On June 8, 1924, two British mountaineers by the name of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine were seen at an altitude of over 28,000 feet 'headed toward the top' of Mount Everest by team member Noel Odell. At the time it was the highest any person had ever climbed before. After a few minutes, clouds obscured Odell's view of them and they disappeared, never to be seen again.  

29 years later, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay successfully summited Mount Everest, on May 29, 1953. While they were the first to survive the epic ascent, many wondered if perhaps Mallory and Irvine might have been the first to actually stand on the top of what was known as The Third Pole. 

75 years after the disappearance of Mallory & Irvine, a team of filmmakers and mountain climbers discovered the frozen body of Mallory at 26,750 feet. The team was looking for the camera they were known to be carrying that day. If the film could be safely brought down and developed, perhaps there would be summit photos. To this day, that camera has never been found. 

I was High Altitude Cameraman on that expedition in 1999. I returned in 2019 with a team of climbers to search for the body of Sandy Irvine. One of the most knowledgeable historians on Everest and the mystery of who climbed it first, Jochen Hemmleb, is the guest of Episode 7. His exhaustive dedication to a life of research of all things Everest will transfix all who listen to this interview about the greatest mystery in all of exploration. 

For more information on Jochen you can find him at jochenhemmleb.com

Miusic for the episode was found on the Free Music Archive and is by Lobo Loco. Lobo Loco's music can be found at musikbrause.de

For exclusive content visit Patreon at: 
https://www.patreon.com/thehappinessquotient

Subscribe to The Happiness Quotient on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/thehappinessquotient

Support the show