The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-26 18:34:19
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Mark Synnott
- ISBN：B08D8JHFX5
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Summary
Veteran climber Mark Synnott never planned on climbing Mount Everest， but a hundred-year mystery lured him into an expedition--and an awesome history of passionate adventure， chilling tragedy， and human aspiration unfolded。
On June 8， 1924， George Mallory and "Sandy" Irvine set out to stand on the roof of the world， where no one had stood before。 They were last seen eight hundred feet shy of Everest's summit。 A century later， we still don't know whether they achieved their goal， decades before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay did， in 1953。 Irvine carried a Kodak camera with him to record their attempt， but it， along with his body， had never been found。 Did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit and take a photograph before they fell to their deaths？
Mark Synnott made his own ascent up the infamous North Face along with a filmmaker using drone technology higher than any had previously flown。 His goal: to find Irvine's body and the camera he carried that might have held a summit photo on its still-viable film。 Synnott's quest led him from oxygen-deprivation training to archives and museums in England， to Kathmandu， the Tibetan High Plateau， and up the North Face into a storm during a season described as the one that broke Everest。 An awful traffic jam of climbers at the very summit resulted in tragic deaths。 Sherpas revolted。 Chinese government agents turned adversarial。 An Indian woman crawled her way to safety and survival。 Synnott himself went off the safety rope--if he had slipped， no one would have been able to save him--desperate to solve the mystery。
A magnificent story a la The Lost City of Z， The Third Pole conveys the miracle of a mountain the world wants to own， and the first explorers who may have done so。
On June 8， 1924， George Mallory and "Sandy" Irvine set out to stand on the roof of the world， where no one had stood before。 They were last seen eight hundred feet shy of Everest's summit。 A century later， we still don't know whether they achieved their goal， decades before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay did， in 1953。 Irvine carried a Kodak camera with him to record their attempt， but it， along with his body， had never been found。 Did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit and take a photograph before they fell to their deaths？
Mark Synnott made his own ascent up the infamous North Face along with a filmmaker using drone technology higher than any had previously flown。 His goal: to find Irvine's body and the camera he carried that might have held a summit photo on its still-viable film。 Synnott's quest led him from oxygen-deprivation training to archives and museums in England， to Kathmandu， the Tibetan High Plateau， and up the North Face into a storm during a season described as the one that broke Everest。 An awful traffic jam of climbers at the very summit resulted in tragic deaths。 Sherpas revolted。 Chinese government agents turned adversarial。 An Indian woman crawled her way to safety and survival。 Synnott himself went off the safety rope--if he had slipped， no one would have been able to save him--desperate to solve the mystery。
A magnificent story a la The Lost City of Z， The Third Pole conveys the miracle of a mountain the world wants to own， and the first explorers who may have done so。
Reviews
Jason
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4。5 stars。 Absolutely riveting。
Tushar
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Well written travel memoir about the search for Irvine on Mt Everest。 With parallel writing on Mallory and Irvine’s journey。 I enjoyed reading the book。
Sharon McNeil
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Great Book about Mt。 Everest！ Every bit as exciting as Wade Davis' Into the Silence！！！ Great Book about Mt。 Everest！ Every bit as exciting as Wade Davis' Into the Silence！！！ 。。。more
Mark Rippy
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I wanted to like this book。 As a climber and someone who has read numerous books about Mt。 Everest since the 1970's， I looked forward to reading The Third Pole。 But instead I foundthe book anticlimactic， and while it provides a deep dive into the mystery of Mallory and Irvine including international intrigue and politics; the book suffers from a lack of focus。 Synnott’s narrative is a bit of a mishmash bouncing back and forth in time， characters， events， and locations。 Synnott neglects to includ I wanted to like this book。 As a climber and someone who has read numerous books about Mt。 Everest since the 1970's， I looked forward to reading The Third Pole。 But instead I foundthe book anticlimactic， and while it provides a deep dive into the mystery of Mallory and Irvine including international intrigue and politics; the book suffers from a lack of focus。 Synnott’s narrative is a bit of a mishmash bouncing back and forth in time， characters， events， and locations。 Synnott neglects to include discussing the results of the search with Tom Holzel， who was the impetus for the expedition。 And while Synnott did successfully summit Mt。 Everest， that climb was insufficient to carry the book。 For readers with an interest in Mallory and Irvine and all the minutiae of locating Irvines’ body， this book is somewhat intriguing。 Readers looking for an exciting read of a Mount Everest expedition might look elsewhere。 。。。more
Emily Schnabl
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Everest books are a guilty pleasure。 This is one of the finest of the lot。 A lot of detail but also reflection on ethical dilemmas and the pull of the mountain。 I have had trouble concentrating during the pandemic but this gripped me。
Alastair Cook
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Good book to join panoply on enduring Everest mysteryInteresting read focussed on new technologies which may reveal the truth behind the Mallory/Irvine mystery。。。。 BTW Mark Inglis is a New Zealander not an Aussie
Meag McKeron
