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Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine
* Includes never-before-published letters and photographs
* Written by an Irvine family member
Mallory and Irvine. These two names have been inextricably joined since the two climbers disappeared on Mount Everest more than 75 years ago. Could they have been the first to reach the summit of the world's highest mountains-some 30 years earlier than Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay?
Mallory's story has been well chronicled, but Irvine has always been overshadowed by his more famous climbing partner and little has been written about him. Who was he? Why was he invited by the British Everest Committee to join the 1924 expedition despite his limited mountaineering experience? And why did Mallory, 16 years his senior, select Irvine as his partner for the final assault on the summit?
Julie Summers, great niece of Sandy Irvine, has been fascinated since childhood by the story of Uncle Sandy. In May 2000, Julie made an astonishing a long forgotten and unopened trunk containing Irvine's letters and photographs from Everest. Drawing on these and other material, Julie writes a revealing story of a fearless young adventurer whose life and death linked him with one of the greatest mountaineering legends of all time.
* Written by an Irvine family member
Mallory and Irvine. These two names have been inextricably joined since the two climbers disappeared on Mount Everest more than 75 years ago. Could they have been the first to reach the summit of the world's highest mountains-some 30 years earlier than Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay?
Mallory's story has been well chronicled, but Irvine has always been overshadowed by his more famous climbing partner and little has been written about him. Who was he? Why was he invited by the British Everest Committee to join the 1924 expedition despite his limited mountaineering experience? And why did Mallory, 16 years his senior, select Irvine as his partner for the final assault on the summit?
Julie Summers, great niece of Sandy Irvine, has been fascinated since childhood by the story of Uncle Sandy. In May 2000, Julie made an astonishing a long forgotten and unopened trunk containing Irvine's letters and photographs from Everest. Drawing on these and other material, Julie writes a revealing story of a fearless young adventurer whose life and death linked him with one of the greatest mountaineering legends of all time.
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2000
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227 people want to read
About the author
Julie Summers
24 books70 followersI was born near Liverpool and grew up first on the Wirral and then in Cheshire. Although the greater part of my childhood was spent outside pursuing any number of outdoor activities, I have always wanted to be a writer.
I am passionate about writing and unembarrassed to be so. I love researching my books, especially when they involve meeting people and finding out about their lives. I have a little study in the attic of our house with one of the best views in Oxford – the dreaming spires seen from Iffley. I write in the mornings after the children have gone to school and find the problem is not sticking to the routine but tearing myself away from writing at the end of the day. I describe myself as a biographer and historian but the most important thing for me is to be a story teller.
I am passionate about writing and unembarrassed to be so. I love researching my books, especially when they involve meeting people and finding out about their lives. I have a little study in the attic of our house with one of the best views in Oxford – the dreaming spires seen from Iffley. I write in the mornings after the children have gone to school and find the problem is not sticking to the routine but tearing myself away from writing at the end of the day. I describe myself as a biographer and historian but the most important thing for me is to be a story teller.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 11, 2024
Fearless on Everest is a biography of Sandy Irvine, George Mallory's partner on the ill-fated Everest summit attempt of 1924, written by Irvine's great-niece, Julie Summers. Sandy Irvine was a 22 year old Oxford undergraduate when he lost his life on Everest. While much has been written about the 1924 expedition, Irvine's role is overshadowed by that of the older and far more famous Mallory, who was the dominating force of Everest exploration in the 1920s. In the endless controversy over what really happened to Mallory and Irvine, some theories give the impression that a clueless Irvine was plucked out of his Oxford rowboat and sent up to Everest with no mountaineering skills of any kind or idea of the risks he was taking. Irvine is sometimes seen as an inexperienced climber who may have caused an accident leading to his own and Mallory's deaths, or, alternatively, as almost a hapless victim of Mallory's ambition, being led on a climb he was not ready for.
This biography gives much more insight into Irvine's background and motivations, with interesting details from family recollections and papers discovered by the family in 2000. He certainly did not have the mountaineering experience of his older companions on the expedition, but he was a talented athlete and his background from an expedition to the Arctic Circle in 1923, as well as some rock climbing and Alpine experience, made him not such a bizarre choice for the expedition as previously represented. He was also mechanically gifted and made significant improvements to the oxygen apparatus as well as other equipment used on the expedition. While Irvine's determination to reach the summit of Everest may not have quite matched Mallory's near-obsession, he was highly motivated, maneuvering from the very beginning of the expedition to be considered for the summit team. While much has been written about the 1924 Everest expedition, there is little specifically about Sandy Irvine, and this biography does an excellent job of filling in those gaps.
