I know people who have talked to Conrad Anker about it, and he personally goes back and forth on whether they did or didn't. He really
wants to believe they did.
I first heard of Mallory when I was a kid and going through my Battle of Britain reading phase (his brother Trafford was an important air marshal in the war). I never thought at the time that I would get to climb myself.
Another personal hero of mine is Shackleton. What a leader! What a man! And he's not half bad as a writer, either. The miniseries was quite good as well, although it had to find 'the hero's feet of clay'. I thought that Kenneth Branagh was a very believable Shackleton.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
I'm glad to hear that Anker knows that it is highly probable that Mallory and Irvine made it to the top and it appears that Sandy Irvine made it back. Conrad has really dug in that they did not in his first book. Then he could not free climb the 2nd step which po'ed him.
The Chinese found what could only have been Irvine's body and near the 2'd step they found a pole! I suspect that they have some gear and the camera.
Hemmlebb went to China and describes the visits in his Ghosts on Everest book; gives a lot of talks in Munich but my timing is always to miss them.
Didn't see miniseries!