step-is-the-mystery-finally-solved\/\">Climbing the Second Step \u2013 Is the Mystery finally solved?<\/a><\/em><br><a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/beyond-the-second-step-hypotheses-considerations\/\">Beyond the Second Step \u2013 Hypotheses &amp; Considerations<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/where-is-andrew-irvine\/\">Where is Andrew Irvine?<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/conclusions\/\">Conclusions<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/expedition-waste\/\">Expedition Waste<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After discarding their first pair of oxygen bottles, Mallory &amp; Irvine would have faced a crucial decision<br>about the route (see&nbsp;<strong>The First Step<\/strong>,&nbsp;<em>\u00a9 Theo Fritsche; from \u201cTatort Mount Everest\u201d, p. 129<\/em>):<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-06.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" src=\"http:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-06-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-103\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-06-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-06-768x497.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-06-1024x663.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>The first Step <\/em><br><em>\u00a9 Theo Fritsche; from \u201cTatort Mount Everest\u201d, p. 129<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They could have traversed along the top edge of the Yellow Band, thus&nbsp;<strong>bypassing the First Step low down<\/strong>. The experiences of later parties have shown that it becomes at least very difficult to regain the Northeast Ridge beyond the First Step, and that a party following this low line is almost certainly forced to traverse into the Great Couloir.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They could have&nbsp;<strong>climbed the First Step<\/strong>&nbsp;either along the ridge or by the open gully in its northern face (i.e. today\u2019s standard route) and continued along the ridge toward the Second Step.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At 12:50 p.m., the two climbers were sighted by Noel Odell as they surmounted a prominent rock step on the upper Northeast Ridge (see&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jochenhemmleb.com\/pictures\/mundi\/2011\/06.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Odell\u2019s View \u2013 The summit ridge with the First, Second, and Third Steps<\/a>,&nbsp;\u00a9 Andy Politz; from \u201cGhosts of Everest\u201d, p. 116<\/em>). Odell\u2019s famous sighting has been covered extensively in climbing literature (e.g.&nbsp;<em>Detectives on Everest, pp. 120-123, and&nbsp;Tatort Mount Everest, pp. 112-123<\/em>), and the surrounding debate will not be repeated here.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-07.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" src=\"http:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-07-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-07-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-07-768x497.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Bild-07-1024x663.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Odell\u2019s View \u2013 The summit ridge with the First, Second, and Third Steps,&nbsp;<em>\u00a9 Andy Politz; from \u201cGhosts of Everest\u201d, p. 116<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Assuming that the&nbsp;<strong>essence&nbsp;<\/strong>of Odell\u2019s sighting is correct \u2013 i.e. that he did indeed see the two climbers and had not hallucinated or was deceived by an optical illusion (something Odell forcefully denied throughout his life) -, his sighting has been interpreted in two basic ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Odell saw Mallory &amp; Irvine on the&nbsp;ascent.<\/strong>&nbsp;They had chosen the crest of the Northeast Ridge and were either climbing the First or Second Step (or even the Third Step) at 12:50 p.m.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Odell saw Mallory &amp; Irvine on the&nbsp;descent.<\/strong>&nbsp;On the ascent they had bypassed the First Step low down and subsequently failed to either regain the ridge beyond the step or to cross the Great Couloir. On their retreat they had climbed the First Step for reconnaissance purposes, and were seen doing this at 12.:50 p.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>With no hard evidence about the route they took beyond oxygen bottle No. 9, both theories carry equal weight. However, circumstantial evidence let me favour the interpretation that Mallory and Irvine were still on the way up when last seen by Odell \u2013 and they were&nbsp;<strong>not at the&nbsp;First&nbsp;Step.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The reasons are as follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Odell\u2019s diary entry, written within the first six days after his sighting, simply says: <em>\u201cAt 12.50 saw M. &amp; I on ridge nearing base of final pyramid.\u201d<\/em> This strongly suggests a point&nbsp;<strong>at or above the&nbsp;Second&nbsp;Step<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Throughout his accounts written in 1924, Odell remained convinced that he had seen Mallory and Irvine climbing the&nbsp;<strong>Second Step<\/strong>. Only in the expedition book, which appeared in 1925, doubts had entered his mind \u2013 and with them the possibility that he had seen the climbers on the lower First Step. As Tom Holzel and Audrey Salkeld put it so eloquently in their seminal work (p. 249): <em>\u201cThe main reason Odell would cling so tenaciously to the key elements of his vision \u2026 is because he cannot do anything else: that is how it was. To have it otherwise, he would need to invent. The inconsistencies in his account only began to creep in when he felt compelled to change the location of his sighting.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The topography described in Odell\u2019s accounts doesn\u2019t match the First Step. Odell described one of the climbers appearing on \u201ctop of the step\u201d, while the true top of the First Step is never crossed when following any of the routes used to either bypass or climb the First Step.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This last point is obviously the weakest, as the topography described in Odell\u2019s accounts doesn\u2019t fit the Second Step either. Odell described the climbers moving over a \u201csnow patch\u201d. While there is a prominent snow patch at the base of the First Step, the patch at half height of the Second Step is comparatively small and in the shadows most of the day \u2013 not an obvious place to spot two climbers. Moreover, Odell\u2019s accounts don\u2019t indicate the climbers belaying or supporting each other, as one would expect on a pitch of such apparent difficulty as the Second Step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was for these latter reasons that I considered it for a long time a possibility that Odell had seen Mallory and Irvine at the&nbsp;<strong>Third Step<\/strong>&nbsp;(something first proposed in 1981 by Walt Unsworth in his monograph Everest, p. 138), and after my personal observations of climbers on this feature in 1999 I am still struck how surprisingly well they matched Odell\u2019s sighting (see&nbsp;<em>Ghosts of Everest, p. 151,&nbsp;Detectives on Everest, p. 122, and&nbsp;Tatort Mount Everest, pp. 121ff.<\/em>). However, my opinion has now changed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Table of Contents IntroductionJune 5, 1924June 6, 1924June 7, 1924 &#8211; Comments on Mallory\u2019s note to Noel &#8211; Comments on Mallory\u2019s note to Odell &#8211; Some notes on the oxygen question &#8211; Some notes on Mallory\u2019s equipment list \u2013 The sleeping bag issue June 8, 1924 &#8211; Mallory &amp; Irvine\u2019s&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/en\/mallory-and-irvine\/june-8-1924\/mallory-irvines-ascent-beyond-8500-m-28000-ft\/\" class=\"more-link read-more\" rel=\"bookmark\">Continue Reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Mallory &amp; Irvine\u2019s ascent beyond 8500 m\/28,000 ft.<\/span><i class=\"fa fa-arrow-right\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":814,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-818","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"hentry","5":"h-entry","7":"h-as-page"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":906,"href":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/818\/revisions\/906"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jochenhemmleb.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}