Each year I present the story of Mallory & Irvine to many audiences around the country. It is one of my favorite presentations to share, for I feel the story of Mallory, Irvine, and the pioneer climbers of the early Everest attempts (1921-1938) is an enthralling one which touches everyone's heart and imagination.
Often people ask me what the terrain is like on the upper mountain. My presentation, of course, features my photography from my four expeditions to the North Side of Everest. While still images have great power and convey a sense of place and drama, sometimes video images tell a different side of the story.
It was with this in mind - sharing more of the high Everest experience - that I posted a video on the search for Irvine in 2004 and my subsequent "discovery" of a mystery camp at the base of the First Step on the Northeast Ridge.
To give people more of a feel for the terrain we searched in 2004 and the overall look and feel of life above 27,000 feet on Everest's North Side, I put together another video. This footage was shot by my friend and climbing/searching companion on the 2004 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition, Dave Hahn. (If you don't know Dave, he is an amazing guy - 9 summits of Everest [yup, NINE!] and countless other peaks around the world. Read his astounding resume here.)
Anyway, the video takes you through one of our search days in 2004, from the start up in the climbers' gullies at the base of the Yellow Band to the traverse from the 1933 Camp VI and off the beaten track, onto the Norton Traverse from 1924, and finally back down via the Longland Traverse. Fun stuff!
Enjoy!
(If the video does not play, you can view it directly either on YouTube or on Google Video.)
