Chasing Mallory's Dream

When George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared on Mount Everest in 1924, the British nation mourned their loss. But soon, other mountaineers focused again on the challenge of climbing Everest or another major Himalayan peak. The British were determined, but faced competition from German mountaineers, who by the 1920s were climbing at a much higher standard.

Chasing Mallory’s Dream tells the story of the first British attempts on Everest and the competition with German climbers in the Himalayas. All of the mountaineers were affected by the First World War: some were veterans of the trenches, others were raised in its shadow. Both countries saw Himalayan climbing as a route to national renewal, a sentiment reinforced in Germany by the arrival of the Nazi regime, which encouraged reckless risk-taking for national glory. The attempts to realise ‘Mallory’s dream’ involve some of the most dramatic stories, poignant tragedies and fascinating characters in mountaineering history. Recounting these perilous expeditions allows us to explore the motives of the participants and their contrasting attitudes to risk, leadership and climbing style. Including striking archival photographs, this is a gripping narrative of Himalayan climbing between the wars.