Um dos maiores mistérios da história do alpinismo é a resposta à pergunta: quem realmente desbravou o cume do Everest? A história aponta Sir Edmund Hillary, neozelandês, e Tenzing Norgay, sherpa, como os primeiros a pisar no topo do mundo.   

Entretanto, em 1924, quando uma expedição britânica tentava, pela terceira vez, abrir caminho rumo ao cume do Everest, dois alpinistas desapareceram na bruma da Face Norte do Everest (lado tibetano), a poucas centanas de metros do cume. Eram George Mallory, um dos mais respeitados alpinistas da época, e Andrew (Sandy) Irvine, o jovem e forte alpinista de 22 anos que o acompanhava.  

Mallory já havia participado das duas expedições anteriores (em 1921 e 1922), que literalmente encontraram o caminho até o pé da montanha. Imagine entrar em um mundo totalmente desconhecido, no início do século 20, com roupas inapropriadas e equipamentos rudimentares, sem dispôr de qualquer tecnologia como a que os alpinistas têm acesso atualmente. Partir para o Everest era como partir para Marte. Com todos os riscos que isso inclui. 

O dia 8 de junho de 1924 entrou para a história do Everest como a data de seu possível desbravamento. Contudo, até agora nada pôde provar que Mallory e Irvine tenham morrido antes ou depois de terem chegado ao cume. Nem mesmo seus corpos haviam sido descobertos. O que se transformou no segundo maior mistério da história do alpinismo: Mallory chegou ao cume? E como morreu? Onde está seu corpo?  

Ninguém tinha qualquer das respostas até 1999, quando uma expedição internacional (liderada pelo americano Eric Simonson e pelo geólogo e historiador do Everest Jochen Hemmleb) partiu em busca de desvendar o mistério – ou pelo menos de parte dele. Eles esperavam encontrar a máquina fotográfica que Mallory levava consigo e que, mesmo 75 anos após seu desaparecimento, ainda podia conter fotos do cume. Esta seria a prova definitiva de que Mallory e Irvine pereceram após terem pisado no Teto do Mundo.  

A expedição partiu esperando, ao menos, encontrar os restos mortais de Sandy Irvine, uma vez que uma antiga expedição chinesa, em 1975, havia apontado o local presumível em que avistou o corpo de "um ocidental muito antigo". Pelo relato dos chineses, tudo apontava para Irvine. Eles deveriam vasculhar uma área do paredão Norte já previamente mapeada pelos estudos de Hemmleb baseados em descobertas anteriores - além do corpo do "inglês", havia a piqueta de Irvine e outros sinais que davam um parâmetro de onde deveria ocorrer a busca. Mesmo assim, era uma área enorme. Para os membros da expedição, se conseguissem encontrar o corpo de Irvine, este daria indicações de onde estava Mallory. Eles também acreditavam que Irvine levasse uma câmera fotográfica, o que poderia desvendar o mistério do cume. Era isso o que eles pretendiam. Mas fizeram uma descoberta muito maior. 

Em maio de 1999, um grupo de alpinistas avistou alguma coisa na parede de pedra. Utilizando códigos que impedissem as outras expedições presentes na montanha de seguir o que estava acontecendo, os alpinistas Conrad Anker, Dave Hahn, Jake Norton, Andy Politz e Tap Richards comunicaram-se entre si, com Simonson no Base Avançado e com Hemmleb no Campo Base.  

A seguir, reproduzo o relato da descoberta, que entrou para a história do alpinismo como a maior de todos os tempos. O texto foi retirado do site da Nova Online (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/), a quem creditamos o devido copyright. No site, seção Lost on Everest, há mais informações, inclusive os dispatches da expedição.   

Bem, vamos ao relato da descoberta do corpo de George Mallory. Segure-se, porque é emocionante:  

 

The Day Mallory Was Found  

Below are excerpts from radio transmissions and video recorded on the day in May 1999 when NOVA-sponsored climbers discovered the body of George Leigh Mallory high on Mt. Everest. Mallory disappeared with his partner Andrew Irvine in 1924, and the mystery of whether they might have reached the summit has persisted ever since. 

