Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine

On June 8, 1924, famed British mountaineer George Mallory and his climbing companion Andrew Irvine left their high camp on Mt. Everest bound for the summit, only to disappear into the clouds and never be seen again. Did they make the summit? What was their fate? Produced by veteran filmmaker David Breashears (Everest), who has summited Everest four times, this intriguing updated NOVA episode takes another look at the final Mallory expedition. If Mallory made it to the top of Mt. Everest, he did it nearly 30 years before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made their historic ascent in 1953 (although as Hillary points out in the film, while making it to the top of Everest is cool, making it back down alive is cooler). A number of reputable alpine climbing vets offer their insights and opinions regarding the Mallory expedition, plus the two surviving members of Mallory's '24 expedition, Noel Odell and Captain John Noel, provide eye-witness information (both men have died since their segments were filmed). In the end, Breashears has no definitive answers, but the topic is endlessly fascinating, his film is very well done, and anything Everest-related is still very popular. Recommended. Aud: I, J, H, C, P. (P. Van Vleck)