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Set 8, posted May 23, 1999
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Comment:

You have done an extraordinary thing. I was brought up on this great mystery—one of the fond myths of a bygone age, which is now not solved conclusively, and may never be. At least a new generation can not only partake in this extraordinary mountaineering legend, but gain respect for the pioneers, of whom the greatest was Mallory. I liked the way your team had such respect for men worthy of respect, equipped as they were with what would today be considered barely adequate equipment for a winter walk, tackling an altitude that not even planes or balloons had reached at that time. I hope future expeditions will go back and find also Irvine, and whatever artifacts one can. As for memorials for Mallory & Irvine, Everestis their own best headstone, as imperishable as the courage and will ofthese great and courageous ancestors.

We are even today brave, cosseted however by so much technology that can assist us. What men like these did back then was bravery beyond courage, equipped with a pittance of technological assistance. We shall not see their like again. Mallory's last act of endurance during his fall deserves to be recognized; the tenacity to the end, the struggle and fight against the ice and rock to his last breath. Did he ever reach the top of Everest? I think his spirit was carried that last 1000 or 600 or six feet - whichever distance it may have been, no matter what happened to his body and in a very real way, yes Mallory made it, and now we know. Thank you very much.

Peter V. Giraudo
Nairobi, Kenya



Comment:

Just a note to congratulate you all on a fantastic site. My nine-year-old daughter is doing a project for school on the mystery of Mallory & Irvine and your site has provided the most wonderful information for her to use. In fact this is the first school project she has really enjoyed!

Good luck and keep up the good work.

Kind regards,

Liz & Bonnie Stephenson
Main Ridge, Victoria, Australia



Comment:

I live in Southwestern Alberta in full view of and less than half an hour's drive into the Rockies. Until now, when I looked at them it was to think of them as "what a nice picture that would make with a camera or oil paints." Now I think: "what would it be like to climb up that one or that one over there - to reach the peak and look around and think that I did it."

Thank you for expanding my view.

P.S. Your dispatches have increased my understanding of the risks and challenges that climbers of Everest face. As an ex-Kiwi, your dispatches have increased rather than decreased my respect for Sir Edmund's achievements (and for all of you who went before or since he took the challenge). It would not bother me at all if you found that Mallory and Irvine made the top. Good luck in your endeavors.

(name witheld by request)



Comment:

Dear Mountain Team,
Congratulations for making it up to the top!!! At my school we are doing a mini-project on the dispatches. We are all assigned a dispatch, and we have to give a presentation on it. My dispatch was May 12, "Last Trip Up." Very interesting and descriptive (all of them were). Keep up the great work.

(name witheld by request)



Comment:

The following poem resulted from my obsession with this fascinating website:

FINDING MALLORY

"To refuse the adventure is to run the risk of drying up like a pea in its shell"
George Leigh Mallory (1886-1924)

Frozen into rock and ice
        at 27,000 feet.
Good leg crossed over broken one,
        to cosset,
        staunch pain,
        anchor to earth.
Peaks surround this spot
        like ragged metaphors.
Layers of tweed and wool
        torn away by spindrift,
        ride the wailing wind.
Bruises still mar the antique ivory carcass.
Frayed hemp winds the waist.
Naked fingers clutch
        at the slate roof of the world.

Judith Dye
Cheshire, CT



Comment:

This is a fantastic Web site! You have managed to put together a tremendous amount of information about Mt. Everest that would not normally be available, unless one were to look long and hard through libraries. I have had a personal interest in following the history of this mountain since I did an English paper on Everest back in college (1965). This is one of the first expeditions to bring the excitement directly to the rest of us via the Internet. The team should be very proud of themselves and their accomplishments.

Steve Anderson
Fountain Valley, CA



Comment:

When the news of the discovery of George Mallory's body on Mount Everest reached us, my family and I were completely amazed. George Mallory was my great-great-uncle, and I am grateful to the Expedition on Everest for clueing us in on such a key to our family's past. My father, Trafford, never thought he would see the day where he would see a picture of George Mallory's body! I know that Mallory was an exceptional man, being able to climb a mountain such as Everest back in 1924, "because it's there."

Last but not least, the dispatches from all team members have been superb. The various members come across clearly as individuals. May all of you accomplish your mountaineering dreams. And may all of you continue to write for we "armchair climbers." I look forward to reading Jochen [Hemmleb's] report on this trip at some later date.

Again, best of luck to all.

Elizabeth Doherty
Lancaster, PA



Comment:

I read about this expedition from an Indonesian sports magazine, and next ... I search the details about this on the Internet. I'm really impressed with all that you've done up there. It's a great step to search the truth!

Arief, Ajie S.
Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia




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