In these early-morning radio communications, researcher Jochen Hemmleb, an expert on the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine who remains at Base Camp, talks to Dave Hahn, a member of the search party. The search group, which also includes Conrad Anker, Jake Norton, Andy Politz, and Tap Richards, is climbing from the expedition's Camp V at roughly 25,500 feet towards Camp VI. Here they will begin their search for the 1975 Chinese Camp VI, near the spot where one of the Chinese climbers reported seeing an "English dead." Expedition leader Eric Simonson, meanwhile, is at Advance Base Camp. 

 

 

HEMMLEB: Base camp, calling climbing team, do you copy? 

HAHN: Breaker, Breaker, this is Dave. 

HEMMLEB: Reading you loud and clear Dave. 

HAHN: Eric, I'm halfway through the ledge, Jake and Andy about 100 yards ahead, Tap about 200 feet behind. Break. Conrad appears to be going to like the north ridge direct or something, I don't know what the deal is. Sorry, Eric. Would like to have given you a more cohesive team together report. It's one of those kind of solo days, wind is kicking us around a little bit. Over. Pretty awkward up here with no snow on these ledges. 

HEMMLEB: Are you in the sun yet? 

HAHN: No, it's about 20 feet below our heels. Over. 

HEMMLEB: Okay. Can you give me a bit of a clue where you are at the moment? Are you in that gully leading up to the old Camp VI site? 

HAHN: We're just getting into the gully, just getting near the gully. You should be able to start seeing us soon. Over.  

 

Now 45 minutes into their search, the five climbers have fanned out over the mountainside looking for the body of Andrew Irvine. The team believes that if they find Irvine, they might also find his Vest Pocket Kodak camera, whose film, if salvagable, would presumably contain photos from the summit if Mallory and/or Irvine had reached it. 

 

ANKER: I'm down here at the edge of the cliff band. And there was another climber that had fallen but he had a jumar so he wasn't what we were looking for. But I'm going to go to the edge of the Great Couloir and then go up. And I'm here in these, uh...where there are a lot of rocks where there might be sort of an eddy, so to say. Over. 

SIMONSON: Conrad, ABC here. We copy. 

ANKER: I'm down the fall line. Do you guys see where I am? Look where I'm pointing. 

HEMMLEB: It's very hard to see them. 

ANKER: I'm going to go investigate this direct fall line. Over. 

RICHARDS: Conrad and everyone, I'm at the fall line here as well. I've come across two other people. Looks like they definitely have fallen. I don't know. The fall line in relation to that ice axe is the key. Over. 

HEMMLEB: I could suggest that what we are looking for is lower down, but as I can't see you right now in the telescope, I'm not that sure, so keep on searching. Over. 

RICHARDS: I think we need to just keep poking around. Over. 

HEMMLEB: You're doing great. 

ANKER: I'm down below the fall zone now, probably a good distance. 

HEMMLEB: Conrad, could you tell me who is the one in the upper corner of the snow now? Over. 

ANKER: I think it's Andy and then Dave is lower and I'm the very lowest. Over. 

HEMMLEB: Thank you for that, Conrad. 

ANKER: I'm at the edge of the cliff, so if subsequent avalanches moved the person then they might be here. Over. 

POLITZ: Base Camp, this is Andy. 

HEMMLEB: Go ahead Andy. 

POLITZ: There are a couple of ledges above me. I'm heading up towards them. Do you think it's worth the effort? Over. 

HEMMLEB: Andy, honestly, I think you are well above any suggested search site, but if you think you will walk up in the fall line, you're pretty close so continue. Over. 

POLITZ: I've been walking a comfortable angle from the Chinese Camp, and I'm thinking maybe that's uh...I'm trying to get inside somebody's head here. Over. I'll go up another 100 feet and then I'll sweep down. Over. 

HEMMLEB: Okay. Let me suggest the following, Andy. When you've done your trip up another 100 feet and decide to go down, facing downwards, keep a bit to the left below the huge rock band, that's what I think is the farthest edge of the search area. Over. 

