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Was Mallory First To Conquer Everest?

  • Yes

    Votes: 8 21.6%
  • No, they didn't make it to the summit

    Votes: 2 5.4%
  • It doesn't matter. They didn't survive so it doesn't count anyway.

    Votes: 5 13.5%
  • No, it was Sherpa Tensing

    Votes: 4 10.8%
  • We'll never know for sure, so Hillary should get the credit

    Votes: 8 21.6%
  • No, it was probably some levitating monk

    Votes: 10 27.0%

  • Total voters
    37
Scott didn't conquer the south pole - what he did was far, far more important with his expedition. Scott a complete legend and the greatest of the explorers of that time even if he had his faults. Should have told the military to fuck off over Oates. Should have had Crean onboard in that final push.


So, by that logic, poor Laika couldn't claim to be the first dog in space, because she died before coming home.
 
But there wasn't any intention of returning Laika home alive.
 
No, the other dogs wanted her dinner.

Scott did much more scientific work thaan Admussen, didnt he? And thats what really counts.

`Conquering` sounds too colonialist, these days, doesnt it? You do not conquer a mountain (thought it may be part of territory you may conquer, of course) but after reading `Mountains of the Mind` by McFarlane, I think the mountains conquer you.

He came down hard upon poor mallory, i think, though it is a good book.

(
Says she whose hero is Maurice Wilson...)
 
IMO, the first person (pair really) ever to set foot on the summit of a mountain is the first person to have done it, even if they didn't come down alive. As the second pair could have technically seen the first pairs footprints. Or photos or whatever they might have left behind. Because they weren't the first people up there.
 
I saw a programme about the discovery of Mallorys body on Everest, they said he had a camera which may have photos on it proving once and for all if he summitted, last i heard they were going to attempt to process the film, anyone know if they did or not?
 
I saw a programme about the discovery of Mallorys body on Everest, they said he had a camera which may have photos on it proving once and for all if he summitted, last i heard they were going to attempt to process the film, anyone know if they did or not?
I might be wrong, but I think they knew he'd gone up with a camera and had hoped to find it, but I'm not sure whether they definitely did? If they did, I've not heard anything since about their being able to look at the pictures on there. Apparently GM wasn't very good at using the camera anyway.
 
Statistically, it is more common to summit a mountain like Everest or K2 or any of the 8000ers than it is to summit it AND come down alive. It'd probably be better if people viewed summitting and safely descending as equally important, but a lot of people reach the summit without giving enough thought to getting down again. Thus summitting is considered the achievement. That said, I don't think Mallory and/or Irvine made it to the top. GM was a wonderful climber, but no one had even seen the Hillary Step up close, let alone been up it. I mean, it's possible but...
 
Souleater; Mallory had no camera upon him. Its hoped Irving has it...we have not found him yet.

Going down is often the fatal bit, isnt it?

Ipso facto, dying before you summit does not count as summiting...
 
Souleater; Mallory had no camera upon him. Its hoped Irving has it...we have not found him yet.

Going down is often the fatal bit, isnt it?

Ipso facto, dying before you summit does not count as summiting...
Going down is also a lot quicker, if you dont do it safely
 
He never made it down so he never conquered Everest.
Figuratively speaking ...

Applying that criterion would imply Alexander the Great conquered nothing, insofar as he never made it back home (wherever it was one would consider 'home' in his case).
 
Figuratively speaking ...

Applying that criterion would imply Alexander the Great conquered nothing, insofar as he never made it back home (wherever it was one would consider 'home' in his case).
Somewhere in Mesopotamia i'd guess
 
Souleater; Mallory had no camera upon him. Its hoped Irving has it...we have not found him yet.

Going down is often the fatal bit, isnt it?

Ipso facto, dying before you summit does not count as summiting...
There's summit to think about with what your stating there 'Kondoru!'
 
Phew!

Can anyone tide that for me? I am not the most skilled in language
 
Applying that criterion would imply Alexander the Great conquered nothing, insofar as he never made it back home (wherever it was one would consider 'home' in his case).


Magellan never circumnavigated the globe...

Beowulf, although he conquered Grendal and Grendal's Mother, did not conquer the Dragon.
 
. . . if it wasn't for you kids and your DNA-tests, I'd have gotten clean away with it! :frust:
 
If you didn't make it down you didn't conquer Everest.
If you don't make it back down Everest conquered YOU.
`Conquering` sounds too colonialist, these days, doesnt it? You do not conquer a mountain (thought it may be part of territory you may conquer, of course) but after reading `Mountains of the Mind` by McFarlane, I think the mountains conquer you.
IMO, the first person (pair really) ever to set foot on the summit of a mountain is the first person to have done it, even if they didn't come down alive.
He never made it down so he never conquered Everest.
That's one criterion. There are others.
No one truly conquers a mountain, for the mountain only has to wait.

Hilary and Tensing are dead, but Everest will stand for many thousands of years, unaware and uncaring about being "conquered".

At best, you successfully climb and "summit" a mountain like Everest — and then you retreat in fear for your life. All you have proved is that on that day, in those conditions, you got to the top by that route, and stayed there briefly.

To say that Hilary conquered Everest is like saying Bonny Prince Charlie conquered Derby. (He made it as far as Derby with his army on 29th November 1745 before turning back.)

Whether or not Mallory made it to the top, Hilary and Tensing effectively climbed Everest "for the first time" because from their point of view at the time, no one had ever done it before, and therefore no one knew for certain that it could be done. Everything becomes easier when it is known to be possible.
 
The Summit of the Gods: French animated film based on a Japanese Manga comic. About mountaineering and Everest in particular. A photo-journalist encounters a Japanese climber who has been missing for years, he seems to have Mallory's camera. This could answer the question: did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit of Mount Everest? The climber has a chequered past, tragedies as well as triumphs. After the death of a young climber he had a breakdown. A quest ensues, not just for the camera as the photographer realises that he has to accompany the climber on his attempt to climb Everest. A tale of derring-do and an exploration of what motivates people to risk their lives in pursuit of a dream. The animation makes the terror of avalanches, slips and hanging from a rope come to life but also the triumphs of achieving an objective. The story of Mallory and Irvine is intertwined with a fictional tale of obsession to good effect. Directed & co-written by Patrick Imbert. On Netflix. 7.5/10.
 
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