Last Hours on Everest by Graham Hoyland: book review

Last Hours on Everest:

The Gripping Story of Mallory & Irvine's Fatal Ascent

by Graham Hoyland

It's customary to begin reviews of Everest books with the phrase "Much has been written on this subject." Well, much has indeed been written regarding George Mallory and Mount Everest, but as I hope to demonstrate in this review, I believe Graham Hoyland has a great deal of value to say on the subject — and might even have done more to solve the mystery of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine than any other individual to date.

In 1924, George Mallory and his companion Sandy Irvine perished near the summit of Everest, but nobody has ever been able to establish whether or not the pair actually made it to the top. Graham Hoyland has made it his life's work to find out the truth. He first heard about the mystery from his relative, Howard Somervell, who had been a member of the fateful 1924 expedition. Obsessed by the question since boyhood, he became a mountaineer so that he could climb Everest himself and search for the camera of George Mallory, long believed to be the most reliable piece of evidence that might help to prove or disprove Hoyland's theory that Mallory got to the summit.

The Mallory legend is a romantic one, which helps to explain why it has endured for so long. Mallory was talented, attractive, and had an obsessive relationship with the mountain he both hated and felt compelled to return to again and again. The notion that he may have reached the summit almost thirty years before the first recorded ascent, in 1953 — and with drastically more primitive equipment — is a romantic legend, and it's one that I have wanted to believe for a long time. Everyone seems to have a theory but the truth remains obscure.

Where Last Hours on Everest differs from all the other books on the subject is the fact that the author is a genuine expert on the subject. He has gone far, far beyond most other Mallory researchers, and his expertise — not to mention his obvious passion — helps to bring this story to life more convincingly than ever before.

Graham Hoyland has been to Everest many times, achieved the summit, searched the icy slopes for relics of 1924. The idea of recovering Mallory's body and finding evidence was originally his, and I was interested to read how control of the 1999 expedition was taken from him. Eventually Mallory's body was found by Conrad Anker and, although much valuable evidence was discovered, the way pictures of the corpse were distributed by the media caused considerable pain to Mallory's living relatives. Hoyland, who had planned to handle the matter far more sensitively, was also very upset and the entire episode damaged his reputation.

The author has actually climbed on Everest using exact replicas of the clothing and gear Mallory wore in the 1920s. This is a key piece of evidence, and the book explains how scientific testing (in addition to Hoyland's first hand experience of using the gear) strongly indicated that the gear would have been more than capable of keeping Mallory safe — provided he kept moving. In some respects it's superior to a modern down suit, and the idea that the pioneers wore "lounge suits" or rough tweeds is blown out of the water.

The question of how climbing on Everest has changed over the years is an important theme in this book. The early years of Himalayan exploration are portrayed as intrinsically heroic, but the author chronicles a process of slow change ending in the present era: an age of massive commercial expeditions and the reduction of risk and uncertainty.

The character study of Mallory is relatively brief, but insightful — and does not resort to hero-worship, like some other works. In fact I think Hoyland's ability to be objective and analytical is one of the best things about this book. He portrays Mallory as a talented climber, an intelligent man with a poetic mind, but also shows how he tended to drift through life without much drive or purpose, how he was absent-minded and forgetful, how he took unnecessary risks and put the lives of others in danger. His motivations are probed in detail; like other writers, Hoyland concludes that Mallory's experiences in World War I, coupled with an increasing need to distinguish himself and find something worthwhile to do with his life, contributed to his obsession with Everest.

This book is not just about long-dead climbers and whether or not they were the first to climb the world's highest peak. It's also the story of the author himself and how his life has been shaped by the mystery (and by the mountain). I admired his honesty in discussing how mistakes were made in the search for Mallory's camera, and the recovery of his corpse. It's clear that he was not to blame for the media calamity that followed, but the author is humble enough to acknowledge where he was naive or made mistakes.

