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Letters written by renowned mountaineer George Mallory have been digitized to mark the centenary of his attempt to climb Everest.
Mallory is best known as a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and said he wanted to climb Everest “because it's there.” Whether Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew “Sandy” Irvine actually reached the summit of Everest is still a matter of debate.
In 1924, Mallory and Irvine set out for the summit from a camp at the foot of Mount Everest. But the pair were never seen alive again after they were last seen by climber Noel Odell thousands of meters above and near the summit of Everest.
The letters written by the famous mountaineer include correspondence between him and his fiancée Ruth from the time of their engagement in 1914 until his death in 1924. They include his last letter, written before his last attempt to summit Everest, and three letters recovered from his body in 1999. These letters were discovered after 75 years in Mallory's jacket pocket.
The letters cover some fascinating topics, including the following:
The letters cover important topics such as Mallory's Everest expeditions, his participation in the First World War and his visit to the U.S. in 1923. His wife, Ruth's letters to Mallory are an important source for women's social history.
Archivists state that they have had a great pleasure in analyzing Mallory's and Ruth's letters. In Mallory's last letter to Ruth before his last Everest attempt, he wrote, “We are 50 to 1, but we are still hopeful and we will make ourselves proud.”
These letters offer an important insight into the life of the famous mountaineer and his experience of climbing Everest.
Source: Newsroom
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