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If you have any interest in Everest or mountaineering in general， this is a welcome addition to books on the topic。 I found the history surrounding Mallory and Irvine to be particularly interesting， but of course the moments when the author describes his own experience on the mountain are often jaw-dropping/heart-stopping/nightmare-inducing （for me， anyway）。 For anyone who read Into Thin Air and is curious how Everest climbing culture has changed since then， this is a well-done modern take。
Kathleen Gray
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I know that I am never going to climb Everest but this well researched and quite gripping book made the back of my head tingle a bit with a desire to experience it。 Not。 Synnott did this climb to find a camera -and perhaps the body- of Andrew Irvine， who， along with George Mallory， may have summited in 1924。 He's detailed both men's lives， as well as what is known about their efforts， but what made this different and more valuable for me was the information about the region。 He examines not just I know that I am never going to climb Everest but this well researched and quite gripping book made the back of my head tingle a bit with a desire to experience it。 Not。 Synnott did this climb to find a camera -and perhaps the body- of Andrew Irvine， who， along with George Mallory， may have summited in 1924。 He's detailed both men's lives， as well as what is known about their efforts， but what made this different and more valuable for me was the information about the region。 He examines not just the mountain but also the politics of the region。 Best of all， the details about the climb， which was made during the infamous 2019 season。 This is much more expansive than other books about climbing Everest and I learned a great deal。 Synnott has a good way with building tension and his writing will pull you in and keep you turning the pages。 Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC， Armchair adventurers will love this one。 。。。more
Katie
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Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to summit Mt。 Everest in 1953…or was he？ Presented with new information about a possible first ascent in 1924， the author makes his first trip to Mt。 Everest to investigate。 The body of Sandy Irvine， who attempted Mt。 Everest in 1924 with George Mallory， has never been found。 With him might lie a camera with proof they made it to the summit of Mt。 Everest 29 years prior to Hillary and Tenzing Norgay。 Synnott writes a compelling story that combines the 2019 Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to summit Mt。 Everest in 1953…or was he？ Presented with new information about a possible first ascent in 1924， the author makes his first trip to Mt。 Everest to investigate。 The body of Sandy Irvine， who attempted Mt。 Everest in 1924 with George Mallory， has never been found。 With him might lie a camera with proof they made it to the summit of Mt。 Everest 29 years prior to Hillary and Tenzing Norgay。 Synnott writes a compelling story that combines the 2019 season on Everest， historical attempts to climb Mt。 Everest， and mountaineering culture as a whole。 Although I personally enjoyed every aspect of the book， it is a long book and there are parts of the book where the lay reader may lose interest。 For example， I had followed Cory Richards and Topo’s 2019 attempt at a never-before-climbed route， but the time spent discussing Richards’ troubled childhood seemed a little out of place in this book。 All in all， I highly recommend The Third Pole for fans of mountain climbing or who want to know “Why climb Everest？” 。。。more
Sarah Bowe
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This was an interesting look into Mark's quest to find the body of Sandy Irvine who was lost on Everest in 1924。I like that there is a history of stories throughout the book。 Often the stories are harrowing。 There are so many things that can happen to even a very experienced climber。 I enjoyed learning about the many expeditions that people have undertaken to climb this mountain。 It also reaffirms my stance on never wanting to do this myself。 I am content to read or watch movies about others who This was an interesting look into Mark's quest to find the body of Sandy Irvine who was lost on Everest in 1924。I like that there is a history of stories throughout the book。 Often the stories are harrowing。 There are so many things that can happen to even a very experienced climber。 I enjoyed learning about the many expeditions that people have undertaken to climb this mountain。 It also reaffirms my stance on never wanting to do this myself。 I am content to read or watch movies about others who do it。 。。。more
William Lowe
，
Mark Synnott's The Third Pole will transport you to Mount Everest during the 2019 climbing season as he searches for the remains of Sandy Irvine that may help prove the British summited Everest in the 1920s。 Through extensive research from the original British Everest expedition as well as the 1960s China Expedition Mark set out to solve a mystery almost 100 years in the making。 Mark shares with the reader not only his story but the story of people he meets along the way。 Showing that there isn' Mark Synnott's The Third Pole will transport you to Mount Everest during the 2019 climbing season as he searches for the remains of Sandy Irvine that may help prove the British summited Everest in the 1920s。 Through extensive research from the original British Everest expedition as well as the 1960s China Expedition Mark set out to solve a mystery almost 100 years in the making。 Mark shares with the reader not only his story but the story of people he meets along the way。 Showing that there isn't a single answer to the question， “Why are you climbing Mount Everest？”。 The Third Pole is a thrilling book that really grabs the reader with the sense of adventure and danger。 Before setting foot on the mountain you are on a treasure hunt while Mark uses modern technology to analyze the mountain to aid in the search for Sandy。 By the end of the book I was drained and felt like I had been on Mount Everest myself。 The Third Pole was hard to put down， you just didn’t know what was going to happen next once they were on Mount Everest。 。。。more
Holli
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