The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest
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- Create Date：2022-06-13 08:51:36
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- Author：Mark Synnott
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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
Daniel O’Grady
，
A fantastic book on the history， vicissitudes and appurtenances of the world’s highest mountain。 The Third Pole is a highly interesting and versatile investigation into Mt Everest， blending the history of Mallory and Irvine’s 1924 expedition with the author’s own journey to the Himalaya in pursuit of the concomitant mystery。 The book is a gripping， highly engaging and well balanced account of both the history and the sport of Everest。 Mark Synnott is a highly stimulating author， who identifies a A fantastic book on the history， vicissitudes and appurtenances of the world’s highest mountain。 The Third Pole is a highly interesting and versatile investigation into Mt Everest， blending the history of Mallory and Irvine’s 1924 expedition with the author’s own journey to the Himalaya in pursuit of the concomitant mystery。 The book is a gripping， highly engaging and well balanced account of both the history and the sport of Everest。 Mark Synnott is a highly stimulating author， who identifies a mystery， dwells on it and douses it with personal passion and then endeavours to climb the planet’s pinnacle for curiosity and for the satisfaction of summit fever。 He writes about all of this and more， creating a narrative of incredible flow and one which will keep you on the edge of your seat， such is the power of Synnott’s storytelling。 At times， this non fiction even reads like a novel， epitomising the holy grail of literature， which is to entertain as well as inform。 A cracking read。 。。。more
Mindi Stanley
，
Solid mix of adventure， tragedy， and politics。
SueBee
，
Last night I wrote a review about this book and at the end， I guess I hit “cancel” instead of “done” because it seems to have disappeared。 I’m WAY too lazy to try again， so here are some random thoughts in point form: - This is one climber’s story of how he attempted to find Sandy Irvine’s body （climbing mate of George Mallory） and his camera on Everest- Why is the camera a big deal？ I can’t spoil it for you。 Read the book！ - There’s a good dose of history along with storytelling of the climb。 B Last night I wrote a review about this book and at the end， I guess I hit “cancel” instead of “done” because it seems to have disappeared。 I’m WAY too lazy to try again， so here are some random thoughts in point form: - This is one climber’s story of how he attempted to find Sandy Irvine’s body （climbing mate of George Mallory） and his camera on Everest- Why is the camera a big deal？ I can’t spoil it for you。 Read the book！ - There’s a good dose of history along with storytelling of the climb。 Both interesting and well written I thought。 - Why do I like these books？ Who knows？- Might it be the trail of dead bodies on Everest？ Probably。 Not gonna lie。 I find all that fascinating。 - Climbers sure do face some tricky moral dilemmas- Climbing is super hard on the body and mind， in more ways than I realized- Sherpas are totally underrated - Wow re: the garbage up there- Yes， people died on this climb; not the author’s specific group but same window- The politics around permits and who can climb where！- Allegations about the Chinese government hiding stuff？ Wasn’t expecting that tidbit！ - Groups of Indian teenagers climb Everest？ I did not know that。 Overall quite entertaining and educational。 I know I’ll never find myself climbing up an 8，000 metre mountain。 A book like this allows me to see into a world I will never know and envision a climb I will never take。 From the safety of my bed I can contemplate the moral dilemmas climbers face， feel the anxiety of the “day Everest broke”， be a little judgey about this obsession with the mountain， and imagine the cold wind and delirium of high altitudes。 I’m not sure I liked this one as much as Into Thin Air but I was a bit bummed when it was over， so I guess that says something。 。。。more
Stephanie
，
Well-written， modern Everest book- if you like reading or watching docs on mountaineering this will be fun read。 It was also neat to have seen Renan Ozturk in Meru （and other climbers mentioned in other media） and see them play parts in the book。The history sections interspersed were an interesting way to structure the stories- I’m not entirely sure it was wholly successful （felt sometimes like I was being taken down Wikipedia rabbit holes） but I learned a lot and gained a deeper appreciation fo Well-written， modern Everest book- if you like reading or watching docs on mountaineering this will be fun read。 It was also neat to have seen Renan Ozturk in Meru （and other climbers mentioned in other media） and see them play parts in the book。The history sections interspersed were an interesting way to structure the stories- I’m not entirely sure it was wholly successful （felt sometimes like I was being taken down Wikipedia rabbit holes） but I learned a lot and gained a deeper appreciation for the logistics of trying to climb Everest in the 1920s。 The politics on climbing from the Chinese side are also fascinating。 What I also appreciated was that the author doesn’t feel the need to rehash a lot of famous mountain climbing disasters （like the ‘96 disaster from Into Thin Air） so it all felt very fresh。 。。。more