Original review 24 July 2011
Update 11 October 2024:
The remains of Sandy Irvine have been discovered on Everest.
This biography gives much more insight into Irvine's background and motivations, with interesting details from family recollections and papers discovered by the family in 2000. He certainly did not have the mountaineering experience of his older companions on the expedition, but he was a talented athlete and his background from an expedition to the Arctic Circle in 1923, as well as some rock climbing and Alpine experience, made him not such a bizarre choice for the expedition as previously represented. He was also mechanically gifted and made significant improvements to the oxygen apparatus as well as other equipment used on the expedition. While Irvine's determination to reach the summit of Everest may not have quite matched Mallory's near-obsession, he was highly motivated, maneuvering from the very beginning of the expedition to be considered for the summit team. While much has been written about the 1924 Everest expedition, there is little specifically about Sandy Irvine, and this biography does an excellent job of filling in those gaps.
Original review 24 July 2011
Update 11 October 2024:
The remains of Sandy Irvine have been discovered on Everest.
February 25, 2014
I started to read this right after finishing The Wildest Dream: The Biography of George Mallory, which means that after the more sophisticated style of the Mallory biography and the generally more romantic, philosophical and very complex layers of George Mallory's personality, it took me a little while to get into both Julie Summers' simpler style (her endless repetitions of "I sense from this diary entry..." had me picturing her as Professor Trelawney!) as well as Sandy Irvine's own infinitely more practical and down-to-earth character. It didn't take too long, though, before I was drawn in by the wealth of information the author (Irvine's great-niece) had unearthed about him, the lengths to which she'd gone to assemble as complete an account as she could, and the completely disarming force of charm of the man himself, emerging from every letter and every account of anyone who'd ever met him - even just reading about him you can't help feeling a bit bowled over by the endless supply of energy and initiative and beaming good cheer!
Apart from the details about Sandy's childhood, family life, relationships and rowing career at Oxford (something I struggled with a bit, having no interest in rowing), the book also discusses a bunch of interesting facts that put the Everest expedition and Sandy's suitability for it in a new light (such as the details of the Spitsbergen expeditions and the actual extent of his mountaineering experience and general fitness - basically a bunch of reasons why it completely made sense for Mallory to pick him over a more seasoned climber). I also loved how well Summers brought out his character, disproving previous assertions of the uninformed that Sandy was dull or without imagination or a poor innocent lured to his death by an over-obsessed Mallory. I really liked how she stressed and backed up the fact that Sandy was every bit as eager to tackle the summit as George was, but in no way misty-eyed or clueless about it. He knew what he was going in for and tackled it with complete practicality.
It's an engaging account of a life that was very full for all that it was so short, and of a young man who absolutely knew what he wanted and threw himself into it with 150% commitment and an intimidating array of mad skills (seriously, that entire expedition would have been so screwed without him constantly fixing all their gadgets!), seemingly all whilst maintaining a genuine modesty, loyalty and disarming geniality (well, towards anyone who didn't piss him off - I did enjoy the descriptions of his outbursts of temper, lol).
As with the Mallory biography, the letters included help that much more with immersing yourself in the events of the time. They're incredibly expressive.
One thing that hit me unexpectedly was the focus on Noel Odell's perspective for those final few days on the mountain. He usually gets overlooked, and most of the other accounts I've read chose to focus on Mallory and Irvine themselves, so this was new and... well, pretty damn devastating. Just one bloke, alone high up on the mountain, waiting for his friends to come back, going from good cheer to slight worry to slow despair at realising that it's not going to happen and that there's nothing he can do to help. Gaaaaah.
