THEN AND NOW
Of an astonishing Chinese conspiracy to hide the to force Everest to reveal final secret after 97 years
the US, added: “When Jochen and I interviewed the old Chinese climbers from the 1960 Chinese expedition, one of them, Xu Jing, had clearly seen another dead body at 8,300m. At that time, Mallory and Irvine were the only two dead people up there. So, no question that Irvine was there, and was found by the Chinese in 1960. Whether the Chinese subsequently disposed of him, or whether nobody has been able to find him again, who knows? That is the mystery.”
When last seen by their teammate Noel Odell, Mallory and Irvine were making confident progress, a vertical 800ft below the summit, where Mallory had pledged to place a picture
Matt Irving of his wife. Moments later, they were enveloped in swirling cloud. When it cleared they had vanished. When Mallory’s body was found his pockets were searched but the photo was not among his belongings. Did he leave it at the summit? Only Irvine’s camera could hold the answer.
Synnott, who after a lifetime of professional climbing with a string of major feats under his belt including repeatedly scaling Yosemite’s towering El Capitan, was jaded by the commercially guided tourism on Everest and had determinedly ignored it. It was only after a presentation by his friend, the award-winning cameraman
Thom Pollard that he admitted to catching the “Irvine fever”. He spent months researching and training for the gargantuan task to find him. Aided by an aerial photo from 1986 explorer Tom Holzel that pinpointed the spot where Xu Jing said he had seen the body in a crevice-like feature at about 27,500ft, he also had the advantage of using drones.
Synnott, whose expedition was featured in the National Geographic documentary Lost On Everest, reached the summit, sending his wife a selfie, before tackling the most dangerous part of the mission, the descent. Two hours later his GPS told them they were within 200ft of Holzel’s Spot. It was time for Synnott to venture off the relative safety of the fixed ropes and search.
Reliving that death- defying moment, he said: “The moment I left the rope, Lhakpa Sherpa yelled, ‘No, no, no! Very dangerous, very dangerous!’ As a veteran climber and guide who had summited Everest multiple times, he knew that one bad slip on the loose scree and I could plummet 7,000 feet to the Rongbuk Glacier.
Part of me agreed with him and wanted to call it off.” But Synnott ignored all warnings and promises made to family back home. He admitted: “The mystery of Irvine’s disappearance was too strong.”
Alone and scared, he edged his way towards the crevice. Though searchers in 1933 and 2004 had passed through, none, according to Holzel had been to the spot. Between his legs, he could see the void beneath and the glacier a mile below. He recalled: “I was focused on survival and nothing else. They were perhaps the most power-charged moments of my life.”
But when he reached the spot there was no body. The crevice he had seen on the drone photos had been an optical illusion. The crack was only nine inches wide. He said: “I don’t think the body was in that area. If it was, we would have seen it on the photos. I spent hours looking with a magnifying glass. There’s nothing there.”
Mallory’s body is also reported to have gone missing from his mountain grave despite repeated searches of the site. Synnott had planned to go to China to investigate, but Covid-19 hit, banning travel there. He reveals that task will no longer be his. “Now my book is finished, that interview is up to someone else. I very carefully said what I wanted to say. I did it thoughtfully in a conscientious way.
“I found a top secret Chinese document about the 1960 expedition. I had it translated. That, as far as I know, has never been seen by anyone in the Western world. I state all the facts in the book and I let people decide for themselves what they think. I feel my job is done.”
So does he think they made it to the summit in 1924? “I don’t know, but I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt. Just the fact that they got where they did is enough. I am in eternal admiration.”
The Third Pole: My Everest Climb to Find the Truth About Mallory and Irvine is out now published by Headline
Modern day climbers dress very differently to the intrepid 1924 pioneers in their gabardine coats and nailed boots but despite the science improving, the principles remain the same.
In 1924 climbers layered natural materials such as silk and wool for warmth. Modern breathable synthetic materials dramatically improved wind and waterproofing.
Mallory’s 20lb, twotank system held 1,070 litres of oxygen – good for about nine hours. One modern tank weighs the same but holds about twice the oxygen.
Early climbers tied rope around their bodies for safety. Before Mallory’s rope snapped, the tug caused rib damage, unheard of with modern harnesses.
Twisted flax ropes had little stretch and could easily snap. Today’s ropes are more than twice as strong, lighter, and more durable, and stretch to absorb any falls.
Once used to cut steps into the ice, axes today are carried mainly to prevent and arrest falls. Fixed ropes and crampons eliminate the need to cut steps.
A thick felt midsole insulated Mallory from cold boot nails. Modern boots are waterproof and better insulated, and feature built-in gaiters.