Ritvik Thakur
，
Fantastic narrative by Synnott。 It read like a novel a lot of the time。 The story of Mallory and Irvine is fascinating。 Synnott’s quest was equally as fascinating。 I might have enjoyed this more than Into Thin Air， but that may just be recency bias。
Lori Winslow
，
I read this book with my local book club， and this is a book I would not have picked up on my own - and I loved it。 The author is a very good story teller and does a great job weaving the history and the technical aspects into the overall story。 The deep dive into the drones， was the only area where I skimmed。 Even though I have no desire to climb Everest， it was fascinating to read about all those who do and the fact that they are willing to die to reach the top。
Karen
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Audio
Alessandro
，
Premetto che l'ho divorato ed è un libro che mi è piaciuto moltissimo。Tuttavia， devo sottolineare due criticità。 La prima è che il libro fa un po' "effetto minestrone"。 Immagino che sia voluto e che l'autore abbia voluto intenzionalmente mescolare diverse storie， ma alcune di esse sembrano essere messe un po' per fare volume。 È un peccato， perché tutte si meritano un posto nella letteratura dell'Everest， ma probabilmente si meritavano un volume a parte。 Non dico altro per evitare spoiler。La seco Premetto che l'ho divorato ed è un libro che mi è piaciuto moltissimo。Tuttavia， devo sottolineare due criticità。 La prima è che il libro fa un po' "effetto minestrone"。 Immagino che sia voluto e che l'autore abbia voluto intenzionalmente mescolare diverse storie， ma alcune di esse sembrano essere messe un po' per fare volume。 È un peccato， perché tutte si meritano un posto nella letteratura dell'Everest， ma probabilmente si meritavano un volume a parte。 Non dico altro per evitare spoiler。La seconda è la traduzione。 In generale la traduzione è di buona qualità， con una lettura scorrevole。 Tuttavia， in molte parti ci sono alcuni problemi con i termini （attenzione perché la prima volta che leggerete la via "standard" vi potrebbe andare di traverso il caffè， ma poi alla trentesima ci si abitua）， e in diversi tratti la costruzione appare eccessivamente letterale （avere una conversazione， avere una giornata， il "mio" ossigeno， ho bisogno che tu faccia e mille altre espressioni che appesantiscono di molto il testo， specialmente nelle parti più discorsive）。Comunque， per concludere， un gran bel libro， anche se molto "americano" nello stile， nella narrazione e nell'approccio generale。 。。。more
Joan Clemente
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Fascinating book。 I cannot understand why anyone would want to climb Mount Everest but accounts of someone who has done so are very interesting to me。 I have become fascinated with Mount Everest ever since I read "Into Thin Air"。 This account was so different from that one。 The politics involved （China Tibet Nepal） never really occurred to me until I read about them here。 It amazes me that the Chinese do not recognize Edmund Hillary's having summited in 1953 prior to the Chinese having summited Fascinating book。 I cannot understand why anyone would want to climb Mount Everest but accounts of someone who has done so are very interesting to me。 I have become fascinated with Mount Everest ever since I read "Into Thin Air"。 This account was so different from that one。 The politics involved （China Tibet Nepal） never really occurred to me until I read about them here。 It amazes me that the Chinese do not recognize Edmund Hillary's having summited in 1953 prior to the Chinese having summited in 1960， and then there's all the politics involved in getting permission from China to climb the North Face。 The expedition Mark Synnott was part of was trying to find an answer to did Mallory and Irvine Summit in 1924， so the Chinese were doing everything possible to impede their purpose and had a sherpa in their party as a spy trying to keep them from looking for any proof。 I learned a considerable amount about mountain climbing。 I'm not interested in doing so myself， but I am very fascinated with the experiences of those who have climbed Everest。 You do not have to be a mountain climber to be able appreciate this book。 。。。more
Alan Tague
，
I enjoyed this book。 While it got a little slow in some of the research aspects in England， the story of this expedition， interwoven with the Mallory-Irvine story was both interesting and compelling。 Watching the National Geographic film “Lost on Everest” was an interesting way to cap the experience with a visual representation of the quest。