The meaning of Everest itself, and climbing in general, is discussed in some depth. No two readers will come to the same conclusion on this but I think the author is more qualified than most to speak about what Everest really means to human beings. He has this to say on the issue of Himalayan tragedies:

"So my answer is, no, Mount Everest is not worth dying for, but I had to risk my life to understand the question."

After years of believing that Mallory reached the summit, he describes the legend as "a dangerous and seductive fable" that has indirectly resulted in more deaths on the mountain.

So, did Mallory and Irvine get to the summit of Everest? The answer is that we still don't have enough information. The author evaluates each piece of evidence carefully, placing great importance on some but dismissing others. Ultimately the most important relic — Mallory's camera, which may contain undeveloped film of a summit photo — remains hidden, and until it's found I don't think we will have an answer. As Hoyland says, however, it's very difficult to prove that they didn't reach the summit.

I admire the way the author's views changed from unwavering belief in the Mallory legend to a more more objective point of view. His analysis is sound. He favours simple theories over complex ones, looks critically at the evidence, and is not afraid to change his ideas to fit the science or the facts.

Some reviewers have complained that the book contains "too much Hoyland" and not enough Mallory. I'm afraid I simply don't agree. Mallory's side of the story has been told numerous times by numerous writers, but what makes this book compelling is that it's more than just Mallory-and-Irvine-did-they-or-didn't-they? For me what makes this book stand out is Hoyland's own story, which is full of both triumph and disappointment in equal measure. It's honest and unflinching in describing both.

This is not a book that aims to put Mallory on a pedestal, and it certainly doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but what it does offer is truth, sound reasoning, and a damned good tale told by a confident writer. It's a worthy addition to the canon of books on the subject of Everest and Mallory and I finished the book with a deep sense of respect for Graham Hoyland and his dedication to solving the Everest 1924 mystery.

Last Hours on Everest is available to purchase in hardback, Kindle, or paperback. The paperback edition was launched on the 8th of May. You can purchase a copy from Amazon here.

Full disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher. However, like all my reviews, it is written independently and without bias.

Book Spotlight - Last Hours on Everest by Graham Hoyland

Last Hours on Everest:

The Gripping Story of Mallory & Irvine's Fatal Ascent

by Graham Hoyland

I came home from work to an eagerly anticipated package today. It contained an advance copy of Graham Hoyland's new book, Last Hours on Everest, which has been available in hardback for a while but will be released as a paperback next month.

Like many recent books, this title concerns the history of Everest — specifically, the final climb of George Mallory. Graham Hoyland aims to reconstruct that final climb and provide the most complete picture yet of what really happened.

At first glance it might be easy to dismiss yet another speculative book about George Mallory and Everest, but what I think will set this one apart is the author's unique insight. Hoyland has climbed on Everest using clothing and equipment almost identical to the gear used by Mallory in the '20s, and he has studied the mystery for many years.

I'm really looking forward to reading this book, which I shall of course review in full on this website when I'm finished!

This title will be released in paperback on the 8th of May 2014. It is currently available to purchase in hardback and Kindle format.

Everest - The First Ascent by Harriet Tuckey: book review

Everest - The First Ascent:

The untold story of Griffith Pugh, the man who made it possible

by Harriet Tuckey

In my opinion this is the most important book on the history of mountaineering to have been published for many years. Hopefully this review will demonstrate why I think this is absolutely essential reading for anyone with an interest in high altitude climbing.

Everyone thinks they know the Everest story. On May the 29th, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit after a valiant battle against nature. The success of Everest was presented to the world as a triumph of human resilience and bravery against natural forces, but the role of science and technology was played down in favour of good old fashion heroism. At the time--this was 1953 and coronation week, after all--this is what the public wanted to hear and it became a classic tale and a subject of considerable British pride. Numerous books have been written on the expedition and what we think to be the truth has become part of accepted history.

However, this book paints an altogether different story--one of suppressed achievements and devious politics.