The book also reinforced something I've noticed in pretty much all publications on the subject, something I've found particularly interesting ever since reading Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory & Irvine: Most of the conclusions that it would have been various degrees of unlikely for the two of them to have reached the summit under the circumstances tend to be either based on outdated or out-of-context evidence or come from people (experts or otherwise) who either applied exclusively modern standards of climbing to an expedition of a different era to which such modern standards simply don't apply; or, in a puzzling number of cases, from people who initially felt differently with reasonable certainty but later on began to doubt and/or change their minds in the face of the established doubts of others, historical or contemporary (Odell being a prime example himself). I find it especially telling that pretty much everyone who actually knew Mallory or Irvine first-hand (especially people who lived with or climbed with them) seems to have shared a very matter-of-fact certainty that neither of them would have turned back - that being who they were, the last team to go up on literally the last day it could be done, and being strong and able and well equipped and utterly determined, they simply would not have gone back; had even gone on record saying they were very well aware it might be a one-trip deal. So much of the Mallory/Irvine research of trying to puzzle out what happened to them seems to focus on evidence only and dismiss the fact that their personalities matter, that that's evidence as well. Humanity could never have accomplished half the things it did if it wasn't for a long string of beautifully mad people who decided to do the impossible.
Anyway. Bit of a slow read to start with but very much worth it by the end!
Apart from the details about Sandy's childhood, family life, relationships and rowing career at Oxford (something I struggled with a bit, having no interest in rowing), the book also discusses a bunch of interesting facts that put the Everest expedition and Sandy's suitability for it in a new light (such as the details of the Spitsbergen expeditions and the actual extent of his mountaineering experience and general fitness - basically a bunch of reasons why it completely made sense for Mallory to pick him over a more seasoned climber). I also loved how well Summers brought out his character, disproving previous assertions of the uninformed that Sandy was dull or without imagination or a poor innocent lured to his death by an over-obsessed Mallory. I really liked how she stressed and backed up the fact that Sandy was every bit as eager to tackle the summit as George was, but in no way misty-eyed or clueless about it. He knew what he was going in for and tackled it with complete practicality.
It's an engaging account of a life that was very full for all that it was so short, and of a young man who absolutely knew what he wanted and threw himself into it with 150% commitment and an intimidating array of mad skills (seriously, that entire expedition would have been so screwed without him constantly fixing all their gadgets!), seemingly all whilst maintaining a genuine modesty, loyalty and disarming geniality (well, towards anyone who didn't piss him off - I did enjoy the descriptions of his outbursts of temper, lol).
As with the Mallory biography, the letters included help that much more with immersing yourself in the events of the time. They're incredibly expressive.
One thing that hit me unexpectedly was the focus on Noel Odell's perspective for those final few days on the mountain. He usually gets overlooked, and most of the other accounts I've read chose to focus on Mallory and Irvine themselves, so this was new and... well, pretty damn devastating. Just one bloke, alone high up on the mountain, waiting for his friends to come back, going from good cheer to slight worry to slow despair at realising that it's not going to happen and that there's nothing he can do to help. Gaaaaah.
The book also reinforced something I've noticed in pretty much all publications on the subject, something I've found particularly interesting ever since reading Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory & Irvine: Most of the conclusions that it would have been various degrees of unlikely for the two of them to have reached the summit under the circumstances tend to be either based on outdated or out-of-context evidence or come from people (experts or otherwise) who either applied exclusively modern standards of climbing to an expedition of a different era to which such modern standards simply don't apply; or, in a puzzling number of cases, from people who initially felt differently with reasonable certainty but later on began to doubt and/or change their minds in the face of the established doubts of others, historical or contemporary (Odell being a prime example himself). I find it especially telling that pretty much everyone who actually knew Mallory or Irvine first-hand (especially people who lived with or climbed with them) seems to have shared a very matter-of-fact certainty that neither of them would have turned back - that being who they were, the last team to go up on literally the last day it could be done, and being strong and able and well equipped and utterly determined, they simply would not have gone back; had even gone on record saying they were very well aware it might be a one-trip deal. So much of the Mallory/Irvine research of trying to puzzle out what happened to them seems to focus on evidence only and dismiss the fact that their personalities matter, that that's evidence as well. Humanity could never have accomplished half the things it did if it wasn't for a long string of beautifully mad people who decided to do the impossible.
Anyway. Bit of a slow read to start with but very much worth it by the end!
