First on Everest (The Life of Howard Somervell)

ISBN: 9781803998282
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Overview

In 1999, my expedition found George Mallory’s body on Mount Everest. The intense public interest in his tragic fate obscured the other actors in that dramatic story.

The pioneers who attempted the first climbs in 1922 and 1924 knew nothing about the mountain other than its height. They had to learn the hard way about the lack of oxygen, the jet-stream winds, the illnesses of altitude, and the vital importance of the Sherpas. They fought cerebral oedema, frostbite, hypothermia and raging thirst in the cold, thin air. They had to find a route, avoid avalanches, and work out what to do when confronted by an insuperable rock climb at extreme altitude. Many of them died.

Howard Somervell was Mallory's closest friend on the mountain in 1922 and 1924. He was an exceptionally gifted man: he had a double first at Cambridge, he was a talented artist and an accomplished musician. He served as a surgeon at the Battle of the Somme during the First World War and was one of the foremost alpinists of the day when he was invited to join the 1922 Mount Everest expedition. After Everest he was awarded an Olympic gold medal for Alpinism in 1924. But in India he will be remembered as a surgeon who dedicated the remainder of his life to healing the sick.

Those pioneers showed the way. Somervell took part in the first attempt to climb the mountain, and his oxygen-free height record in 1924 stood for over 50 years. On his descent he sat down alone suffocating from a frost-bitten larynx. He prepared to die, but at the last moment performed a medical maneuver which cleared his airway. He survived to struggle back down.

Howard Somervell was my cousin, and I am one of the last Everesters left alive to have spoken with a climber from George Mallory’s party.

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Product Details

Author:
Graham Hoyland
Format:
Hardcover
Pages:
272
Publisher:
The History Press (September 22, 2026)
Imprint:
The History Press
Release Date:
September 22, 2026
Language:
English
Audience:
General/trade
ISBN-13:
9781803998282
ISBN-10:
1803998288
Weight:
18oz
Dimensions:
6.125" x 9.1875"
File:
Eloquence-IPG_06072025_P8708528_onix30-20250607.xml
Folder:
Eloquence
List Price:
$36.99
Pub Discount:
60
As low as:
$21.08
Publisher Identifier:
P-IPG
Discount Code:
C

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