Everest's Greatest Mistery
Just over 100 years ago, George Mallory and Sandy Irvine disappeared at the summit of Everest. The story of these mountaineers had already caught my attention a few years ago. Last seen alive 240 meters from Everest's summit, they vanished without anyone knowing if they had reached the top – almost 30 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. The story of the photo that Mallory had promised to leave at the summit, which wasn't found on his body discovered in 1999, continues to fuel the mystery.
In 2024, several articles commemorated the 100th anniversary of this disappearance and the speculations around "Everest's greatest mystery." One element particularly caught my attention: according to some experts, the clothing of the time would not have allowed them to reach the summit. Today, when more than 69% of clothes are made of polyester – even 99% for outdoor clothing – one might indeed think that modern outfits are far superior to those of 1924.
(Irvine and Mallory both standing on the left)
Research conducted between 2003 and 2005 by a team of British experts contradicts this widespread belief. Using clothing samples preserved in ice, they reconstructed Mallory's outfit and discovered that this equipment made from natural materials was not only lighter than our current gear but just as effective. The secret? An ingenious layering of natural materials and an outer gabardine that combined protection and breathability.
In 2006, mountaineer Graham Hoyland put these discoveries to the test on Everest, comparing the reconstructed outfit to modern equipment. His verdict is telling: the period clothing distinguished itself through exceptional comfort, particularly thanks to base layers that were immediately warm, unlike modern cold and clammy polypropylene. Against the violent winds of the Rongbuk glacier, the gabardine proved its effectiveness, perfectly protecting the eight layers that trapped warm air against the skin. However, Hoyland noted that these clothes would not have allowed survival during a night at -40°C - a limitation that also applies to modern equipment, as tragically demonstrated by the 1996 accident, where eight climbers perished in weather conditions similar to those faced by Mallory and Irvine.
Weather pattern similarities related to atmospheric pressure variations at the summit of Mount Everest in June 1924 and May 1996.
So can we really create high-performance clothing without plastic? History provides us with several remarkable examples. In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed Everest's summit for the first time wearing a Shetland wool sweater and a down and a Ventile cotton anorak. In another equally demanding context, Ranulph Fiennes used this same type of cotton during his Transglobe expedition in 1981, which took him from the South Pole to the North Pole on foot in 3 years. These feats demonstrate natural materials' ability to perform in extreme conditions. However, let's be pragmatic: most of us are not planning to climb Everest, cross Antarctica, or sail around the world. For these exceptional adventures, we will of course continue to recommend specialized equipment, which will likely include synthetic materials.
But for our daily activities - that is, 99.9% of situations - natural materials prove to be not only sufficient but often superior to their synthetic counterparts. And they have an undeniable advantage: their respect for the environment, an area in which they will always surpass plastic materials.