POLITZ: Roger. I have a good visual for every ledge below me, so I'll just go slow and look hard. Over. 

HEMMLEB: Great Andy. [Off radio:] That was promising. He says that although it looks from here like a solid snow cover, it's fairly thin. That's Andy who is moving up there. 

 

The following radio transmissions chronicle the very moment climber Conrad Anker comes upon what he thinks is Andrew Irvine's body. To prevent other climbing expeditions then on Everest from hearing his news and communicating it to the outside world, Anker tries his best to break the news to his search companions, along with Simonson and Hemmleb, using code words such as "Snickers" and "tea." 

 

ANKER: I've got a thermos of Tang juice and some Snicker bars. Why don't you guys come down and have a little picnic with me? Over. 

HAHN: Conrad, is that you way at the bottom of the snow there? 

ANKER: Roger. Roger. 

HEMMLEB: Conrad, this is Jochen, do you read? 

ANKER: Hi Jochen, I read you. Over. 

HEMMLEB: I see you through the telescope and I just wonder, just above you and to the west of you, there is this huge expanse of snow, whether any one of you guys can walk up over there, unless Andy is doing it on the way down. Over. 

ANKER: Dave Hahn, got a copy? 

RICHARDS: This is Tap. Go ahead. 

ANKER: Make sure Dave gets down here for tea and Snickers. Over. 

RICHARDS: Yeah, Dave and I are right here together here. We're going to make our way down that direction, I think. Over. 

POLITZ: Okay, Tap, this is Andy, come in. 

RICHARDS: Yeah Andy, Conrad is down pretty low, and we'd like to have Snickers and tea down there. Over. 

ANKER: Group meeting. Mandatory group meeting. Over. 

RICHARDS: Mandatory group meeting, Andy. Over. 

POLITZ: Roger. You been in the same location? Over. 

RICHARDS: You can see Dave and I are real close together. Watch us and follow us down. Over. 

POLITZ: Roger. I'm on my way. 

SIMONSON: Conrad, ABC. 

ANKER: Go ahead, Eric. 

SIMONSON: I'm standing by here. Just a quickie. I want you guys to know that there is at least one other expedition on our frequency right now. 

HEMMLEB: ABC, this is Base Camp, do you read? 

SIMONSON: Go ahead Base Camp. 

HEMMLEB: Just a radio check. Over. 

SIMONSON: Copy that, how is everything going at Base Camp? 

HEMMLEB: Suspended silence down here. 

SIMONSON: Copy that. 

 

Using a hand-held digital video camera, Dave Hahn recorded the following conversation between the search party members as they examined what they initially think is Andrew Irvine's body. Then, to everyone's surprise, the team discovers irrefutable evidence that the body belongs, in fact, to George Mallory. 

 

NORTON: We've got to flip him over to try to find that camera. 

ANKER: I think we should bury him. 

NORTON: Just a few rocks so he's not quite as obvious. 

HAHN: You can see his hands. You can see his blonde hair. His body appears to be mummified. There's rope around his waist, coming down his legs. 

ANKER: His right leg... is the end of the tibia. 

HAHN: Still some socks. You can see a boot. Second boot appears to be on his foot. You can see the metal cops bottom of his boot. That boot, that leg is an angulated fracture, so first guess is that he took a fall. Again, you can see rope around his body. Hands out to either side, almost in a self-arrest position. And his blonde hair. There are the remains of clothing from this angle, we can't see yet whether it's button clothing or zipper clothing. 

ANKER: Andy, do you recall what part of the body they wanted for the DNA sample? 

POLITZ: Femur. 

NORTON: Yeah, right here, you can see the fold in the skin from pressure by the rope, and also a black and blue that is still in the skin. That kind of indicates that he was either tied to something or someone when the pull came. 

POLITZ: He probably had several wraps of rope around him, as a harness. 

NORTON: Well, that's a good indication that he and Mallory might still have been tied to each other. 

HAHN: Okay Andy, tell me what you're finding. 