Background

Griffith Pugh was a physiologist and a member of the 1953 Everest expedition. This book, researched and written by his daughter Harriet, documents the remarkable contribution he made to the success of the expedition. At first I thought "the man who made it possible" was merely a punchy tagline, but as I read I came to see that it is no way an exaggeration. Pugh's work quite literally made the expedition succeed, and I have no doubt that without his contributions it would have failed catastrophically just like every other failed Everest expedition which depended on pluck and human daring instead of methodical scientific research.

The author is very critical of earlier Everest expeditions, many of which resulted in unnecessary loss of life or ended in farce, usually due to unscientific methods or a romantic, old-fashioned approach. The early part of the book takes a candid look at Everest politics and demonstrates how the British deliberately prevented other nations from reaching the summit before they could do it first themselves. I found Harriet Tuckey's objective, clinical style of analysis quite refreshing when compared to other mountaineering books which often fail to look at the bigger picture and focus on the climbing above all else.

Pugh's contributions

So just what did Pugh contribute? His pioneering experiments into human physiology revolutionised understanding of how the body copes with oxygen deprivation at altitude. He drew up the acclimatisation regime used by the climbers and also invented numerous items of specialist equipment, including the boots, tents, down clothing, stoves, and many other items. He was also responsible for the iron rule that all climbers at altitude must drink constantly to battle dehydration--thought to have been one of the main reasons that previous attempts to reach the summit failed.

The fact is that, despite what we have been led to believe, the ascent of Everest was a triumph of science and technology first and foremost. By 1953 the romantic era of mountaineering had come to an end. This was a new age, but many of the leading figures of the time fought it bitterly and for many years succeeded in keeping Pugh's contributions hidden.

Why was his work overlooked? The reasons are complex (you'll have to read the book to gain a full understanding!) but Griffith Pugh's abrasive and cantankerous personality seems to have been the main factor. This book is a detailed and compelling character study, building up an impression of a man who has a family yet frequently resents the demands they place on his life, who is insensitive and rude to others out of habit, who is careless with money, and who frequently sabotages his own career. Some people absolutely hated him and his relationship with Edmund Hillary was certainly rocky. Hillary is shown to take his place on the long list of people who failed to give full credit to Pugh, both for the 1953 expedition and other achievements later on.

Griffith Pugh is certainly not portrayed as a likeable man or a sympathetic character, but as I read the book I developed an admiration both for him and for the difficult personal journey of his daughter in researching these events and chronicling her father's life. This is a deeply touching story of an unhappy family trying to make things work despite the demands placed upon it by the central character.

Everest - The First Ascent is quite simply a compelling book and provides vital insights into the 20th century history of Himalayan mountaineering. It certainly transformed my view of the Everest challenge and the way it was approached and finally solved. In my opinion this should be mandatory reading for all scholars of mountaineering history, but there's so much more to this book which I haven't had time to put in this review for fear of making it long winded!

Everest - The First Ascent is available in both Kindle and hardback formats for £10.21 and £11.34 respectively.

"Dare to Dream" by Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton - book review

Dare to Dream

by Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton

Dare to Dream is the new book by Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton, available exclusively on Kindle. In May 2012, Matthew successfully climbed Everest as a member of the record breaking youngest ever team to climb the mountain. This book is the story of his dream--to climb Everest--and the extraordinary journey from first steps to the top of the mountain.

There is a glut of new books on Everest at the moment thanks to it being the 60th anniversary year, but for me Dare to Dream stands out in several ways. Firstly, Matthew is a young man. Although he had accumulated a decent amount of mountaineering experience by the time he set out for Everest, he isn't a seasoned climber. Why does this matter? His outlook on mountaineering is fresh, unspoiled by the quirks and hypocrisies of climbing culture, and full of enthusiasm and energy. In a genre packed with relatively cynical books this really is something new and I loved reading about how a relative newcomer to climbing looked at the unique pleasures and pains of the Everest challenge.