Martha
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Mount Everest。 Looking for 1924 climbers Irvine and Mallory。
Marie Zahnle
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Spring 2019。 Eleven deaths on Everest。 Did they have to happen？ Does reaching the summit supersede reason and humanity？
Peter
，
If you were of a ghoulish temperament and wanted to find a place on Earth with lots of dead bodies lying undecomposed in the open， where would you go？ No， it's not Grand Central Station。 The answer is in Mark Synnott's entertaining and instructive The Third Pole: Mystery， Obsession， and Death on Mount Everest （2021）。 The title refers to Everest's role as the next exploration challenge after the North and South Poles。 Over 25，000 climbers have been permitted to climb Everest since the first exped If you were of a ghoulish temperament and wanted to find a place on Earth with lots of dead bodies lying undecomposed in the open， where would you go？ No， it's not Grand Central Station。 The answer is in Mark Synnott's entertaining and instructive The Third Pole: Mystery， Obsession， and Death on Mount Everest （2021）。 The title refers to Everest's role as the next exploration challenge after the North and South Poles。 Over 25，000 climbers have been permitted to climb Everest since the first expedition in 1921。 Over 300 bodies are strewn along its primary routes， a 1。2 percent death rate。 Those bodies are left where they fell and very few are entombed in a cairn—the time spent caring for the dead might well mean the living climber's death。 The causes of death are various: falls， avalanches， blizzards， exhaustion， cardiac arrest and stroke， and so on。 The majority of deaths from health incidents happen on the descent after the rarified air has debilitated the body's resources—as many as 70 percent of Everest's bodies died when descending from the summit。Mark Synnott is an accomplished climber， long infatuated with Everest， who summited Eaverest in the Rush of 2019 when Nepal and Tibet issued nearly 500 climbing permits for a short interval in late May: 160 attempted to reach Nepal's South Summit 300 feet below the main summit; about 340 were bound for Tibet's North Summit—the principle and more dangerous peak。 One source （climbing@alanarnette。com） reported that each morning "hundreds" would set off from base camp for Everest's summit。 The Author on Mount Everest， 2019The glue that ties the book together is the 1924 disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew （"Sandy"） Levine， last seen briefly from base camp， was within 800 feet of the 29，000-foot summit on the Tibetan North Face。 Mallory was on his third attempt after failures in 1921 and 1923; Levine was in his first attempt。 These were the early days of oxygen assistance when the equipment was both minimal and heavy， and safety gear was， by modern standards， literally a thin and weak rope。Mallory was an accomplished climber who had been an artillery officer at the Battle of the Somme; Levine was a much younger and far less experienced climber who on the 1924 climb because he was knowledgeable in the engineering and maintenance of oxygen equipment and he had the one necessary attribute of a climber—grit。 They carried with them a small （for those days） Kodak box-type camera that might answer a burning question at the Royal Geological Society—were Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay the first to summit Everest in 1953？ The answer depends on whether Mallory and Irvine were last seen on their way up or on their way down。 That little box could hold a victory photo， and even today that negative might still be well preserved by the frigid and airless high Himalayan environment。 If so， Mallory and Levine were first。Mallory's body was found in 1999。 He had fallen at the treacherous Third Step。 One ankle was badly broken， his body was battered and he had a gaping golf-ball-size hole in his forehead—speculation is that he was struck in the forehead by his ice ax during the fall。 But after 75 years his corpse was still fresh。 He was left where he fell and covered by a cairn with one leg exposed。 He was not carrying the camera， nor did he have a photo of his wife that he planned to leave on the summit， suggesting that he had reached the summit and left the letter behind。Irvine's body has never been found， nor has the camera。 The only item of Irvine's that has been found is his ice ax， discovered by climbers in 1933。 During his investigation， Synnott was directed to an American Everest researcher named Tom Holzel。 Holzel told Synnott that years earlier he had met a Chinese climber who told him that on a 1975 Everest expedition he had come across an "English's " body。 The Chinese climber gave Holzel a copy of a photo of the area where he'd found the foreigner's body。 Holzel had that photo enlarged to a six-foot height。 On the enlargement was a tiny five-millimeter long red spot that Holzel called "the Red Slash。" That five millimeters would be only 3 one-thousandths of the photo's size， very possibly a flaw in the original negative， a discoloration produced by the enlargement， or—perhaps—Irvine's body？ We'll follow Synnott as he searches for the Red Slash。 Synnott does a magnificent job of keeping our attention as he Sherlocks his way through numerous interviews， contacts， archives， museums， and other sources to give us some—but not all—of the answers。 Meanwhile， bodies accumulate on Everest—during the Rush of '19 when hundreds climbed Everest's North Face in a very short period of good weather， they all trudged past a number of bodies that had collected along the way and were still lying in the open air。 As they descended they left additional corpses。Whether Irvine is found or not fades into the background as Synnott tells us the history and methods of climbing Everest。 I found this to be the most interesting part of the book: the insights into the climber's psyche， the hardships experienced， successfully by most and fatally by some。 As someone who can't stand on a kitchen table without a belaying line， this will always mystify me。 Why do so many want to climb Everest？ Perhaps George Mallory said it best。 Because its there！ Still， it's sad that now the mountain has been reduced to a tourist destination。 Next there will be a tramway to the summit。 。。。more
KB
，
Mark Synnott's The Third Pole has an interesting premise: the search for the body of Sandy Irvine - member of the 1924 Mount Everest expedition where he and partner George Mallory died， leaving a mystery as to whether they actually summited。 But unfortunately， there's just too much going on in this book， resulting in a muddled narrative and a fairly unsatisfying conclusion。Initially， I was really enjoying it。 I thought the contrast between Synnott's involvement in the preparation for the search， Mark Synnott's The Third Pole has an interesting premise: the search for the body of Sandy Irvine - member of the 1924 Mount Everest expedition where he and partner George Mallory died， leaving a mystery as to whether they actually summited。 But unfortunately， there's just too much going on in this book， resulting in a muddled narrative and a fairly unsatisfying conclusion。Initially， I was really enjoying it。 I thought the contrast between Synnott's involvement in the preparation for the search， and the background on Mallory and Irvine was very interesting。 I haven't read a book specifically about the 1924 expedition yet， so it was very informative。 But unfortunately the book loses steam once Synnott and his team reach Everest， which you'd think would actually be the best part of the book。Synnott does have a bit of a tendency to go on tangents。 Early on， it seemed like these asides were contained enough and often made for engaging reads。 But as the book progresses， especially as the search group gets to Everest， these tangents sort of balloon out of control and pretty much become the focal point as the books shifts gears。 It almost feels like the search is nearly abandoned， because by this point it becomes more of a generic Everest climbing-experience book; we're getting biographies of the people Synnott's on the mountain with， and what happens to them while they're there。 And this can go on for pages and pages at a time。 It's like， why am I reading this？ What does this have to do with the search？ This almost takes over the latter portion of the book， so the search - the whole reason they're there - gets lost。I won't 'spoil' the ending， but it feels like the book largely amounts to nothing。 The time spent on the mountain has very little to do with the search。 And it's almost funny - at the beginning of the book， Synnott goes on about how he "wasn't interested in Mount Everest at all。 I saw the mountain as a place overrun with inexperienced climbers who stacked the odds in their favour by outsourcing the most significant risks to the climbing sherpas， who carried the weight of everyone's egos on their shoulders-and frequently paid with their lives。" There is obviously a discussion to be had on this topic。 But， but， Synnott goes and does just that。 The team nearly sacrifices the search for their own summit push。 He ends up no different than anyone else 。Maybe I've worked myself into a bit of a mountaineering fatigue， but I just kept getting more and more annoyed as I read this。 I guess if you're looking for an Everest book that's sort of but not really about the search for Sandy Irvine's body， this may be just the book for you。 If you don't mind that it's more of a generic Everest book， you'll probably enjoy The Third Pole。 But I found it confused in what it wanted to be， and the core story very muddled。 。。。more
Glenda
，