April 9, 2013
Though this book at times dwells in minutiae (the chapter devoted to Sandy Irvine's college rowing accomplishments) I have to applaud the author's devotion and obvious love for her deceased uncle. It is a challenge to write a biography of a man who died before he had had much time to truly live: even if he may have been the first man, along with Mallory, to summit Everest! I would not read this book for entertainment's sake, but it is an instructive and balanced account of a persistent mystery. Did Irvine and Mallory make it to the top in 1924? Will the Kodak camera they brought up ever be retrieved? This book isn't intended to answer those questions, but you will experience the humanity and indomitable spirit of these two climbers in a deeply personal way.
November 2, 2025
An informative biography of Sandy Irvine. Summers is a relation of his which gave her access to family and materials another biographer might not have had. She also wrote the book at the right time since she was able to talk to people who had met Irvine. My biggest problem was the book seemed to get longer the more I read. Obviously a me problem, but the lack of real page numbers in the kindle version didn't help.
I went in knowing nothing about Irvine other than about his death. It was shocking to realize how young he was--only 22. He also had very little experience with climbing and cold weather exploration. Had WWI not ended the lives of so many, he probably would never have been considered. The book shows him to have been a conscientious team builder with a strong mechanical bent. Summers paints him as universally loved by all who met him but includes some flaws so that he doesn't come off as superhuman.
As for Everest, the expedition suffered from a good deal of hubris although that might have been because it was the early days of Himalayan climbing by westerners. They all seemed to think it would be relatively easy, planning for two parties to summit on one day. It's easy to look back now and say they should have planned on more time to acclimate to altitude and on bringing more supplies to higher camps. It's harder to come to grips with the oxygen situation. Many of the party felt using oxygen to climb was cheating, but they did plan on using it on at least some climbs. That makes it more baffling that they chose a seriously flawed apparatus to depend on. Irvine was able to make improvements at Everest, but that's something that should have been sorted before they left Britain.
I went in knowing nothing about Irvine other than about his death. It was shocking to realize how young he was--only 22. He also had very little experience with climbing and cold weather exploration. Had WWI not ended the lives of so many, he probably would never have been considered. The book shows him to have been a conscientious team builder with a strong mechanical bent. Summers paints him as universally loved by all who met him but includes some flaws so that he doesn't come off as superhuman.
As for Everest, the expedition suffered from a good deal of hubris although that might have been because it was the early days of Himalayan climbing by westerners. They all seemed to think it would be relatively easy, planning for two parties to summit on one day. It's easy to look back now and say they should have planned on more time to acclimate to altitude and on bringing more supplies to higher camps. It's harder to come to grips with the oxygen situation. Many of the party felt using oxygen to climb was cheating, but they did plan on using it on at least some climbs. That makes it more baffling that they chose a seriously flawed apparatus to depend on. Irvine was able to make improvements at Everest, but that's something that should have been sorted before they left Britain.
November 16, 2024
Very rarely do I write a Review however this book is an exceptional read and thoroughly deserves one For too long, like the story of Tenzing Norgay, the life of and contribution to the Everest expedition of 1924 of Sandy Irvine has remained in the shadows This book provides a magical insight into the 22 year old man, who accompanied George Mallory on that very fateful day, just over 100 years ago Having finished the book I am now of the opinion that either Mallory or Irvine may have reached the summit of Everest, something I had been very sceptical of, given the myriad of challenges these superlative individuals faced on a daily basis, in the most hostile of conditions, with the scant equipment at their disposal This is a must read for anyone hooked by the mystery of the 1924 expedition and is tastefully written with great balance and thought I have said for some time I cannot understand why a film has not been commissioned to mark the Centenary of the 2024 climb I’ve read Benedict Cumberbatch is keen on the leading role and I’d like to think there is sufficient interest and funding for such an historic event Can’t recommend enough
March 10, 2021
A highly moving and interesting biography of Andrew 'Sandy' Irvine who was George Mallory's climbing partner on their ill fated Everest summit attempt.
It was rather good to learn more about Irvine, his life and the tragic, mysterious nature of his death. In my opinion the focus is often on Mallory, perhaps because of his fame and due to his body being found.
I agree with the author that there should be no attempt to find Irvine's body, so he can remain a part of the mountain.
The author being a relative of Irvine's does for me take away some of the impartiality of his story, but this is a minor niggle.
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this to anyone interested in Irvine's life, climbing career and death.
