Exhibition about Wirral pair’s Everest attempt in line for award

May 12 2010 by Liam Murphy, Heswall News

AN EXHIBITION based on the mystery of two Wirral mountain climbers who died together on the slopes of Everest almost a century ago is in line for a top award.

Andrew “Sandy” Irvine and fellow climber George Mallory, who both lived in Birkenhead, were last sighted on June 8, 1924, on the north east ridge of Everest, only a few hundred yards from the summit.

ŠSince that fateful day, arguments have raged whether the intrepid duo died before reaching their goal or were descending from the summit – 30 years before the world’s highest peak was conquered by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

ŠThe story fascinated Northwich’s Salt Museum curator Matt Wheeler, who spent over two years researching the life and times of the pair and compiled a fascinating exhibition which broke all attendance records at the museum, before being transferred to the Williamson Gallery in Birkenhead, near Irvine’s birthplace and close to where both men were brought up.

ŠNow the “Above the Clouds – Mallory and Irvine and the Quest for Everest” exhibition, which attracted visitors from across the country, has been shortlisted for a 2010 Museums and Heritage Award for Excellence.

ŠThe exhibition included original photo and artefacts loaned by the Alpine Club, Magdelene College Cambridge, Merton College Oxford, and the Royal Geographic Society, along with many other organisations and individuals.

Irvine, who died aged 22, was born and grew up in Birkenhead. His colleague Mallory’s family moved to Birkenhead in July, 1904. An outstanding gymnast, he was 38 at the time of his disappearance. Irvine’s remains may well have been found by a Chinese expedition in 1975. TheyŠ came acrossŠ “an English dead” at 26,740 feet.

ŠAnd, in May, 1999, George Mallory’s body was discovered at 26,800 feet frozen into the ice-gravel scree on Everest’s North Face and in a remarkable state of preservation.Š

The winners of the Museums and Heritage Awards are being announced at an awards ceremony today, May 12, at Church House in Westminster.

Event director Anna Preedy said: “This year’s awards have attracted more entries than ever, which has made for an incredibly tough shortlisting process.”