Like some other reviews， I agree that Mark Synnott wasn't entirely certain what this book was going to be - the story of Mallory and Irvine's summit？ the search for Irvine？ his own quest for the Everest summit？ history of climbing Everest？ It ends up as all of that along with a bit of geopolitical consideration， conspiracy theory， and 。。。 I'll say mystery to avoid being too spoilery。 To touch on the geopolitical - "[。。。] the Chinese have never officially acknowledged the British first ascent of Like some other reviews， I agree that Mark Synnott wasn't entirely certain what this book was going to be - the story of Mallory and Irvine's summit？ the search for Irvine？ his own quest for the Everest summit？ history of climbing Everest？ It ends up as all of that along with a bit of geopolitical consideration， conspiracy theory， and 。。。 I'll say mystery to avoid being too spoilery。 To touch on the geopolitical - "[。。。] the Chinese have never officially acknowledged the British first ascent of Everest in May of 1953。" and the rumors about what happened to Irvine and the camera are intriguing but also I found myself wondering why/how these did not surface prior to the trip。 Also， did they really NOT tell the Sherpas they hired what their original purpose was （not to summit but to search）？ The book is a very engaging read， and for me， at times an infuriating one - not at the author but that he's bringing to light those things that I think are bad about Everest climbs - the seeming exploitation and lack of value placed on the Sherpas and their contribution to the climbs and the trash （and therefore disrespect） the people leave behind -- "garbage heap laid out before me looked more like a Third World landfill than the staging point below the most glorious summit in the world。 There was so much trash strewn about the camp， I could barely see the ground underneath。" "'The whole attitude towards climbing Mount Everest has become rather horrifying。 The people just want to get to the top。 They don't give a damn for anybody else who may be in distress。' Hillary said that on his expedition in 1953， it would have been absolutely unthinkable to leave someone 'lying under a rock to die。' Modern Everest climbers， he said， have completely lost sight of what was important。'" （Edmund Hillary， New Zealand Hearld）I get it， it becomes about one's own survival。 But even the author mentions stepping over/around no less than 6 bodies on his way to the summit。 How are we really okay with this as human beings？ I admit I don't understand the desire to climb Everest （or the other equally or more daunting peaks） and I definitely don't understand how to step over the dead or dying with nonchalance。 That's perhaps why these sorts of books about extreme sports fascinate me - trying to understand what drives those who do。 But anywho。。。 the difference in the climbing gear in the 1920's and to date is striking。 How did they not just freeze to death on arrival？ There's a great set of photos in the back of the book and more to be found on Google from the Mallory expedition， and while you're at it - Google Renan Ozturk and check out his AMAZING AMAZING work。The book flips back and forth in comparison to the author's climb and what was determined from an extensively researched set of letters， diaries， and interviews of what is believed to have been Mallory and Irvine's climb。 It digresses at times into the stories of other climbers that were on Everest that same year （and their stories of survival or not） that add interest but again are what makes it seem to veer from the purpose。 By the way， the reference sources in this book are very impressive。 Synnott did a vast amount of research。 Admittedly， I did end up searching the internet for answers to some of the questions before the end of the book as the suspense was getting to me， but that didn't at all make the book less interesting。Definitely a good read to add to your list if you like Everest or climbing stories。 I would also highly， highly recommend checking out the movie Sherpa （which gets a mention in the book）。 http://sherpafilm。com/ 。。。more
Katy
，
It's not the book I thought I was reading in the beginning， but I really enjoyed this Everest story。 I think the most interesting bits are about China， which I had never really read about - even though I have read probably 6 different Everest stories。 It's spoilery to say much about it， but the ending （re: China） was kind of fascinating and I haven't stopped wondering since！ I would recommend it for Everest fans。 It's not the book I thought I was reading in the beginning， but I really enjoyed this Everest story。 I think the most interesting bits are about China， which I had never really read about - even though I have read probably 6 different Everest stories。 It's spoilery to say much about it， but the ending （re: China） was kind of fascinating and I haven't stopped wondering since！ I would recommend it for Everest fans。 。。。more
Lisa