It was rather good to learn more about Irvine, his life and the tragic, mysterious nature of his death. In my opinion the focus is often on Mallory, perhaps because of his fame and due to his body being found.
I agree with the author that there should be no attempt to find Irvine's body, so he can remain a part of the mountain.
The author being a relative of Irvine's does for me take away some of the impartiality of his story, but this is a minor niggle.
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this to anyone interested in Irvine's life, climbing career and death.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2021
A wonderful biography of a beautiful soul. Irvine, like Mallory, was from my hometown. They never lived there simultaneously but it is an odd fact that you can walk from the childhood home of one to that of the other in under ten minutes is it not? This is a splendid biography of a man of his time. Irvine was a precocious talent in many regards- an outstanding athlete who rowed for Cambridge, and a superb engineer who seemed to be able to turn his hand to anything. It was these qualities that got him selected as Mallory's partner - even above the gifted Odell- to head towards the summit from which he never returned. Iri=vine was a larger-than-life character who seemed to pack a lifetime's activity and fun into every year he spent with us. A lovely but sad tale.
June 10, 2020
Meet the man, Sandy Irvine. Famous for disappearing in 1924 with George Mallory on Everest. The mystery behind whether they made it to the top still dazzles those who seek to speculate ‘what if?’ Written by a direct family member of the Irvine family the biography has a family touch which makes it delightful and full of love. Definitely recommended for mountaineering literature.
August 20, 2023
Really liked it.
I think it was the story more than the style of writing that caught my attention. I had never previously heard stories about Mt Everest except for successful attempt at summiting it by hillary & tenzing.
But what a story and life of sandy irvine! This book is a love letter from a family member to a long gone great uncle. Amazing
I think it was the story more than the style of writing that caught my attention. I had never previously heard stories about Mt Everest except for successful attempt at summiting it by hillary & tenzing.
But what a story and life of sandy irvine! This book is a love letter from a family member to a long gone great uncle. Amazing
March 2, 2018
fascinating story but the big disappointment for me is that the author references many photographs taken during the expedition that were not reproduced in the book.
May 10, 2018
Excellent biography of the less well known partner of the fated 1924 Everest attempt, made especially interesting because the author is his great niece and had access to much family information.
May 28, 2022
nice encapsulation
Good look at the personality of Irvine. Sounds like a likeable fellow in all respects. Enjoyed the quick but thorough read
Good look at the personality of Irvine. Sounds like a likeable fellow in all respects. Enjoyed the quick but thorough read
December 7, 2025
Excellent.
July 21, 2024
Andrew (Sandy) Irvine owes his place in mountaineering history due to his unfortunate death alongside the legendary George Mallory on the 1924 Everest expedition. A much loved son, a boat race winner and a bit of a mechanical genius, he was also pretty much a complete novice as a mountain climber. Julia Summers book tries to breathe a bit of life into him and bring him out of Mallory’s giant shadow, even managing to drag out the obligatory torrid love affair with an older woman along the way. The truth is though that his tragic death at the age of 22 meant that he simply didn’t live long enough to be a compelling biographical subject. While he was by no means a cardboard cutout figure he is and always will remain the junior partner in the Mallory and Irvine story.
April 25, 2012
Decent biography of the "other" guy who died on Everest with George "Because it's there" Mallory. Summers is a descendant which makes it a bit intimate and familial -- a good thing in terms of access to private papers and personal effects -- but a moderating point of view about a young man who lived an extraordinary life in a very short time.
Highlights of his life
1. renowned oarsman, winner of the Cambridge-Oxford Boat Race
2. accomplished engineer and inventor
3. daredevil explorer -- Spitzbergen expedition
4. bad boy -- had a scandalous affair with the step-mother of a college classmate
5. may have made the summit of Everest but vanished on the descent, jury is still out.
Highlights of his life
1. renowned oarsman, winner of the Cambridge-Oxford Boat Race
2. accomplished engineer and inventor
3. daredevil explorer -- Spitzbergen expedition
4. bad boy -- had a scandalous affair with the step-mother of a college classmate
5. may have made the summit of Everest but vanished on the descent, jury is still out.
July 15, 2009
A continuation of my interest 1924 Everest climb. This book is about the man who's body has not been found, Sandy Irvine. A wealth of information from a different perspective.
April 12, 2014
I really liked this book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews