I suppose we go to Mount Everest, granted the opportunity, because—in a word—we can’t help it. Or, to state the matter rather differently, because we are mountaineers…. To refuse the adventure is to run the risk of drying up like a pea in its shell.
It was 122 years ago today that George Herbert Leigh Mallory was born.
His story is too long to recount here – especially since I’ve got to run out the door and pick up my daughter! But, I have a longer post dealing with Mallory & Irvine’s final climb and eventual disappearance, which I will post tomorrow.
For today, though, a remembrance of Mallory through his own words – eloquent, determined, nuanced, and timeless:
And, finally, “Lines to an Indian Air” – Mallory’s favorite poem – by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822):
can you please lead me to a good biography of mallory? I am an artist trying to prove the world exists. An artist is someone who try’s to show the world what it is and show people that they have meaning.
Rock climbing It’s not a race, nor a creed. Its objective.
When asked why he climbed Mt Everest, Greg Mallory said simply, Because it is there.
This wasn’t just some brag. He climbed it, proving its existence. The rock is there, I can prove it.
No one can deny it to me now, I was there, I climbed it, I reached where it wasn’t there anymore and I stopped. It is the body that proved it, not the mind and subjective language. My hands. My body and the rock shared space for a moment. I ascended and extended and expended. The rock forms my body, and I give it form in return.
In return for your help, I will recomend a book to you. “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint Exupéry
you may have read it as a kid, but read it as an adult.
hi,
i’m looking for a reference of the following quote from mallory:
The highest of the world’s mountains, it seems, has to make but a single gesture of magnificence to be the lord of all, vast in unchallenged and isolated supremacy.
which book did you use, page?
thank you
I was looking all over for some words about Mallory yesterday, because 8th of June was the date he was last seen on Everest.
I couldn’t find much. I thought on this anniversary there would alway be a few stories and theories about whether they summited or not before they perished.
I know Mallory’s not forgotten though – there’s a film coming soon and a (questionable) Jeffrey Archer book!
A beautiful website. A truly heart-warming remembrance for a very wonderful man, one of my favorites that I have studied and learned about in my sixty-two years of life. Thank you so much.
This, because the brain like any other muscle in our body depends on blood flow to do its thing and the higher your metabolism and ability to sustain physical exercise at an beyond your aerobic threshold, the better ‘oiled’ is the machine to deliver continuously on what makes all of us smarter – learning.
It’s hard to learn anything when you are tired, it’s even harder when you are stressed and learning is what allows your brain to build more connections between neurons, which can potentially fire and give you ideas, helping you be more creative, think faster or even just make the right decision ahead of the wrong one. Worst of all, many of the high pressure jobs out there today requiring continuously operating at stress-levels, make learning all but impossible, so cycles of burn-out are not uncommon. We work hard, feel under pressure to do things better, smarter, faster so we get stressed, making it harder for us to learn how to do things differently, so we then get fruasdfstrated, which of course makes us even more stressed… you know the drill.
Today is the day, and it's a big one. I thought much about writing something up days ago with my thoughts on who to vote for, and why. But, then I realized that - for better or worse - most American minds have been made up for some time, and those who are looking for […]
Mallory’s story is a terrific and tragic one. I just was referenced to your blog and I am grateful for that.
can you please lead me to a good biography of mallory? I am an artist trying to prove the world exists. An artist is someone who try’s to show the world what it is and show people that they have meaning.
Rock climbing It’s not a race, nor a creed. Its objective.
When asked why he climbed Mt Everest, Greg Mallory said simply, Because it is there.
This wasn’t just some brag. He climbed it, proving its existence. The rock is there, I can prove it.
No one can deny it to me now, I was there, I climbed it, I reached where it wasn’t there anymore and I stopped. It is the body that proved it, not the mind and subjective language. My hands. My body and the rock shared space for a moment. I ascended and extended and expended. The rock forms my body, and I give it form in return.
In return for your help, I will recomend a book to you. “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint Exupéry
you may have read it as a kid, but read it as an adult.
I just read Jeffrey Archers latest book… ‘Paths of Glory’.. a wonderful read.. and gave me an understanding of what goes onto climb a mountain
hi,
i’m looking for a reference of the following quote from mallory:
The highest of the world’s mountains, it seems, has to make but a single gesture of magnificence to be the lord of all, vast in unchallenged and isolated supremacy.
which book did you use, page?
thank you
Hi,
I was looking all over for some words about Mallory yesterday, because 8th of June was the date he was last seen on Everest.
I couldn’t find much. I thought on this anniversary there would alway be a few stories and theories about whether they summited or not before they perished.
I know Mallory’s not forgotten though – there’s a film coming soon and a (questionable) Jeffrey Archer book!
A beautiful website. A truly heart-warming remembrance for a very wonderful man, one of my favorites that I have studied and learned about in my sixty-two years of life. Thank you so much.
This, because the brain like any other muscle in our body depends on blood flow to do its thing and the higher your metabolism and ability to sustain physical exercise at an beyond your aerobic threshold, the better ‘oiled’ is the machine to deliver continuously on what makes all of us smarter – learning.
It’s hard to learn anything when you are tired, it’s even harder when you are stressed and learning is what allows your brain to build more connections between neurons, which can potentially fire and give you ideas, helping you be more creative, think faster or even just make the right decision ahead of the wrong one. Worst of all, many of the high pressure jobs out there today requiring continuously operating at stress-levels, make learning all but impossible, so cycles of burn-out are not uncommon. We work hard, feel under pressure to do things better, smarter, faster so we get stressed, making it harder for us to learn how to do things differently, so we then get fruasdfstrated, which of course makes us even more stressed… you know the drill.