National Geographic Traveller (UK)
THE BEST OF EVEREST
Complete with exclusive archive photographs, a new book celebrates 100
years since the first British reconnaissance climb of Mount Everest
This year marks a century since the first British mountaineering team made an ascent of Everest — one of five key expeditions that took place between 1921 and 1924 to tackle the summit of the world. Despite the bulky photography equipment of the time, these climbs brought back the most heart-stopping mountain photography ever seen.
Everest collates 268 photos of frozen gorges, glaciers and pinnacles, illustrating the story of these and subsequent expeditions. Commissioned exclusively for The Folio Society, it features seldom-seen archive photos from The Royal Geographic Society (RGS) — among them close-up shots of pioneering ascents, including the tragic 1924 expedition that claimed the lives of Mallory and Irvine. The triumphant, official climb of Hillary and Tenzing in 1953 is also documented, with commentary by award-winning mountaineering writer, Peter Gillman.
While Edmund Hillary’s shot of Tenzing Norgay on Everest’s peak ranks as one of the most famous news photographs of the 20th century, other scenes have barely seen the light of day since they were taken.
Accompanying A Photographic History, the second volume of this edition, An Eyewitness History, brings together first-person accounts from those who made the ascents. It’s all introduced by former National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, Wade Davis, with a preface from Jan Morris, the last surviving member of the 1953 expedition, who submitted her piece to The Folio Society prior to her death in 2020.
The Folio Society’s Everest: From Reconnaissance to Summit, 1921 to 1953, compiled and edited by Peter Gillman with an introduction by Wade Davis and preface from Jan Morris, is available exclusively from foliosociety.com/everest, RRP: £199.