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The author alternated between the story of Mallory and Sandy on their fateful climb （and the bad history） in 1924 and his climb to look for Sandy's body and his camera。Kind of anti climactic because he never made it to the top of Everest or found anything else related to the 1924 disappearance One interesting tidbit was about eating fat not carbs for energy。 My son ran in a 100 mile race。 He could not train as much due to being an AF pilot but he switched his diet to eating more fat like bacon， The author alternated between the story of Mallory and Sandy on their fateful climb （and the bad history） in 1924 and his climb to look for Sandy's body and his camera。Kind of anti climactic because he never made it to the top of Everest or found anything else related to the 1924 disappearance One interesting tidbit was about eating fat not carbs for energy。 My son ran in a 100 mile race。 He could not train as much due to being an AF pilot but he switched his diet to eating more fat like bacon， milk， cheese， meat。 The guy he trained with did not do that regime and he did not finish but my son did！ This author mentioned the same kind of eating。What is the guilty pleasure I get reading about these people suffering as they climb。 They put themselves in this situation。 Sometimes one of them just walks off a cliff。 That's it。 Gone。 Dead bodies along the path。 It's kind of bizarre yet I like reading these books。 I really like movies and pictures。 The view from the top is so spectacular。 。。。more
John Dwyer
，
Dissapointed that this book didn't really shed light on the Mallory/Irvine question of who really summitted everest first like it implied it would， but it was enjoyable nonetheless。 Think I'm done reading books about Everest for a little while！ Dissapointed that this book didn't really shed light on the Mallory/Irvine question of who really summitted everest first like it implied it would， but it was enjoyable nonetheless。 Think I'm done reading books about Everest for a little while！ 。。。more
Donald Jaffe
，
A really excellent tale of the 2019 Everest expedition to find Andrew Irvine’s body and a camera he may have been carrying to confirm if he and Mallory had climbed Everest in 1924。 The book describes Mark Synnott’s climb， what is known of Mallory’s and Irvine’s climb， and the disastrous 2019 Everest climbing season。 Excellent。
Andrew Herring
，
The quality of the story（ies） drives this。 The way that Synott ties the two together is masterful， and meaningful。 He respects the history and enforces that the expedition was about finding the truth， not the grand revelation of a treasure。
Elizabeth
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A meandering book with a whole lot of nothing much to say: nothing you can't find on Wikipedia （and about the same level of basic summary information in his many tangents） and nothing particularly interesting。 At times it feels obvious he's trying to meet a word count and is filling in content from a couple hasty Internet searches on related topics。 A meandering book with a whole lot of nothing much to say: nothing you can't find on Wikipedia （and about the same level of basic summary information in his many tangents） and nothing particularly interesting。 At times it feels obvious he's trying to meet a word count and is filling in content from a couple hasty Internet searches on related topics。 。。。more
Tess Philipps
，
Incredibly engrossing look at climbs on Mt。 Everest， from Mallory & Irvine， to the Chinese climb of 1960; one from 1999 and the climb the author was involved in。 Some say Synnott couldn’t decide what or how to write his story but I was not put off by the narrative at all。 I found it difficult to put down， but I’ve read several other accounts on Everest and enjoyed the back stories a great deal。
Clare O'Brien
，
Good God what a spectacular book。 Beautifully weaves together the history of Everest and human stories of modern day climbers， always a healthy dollop of a fascinating historical mystery entrenched in geopolitics。 There is tragedy and triumph here， and I cried both at points throughout and in the closing paragraphs just because it summed up so powerfully the journey we had been on。
Brandon
，
In reality this book was very narcissistic。 Of course you could say the same for almost any memoir or trip report， but overall this whole thing was pointless。
Vince
，
What a fascinating book that incorporates the history of Everest， an honest climber’s opinion of the summit， and a good reflection of what Everest was and has become。 Gave me a new and unique appreciation of Everest， which I wasn’t expecting。 I guess my takeaway from this is - stay humble， know your limits， and much like Renan did - show respect anytime you can。
Bert
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Not as good as Into Thin Air， but very entertaining。
Melinda Mary
，
I wouldn’t have thought another Everest book could be compelling， but this one was！
Tad Deshler
，
Fascinating chronicle of what it takes to climb Everest。
Mel Hynes
，
I saw the documentary and it kind of killed the desire to finish the book。
Chelsea Choate
，