Matthew goes into a lot of detail in describing his adventures, but the book is in no way long-winded. He takes us through his first steps in planning how to get to Everest from a state of almost no climbing experience, building that experience up over the years, first Scottish winter season, first rock climbing trip, first big peak. His training routines are gruelling and demonstrate the lengths he was willing to go in order to achieve his goal. His first few expeditions to the greater ranges are also described vividly and throughout the book Everest looms as both a promise and a threat, overshadowing everything he does.

Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton
From http://www.matthewdthornton.com/matthew.html

The writing style is really engaging and Matthew's cheerful, optimistic nature shines through on every page. Matthew is the hero of his own book, and I mean that in the best possible sense: we cheer him on at every stage, commiserate with him when he encounters roadblocks and pitfalls, and feel every moment of triumph along the way. It's impossible not to admire his tenacity and willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve his dream, particularly when he's laid low by illness or altitude sickness.

He also tells his story with considerable humour and I found myself chuckling on most pages! Again, his fresh, optimistic outlook help in this regard and the humour adds a light-hearted dimension often lacking from books of this genre.

Unusually for a climbing book, Dare to Dream delves into the financial side of planning an Everest expedition. This remains something of a taboo even in 2013, probably due to the (often unfair) stigma attached to commercial expeditions. We all like to think of mountaineering as a purely sporting endeavour, but the fact is that modern Himalayan expeditions are expensive and must be paid for. His struggle to obtain funding was almost as gargantuan as the struggle to climb the mountain and yet again his tenacity is impressive. I really admired the frank and straightforward way in which the author approached this necessary evil and even found many positive aspects to it. This won't be to everyone's tastes--after all, a modern Everest ascent is not quite the romantic battle against nature it once was--but the book is unwaveringly honest.

For all of Dare to Dream's good qualities, the writing feels a little unpolished in places, but if anything this only serves to highlight the youthful enthusiasm of the adventure. Some will criticise him for being part of the huge queues on Everest in 2012 that resulted in several deaths, but I believe it's unfair to single out any individual person for the cumulative problems that surround Everest. It's also clear from reading Dare to Dream that the range of climbing abilities to be found on Everest that year varied considerably and it's obvious that Matthew's team were amongst the better prepared.

In conclusion

Dare to Dream stands out from the recent spate of Everest books in offering a fresh and honest perspective about what it's really like for a young person to climb the world's highest mountain in the 21st century. Regardless of your Everest opinions or politics it would take a hardened cynic not to be uplifted by this well-written tale of humour, adventure and perseverance, and in my opinion the book deserves to do well. I look forward to future adventures from this author!

You can download Dare to Dream here, exclusively on Amazon Kindle.

Visit his website here: http://www.matthewdthornton.com

Follow him on Twitter @MattDThornton

First look - EVEREST: THE FIRST ASCENT by Harriet Tuckey

On May the 29th, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the highest point on planet Earth. After fifty years of dreaming and hair-brained schemes, of failed expeditions and death, of legends and heroes, Everest had finally been climbed. It was a pivotal moment of the 20th century and marked the end of an entire chapter in the history of mountaineering - and the beginning of another.

2013 is the sixtieth anniversary year of the first ascent of Everest, and therefore the mountain is in the news a great deal at the moment. There have been high-altitude punch ups, tragedies, controversies galore, and of course Kenton Cool's remarkable Himalayan 3 peaks record. The traditional story of the first ascent of Everest is being re-told ad nauseum.

However, amongst all this relatively predictable deluge of Everest news, Harriet Tuckey's new book stands alone in offering something genuinely new.

Everest: The First Ascent is launched tomorrow in the UK and aims to tell the story of Griffith Pugh, one of Everest's forgotten heroes. Pugh was a pioneering physiologist who studied the effects of hypothermia on the body and contributed a vast amount of scientific research to the expedition, without the results of which Hillary and Norgay could not have reached the summit. Pugh also designed the acclimatisation programme, boots, tents, down clothing, stoves, and numerous other items of equipment which were to prove absolutely vital to the expedition's success. Despite his contributions, Pugh's name is almost unknown today. Harriet Tuckey's book aims to put the record straight.

