Research throws new light on ill-fated 1924 Everest expedition
Published 13 October 2005
Testable replicas reveal Mallory not under-equipped on 1924 Everest expedition
Mallory replicas research team with mountaineer Alan Hinkes at the Pertex Clothing for Extremes Conference, 28 September 2008, Rheged Discovery Centre
The Universities of Lancaster, Southampton, Leeds and Derby combined their expertise after artefacts found with Mallory’s body on Everest in 1999 were transferred to the National Mountaineering Exhibition at Rheged in Cumbria. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Pasold Research Fund Ltd and undertaken on behalf of Mountain Heritage Trust, the £30,000 project aimed to produce testable replica clothing to assess its effectiveness and performance and to bridge the gap between innovation in performance clothing in 1924 and the early 21st century.
The project team, led by Professor Mary Rose and Mike Parsons of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (IEED) in Lancaster University Management School, unveiled the replicas of Mallory’s expedition clothing at the Clothing for Extremes Conference in Cumbria in September 2005 along with guests Alan Hinkes, the first British climber to scale the world’s 14 highest peaks, and Jochen Hemmleb, the 1999 Mallory expedition historian.
“Mallory was wearing clothing that was some 20% lighter than modern mountaineering gear”
The replicas address the popular misconception that George Mallory was climbing Everest dressed poorly for the elements. “Mallory was wearing clothing that was some 20% lighter than modern mountaineering gear,” says Professor Mary B. Rose. Mallory’s total clothing weight on Everest in 1924 was 4.160g, compared with Al Hinkes’ 4.825g on the mountain in 2005. “He was wearing a very effective layering system that allowed for very free movement. Our research has shown that the 1924 expedition’s equipment was very much part of the evolutionary path from the polar exploration years to the successful 1953 Everest expedition.”
Mike Parsons, innovation director of OMM Ltd - the organiser of KIMM, the Original Mountain Marathon and honorary IEED fellow - summarised: “There is nothing about Mallory’s clothing or footwear that would have in itself prevented a successful ascent of Everest – indeed the lightweight clothing he was wearing was an advantage, just as it is today. My event runners will be inspired I am sure.”
Mary Rose added, “This project, as well as bringing us into very exciting working relationships with colleagues at other universities, is a wonderful way of applying the research and teaching Mike and I do on innovation. Through the Mallory Replicas project, we could discern that the innovation was evolutionary and almost palpable, leading eventually to the successful ascent of Everest in 1953.”
Detective work
Vanessa Anderson of the University of Derby said: “This project involved a lot of detective work to piece together the past. I used historical sources to determine how these garments were constructed and tracked down suppliers who could recreate the fabrics for me – in many cases, the original suppliers such as Burberry, who wove the cotton gabardine for the jacket, and Smedleys of Matlock, who produced a replica wool-silk vest. What really impressed me was the strength and quality of the materials they used and how well they were tailored to withstand conditions on Everest.”
The Mallory replicas were unveiled at the Pertex Clothing for Extremes Conference on 28th September at the Rheged Discovery Centre. The event attracted considerable national media attention and was featured on the BBC news and on the Radio 4 programme You and Yours
Who did what?
Lancaster – Professor Mary Rose at Lancaster University Management School’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (IEED) and Mike Parsons, innovation director of OMM Ltd, the lightweight outdoor gear makers, and honorary IEED fellow, had the idea for this project four years ago while conducting research for their book Invisible on Everest: Innovation and the Gear Makers (published in 2003). The book provides a comprehensive study of innovation in clothing and equipment for mountaineering and exploration, but Mary’s and Mike’s research had serious gaps because of the lack of real examples of 1920 mountain clothing.
Mike and Mary managed the whole replicas project from grant aid application to the unveling on Wednesday 28th September 2005.
Southampton – Amber Rowe at the Textile Conservation Centre of the University of Southampton analysed the original textiles recovered from Everest to determine what the clothes were originally made from, and used textile analysis to recreate the patterns used for Mallory’s clothing, including early twentieth-century pivot sleeves.
Leeds – Dave Brook and his colleagues in the Performance Clothing Research Centre at Leeds University’s School of Textiles, who worked with Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr Mike Stroud on their expedition gear, also looked at the original fabric and the replica clothing to determine their thermal insulation value. The entire procedure needed to be completely non-destructive, which is why both the TCC and the PCRC specialists were approached rather than a regular testing house.
Derby – Vanessa Anderson, who reconstructed the garments as the research project for her MA in Performance Sportswear Design, sought suppliers who could match the specifications of the original silk, cotton and wool, and reconstructed most of his garments. John Angus, Programme Leader for Textiles in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Technology, knitted woollen garments including a thermal vest and puttees.
Explanatory Notes
The Mountain Heritage Trust – the heritage arm of the British Mountaineering Council – has helped make the project possible, with funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Pasold Foundation, and Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development, Lancaster University Management School.
Mike Parsons was MD of gear-makers Karrimor International from 1960 to 1997 and is now the innovation director for OMM Ltd makers of lightweight outdoor gear In 2003 he was appointed an Honorary Entrepreneurial Fellow of Lancaster University Management School’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (IEED). Mike is the co-organizer of the annual Clothing for Extremes Conference.
Professor Mary B. Rose is Professor of Entrepreneurship at Lancaster University Management School’s Institute of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development. In 2005 Mary together with Mike Parsons won an Undergraduate Teaching Prize for their ground-breaking ‘Innovation’ course, and along with Mike Parsons is co-organizer of the Clothing for Extremes Conference.
