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Watch Historical Everest Exhibition Live on Sept. 27

Canadian Edward Oliver Wheeler was on the expedition that first reached the North Col in 1921

On Sept. 27, The Alpine Club will broadcast a livestream of a new exhibition called Everest: by Those Who Were There. The U.K. club, which was founded in 1857, will have show the event on their Facebook page.

The exhibition marks the centenary of the first Everest expedition in 1921, which a Canadian was part of, and uses journals and memorabilia from 1921, 1922 and 1924 to tell the story of the first attempts in 1921, to the fateful summit attempt of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine in 1924.

The livestream will be presented by Alpine Club librarian Beth Hodget and will provide viewers with both an overview of the 1920s expeditions and the opportunity to see many of the artifacts on display, including the watercolour paintings of Howard Somervell, a piece of the mountain itself and Sandy Irvine’s ice axe.

In a press release, Barbara Grigor-Taylor said: “During the past 18 months it’s been especially hard, and at times impossible, for everyone who might wish to attend the exhibition to make their way to see it in person. That’s why we’re so excited to be able to offer this opportunity for as many people as possible to receive a tour of the exhibition online.”

The three 1920s expeditions to Everest were jointly organized by the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society. The 1922 and 1924 Everest Expeditions succeeded in climbing above the mountain’s North Col, with Edward Norton setting a world altitude record of 8,572 metres in 1924. And on June 6, 1924, George Mallory and Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine departed to make an attempt on Everest’s summit. The pair disappeared during the attempt, giving rise to the still lingering question of whether they succeeded.

Dave Hahn on finding Mallory’s body:

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