The publisher has been kind enough to send me a review copy (it's a gorgeous hardback with many photos) and I will be reading it with great interest over the coming days. Look out for an in depth review soon!

Everest: The First Ascent is available to order here from Amazon for £12.60.

The Chomolungma Diaries by Mark Horrell

The Chomolungma Diaries - what a Commercial

Everest Expedition is Really Like

by Mark Horrell

Everest has been in the news a lot recently, and for all the wrong reasons. The press often seems to take a perverse delight in preying on the negative aspects on climbing the highest mountain in the world. Many of the complaints about Everest have become tired cliches, often repeated by armchair mountaineers who have never been anywhere near the mountain: "It's just a walk" ... "Everest is a complete circus" ... "No real mountaineer worth his salt would go near it" ... "It's overrun by rich idiots with no climbing experience." I'm sure you've heard them all, but are they true?

Mark Horrell's brilliant little book has a simple but noble aim: to tell the truth about Everest, from the perspective of a mountaineer who has actually been a member of a commercial expedition.

It's written in the manner of a travel diary. I was struck by the immediacy and honesty of the writing. There is no flowery prose or philosophising here; the author simply describes his Everest adventure in a straightforward but engaging way, taking us through the ups and downs of the expedition. He paints a vivid picture of Base Camp life (which largely consists of drinking!) and proves that Everest certainly is not a straightforward walk, even in the 21st century: it's a brutal struggle and a real challenge still.

He also proves that most people who tackle Everest are not rich idiots without an iota of climbing experience, but are experienced, dedicated mountaineers who have planned and saved for many years in order to realise their dream. The author's respect and admiration for the Sherpas is also tangible.

All in all this is a great travel book that (in my opinion) should be required reading for everyone with an interest in Everest. For a mountain surrounded with a great deal of hyperbole, legend, and half-truth, it provides a refreshing dose of honesty and perspective.

Further reading

Get the ebook here
The author runs an excellent blog - Footsteps on the Mountain. Two particularly relevant posts about Everest that I enjoyed:
Everest is not for climbers - you're joking aren't you!
5 media myths about Everest busted

The ugly side of climbing and mountaineering culture

~ Aleister Crowley in 1902 ~

I'd like to begin this post by apologising on behalf of climbers everywhere. Today mountaineering has been in the news, and for all the wrong reasons: it seems that Western climbers were involved in a fight (brawl? pitched battle?) high on Everest. Other news has also come to light today which can only lead me to conclude that the climbing world has temporarily lost its marbles. A number of readers have already been in touch to mention the similarities between recent developments and events in my novels.

Truth, it would seem, is stranger than fiction!

Death threats on Everest

News first began to circulate on Twitter, and the first article I saw was unfortunately by the Daily Mail and featured some very shoddy reporting. The article has now been updated with less blatantly false information, but at first it simply mentioned that a Swiss mountaineer called "Wool Stick" and some other Western climbers had been attacked by a mob of 100 Sherpas. "Wool Stick" is in reality no other than Ueli Steck, the "Swiss machine" and one of the world's top Alpinists--a climber capable of speed-soloing classic north faces.

At present the facts are hazy and we have no way of knowing precisely what happened, but it would appear that a disagreement between some Sherpas and the Western climbers (Ueli Steck, Simone Moro, and Jonathan Griffiths) escalated into violence, fighting, and death threats. The BBC's sparse account is probably the least speculative report on the incident available right now.

It's too early to determine exactly what happened, but it looks like it was an unpleasant situation for everyone involved.

The People's Climbing Front

The Works is a disused quarry in the Lake District which is used as a popular dry-tooling venue. Dry-tooling is the practice of climbing rock using ice gear and is great training for winter climbing, but controversial for the damage it causes to the rock. It also involves two other controversial topics for climbers: fixed bolts in the rock, and top-roping.

The Works was recently vandalised, rendering it unusable as a dry-tooling venue until re-equipped. Bolts were chopped and a huge amount of equipment stolen.

Today the British Mountaineering Council received an email claiming responsibility for the act ... from an organisation calling itself the "People's Climbing Front!" They claim that dry-tooling is eroding the ethics of winter mountaineering and promise to return the stolen equipment when climbers can tell the difference between "in" and "out" of condition. The concern here seems to be that dry-tooling is encouraging poor ethical standards elsewhere.

This is a classic example of a climbing ethics panic. When people are seen to be climbing winter routes in dry conditions, or top-roping hard climbs and claiming an ascent, tempers tend to get raised. Bolting is another contentious subject and in this case all three have combined to make a perfect ethical storm. Sometimes stupid acts of vandalism, such as bolt chopping or equipment theft, is the result.

Not in condition

Historical precedent: Aleister Crowley in the Himalaya

The K2 expedition (Crowley centre right)

In 1902, Aleister Crowley and Oscar Eckenstein (two characters who feature heavily in my fiction) were involved in an early attempt to climb K2, the second highest mountain in the world. Although the attempt reached the remarkable height of 6,525m, it ultimately failed due to personality clashes. Crowley pulled a revolver on Guy Knowles, who proceeded to knee Crowley in the groin. Knowing Crowley I have no doubt that his selfish personality was the chief cause of the disharmony, and there are numerous reports of Crowley treating his native guides very badly, possibly having them flogged. The team beat a hasty retreat.

Crowley returned to the Himalaya in 1905, this time making an attempt on Kangchenjunga. On this expedition the outcome was even worse: four people (including three native porters) died in an avalanche, and instead of attempting to rescue them, Crowley simply sat back and drank his tea, later claiming that he had no sympathy whatsoever. Once again there are reports of Crowley beating his porters.

These events prove that conflicts between both individuals and cultures have been an unfortunate feature of Himalayan mountaineering since it began. Although I think it would be unwise to draw too many parallels between recent events on Everest and Crowley's insanity in the early 20th century, it's clear to see that when great ascents and reputations are to be made, tempers can fray and violence can ensue. They call it "summit fever" and it's perhaps the ugliest face of mountaineering.

Historical precedent: O.G. Jones and the first ethics panic

Jones climbing on Gable

In 1897, O.G. Jones made the first ascent of the Kern Knotts Crack, a short climb on Great Gable now graded Very Severe. He had chosen to make the "first ascent" after a number of attempts at the climb suspended from a top rope and aided by his friends the Abraham brothers. It was, in short, an extensively pre-practiced ascent, and the ethically aware climbers of the era were quick to cry foul. A climb must be done on-sight and without a top rope or it isn't a first ascent, they said. We still adhere to the same basic principle today: an on-sight lead is considered one of the most pure forms of climbing.

Aleister Crowley, who had already taken a dislike to Jones (see Crowley's Rival), did his best to stir the incident up into a major row. Jones was accused of cheating and climbing ethics as we know them today--poorly defined, easily broken, and subject to controversy--were born. The incident proves that as far back as 1897 climbers were arguing over style and trying to destroy the reputations of others.

Have we learned anything at all?

I've chosen to mention the escapades of Crowley and Jones to highlight my point, but there are numerous examples throughout history that demonstrate the ugly side to mountaineering. I could mention the legendary clash of personalities surrounding the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, the rivalry on the Eigerwand in 1936, or Everest itself on many occasions. Climbing ethics continue to be a prickly subject and enormous arguments frequently erupt both online and at the crag over activities that one group or another considers questionable.

Sometimes it seems that not much has changed in over a century. We are still prone to petty jealousies, our egos are still easily dented, and we still fall prey to summit fever. Some climbers continue to climb in ways that others consider cheating, and others continue to violently react to any perceived erosion of climbing ethics. We still argue about top-roping and bolting and the grade of Three Pebble Slab.

On the other hand, I give you this image:

James Roddie high in the Cuillin, June 2010

What could be better?