POLITZ: He's got a fine cotton layer. Might act as a shell. Hard to tell what kind of a cuff it's got. No, it's double layer. It's got a liner that we can see here. It's kind of a stripe pattern with a light pattern, and then a thicker one. This would be the lining of the shell gear. And then he's got, I tell you, I had a shirt like this, one of these old logger shirts. It's cotton, but it would give you some insulation. It's probably a button wrist, I'll bet, if it's anything like the one I had. So you've got a cut here. This was here before he started. I see a full-on thumb, his thumb split just exactly where mine is. 

HAHN: Okay, so we've got some kind of cap? He's wearing some kind of cap. He's got a snap. 

NORTON: Look at this abrasion here, too. He fell on his shoulder blade at some point. 

HAHN: Over on this side, you can see his layers, his wool sweater, long underwear, cotton. 

POLITZ: Another layer of cotton. 

NORTON: From Junior Stores. That's about all I can read. 

HAHN: Okay, these are... the collar... and the… Here, move your mitt. 

NORTON: Wait, this is George Mallory!!!!!!! 

HAHN: Really??? 

NORTON: This is George Mallory!! 

HAHN: Oh my God!! Oh my God!! 

NORTON: See that? George Mallory!! 

HAHN: Oh my God! Okay, somebody tell me good and loud what we're looking at here. 

NORTON: Right now we're going through the clothes on this body's back and we see a tag here that says W. F. Payne, and below that is a name tag. If you can't see it, it says G. Mallory. Now Mallory and Irvine were climbing together, it could be either one of them, but at least it identifies that it's one of the pair. 

HAHN: What's up, Andy? 

POLITZ: We expected that this is Andrew, fallen ten stories below the ice axe, Andrew Irvine's ice axe. However, we just found a shirt with a George Mallory tag on it. And I'll tell you, it blows you away. Now that doesn't mean this is George. Maybe Andrew is borrowing one of his shirts. Still, it places it in the right period, and it's the real thing here, blew me away. 

HAHN: So, there's a button on his clothing. It was one of the things we were told to look for to identify the type of clothing. 

NORTON: You want to point that out? 

HAHN: Yeah. 

NORTON: You can see there is a deformation here, indicating a huge fall and that his rack...is everything on the line.... 

RICHARDS: After all, he has broken ribs or something. 

ANKER: We're cutting his sleeves off and exposing his arms. We're not finding any jewelry or wearing a wristwatch on either wrist. We're also finding lacerations and something that looks like this other elbow really looks deformed, again indicating a fall, trauma ... I can't emphasize enough that the ribs here where it looks like the rope really took a hit on the ribs and this whole torso area. I wonder if he was carrying a rucksack at the time, and what happened to the rucksack. 

HAHN: Burying George Mallory. We didn't find the camera. We looked fairly hard. 

POLITZ: We're not worthy for this. We do this out of respect for this man. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Slow to anger and of great goodness. As a father is tender towards his children, so is the Lord tender to those that fear, for he knows of what we are made. He remembers that we are made of barefoot dust. He flourishes like a flower of the field. When the wind goes over it, it's gone. 

 

Hours after the discovery, the exhausted search party returns to Camp V. Again, in these radio conversations, no member of the expedition lets on as to exactly what they've found. But it's clear that Simonson and Hemmleb, thousands of feet below, understand clearly what Anker stumbled upon. 

 

ANKER: Roger, Roger. I think everyone is pretty tired. This is our fourth day in a row, and today was a 12-hour day from five to five. So it's a long day. Over. 

SIMONSON: Yeah, I hear you on that for sure. And it's probably better rather than pushing it and risking a misfortune. Then you better just hole up there and sleep on the O's and come down tomorrow maybe. 

ANKER: Yeah, come right down to ABC in the morning, that might be the option. I'll tune up at 6 o'clock, and Dave will probably be on the radio then too, and we'll know how far out he is. Over. 

SIMONSON: Okay. Sounds great. We'll just keep standing by. 

HAHN: Yeah, we got back to the ridge and the wind is blowing hard on the ridge here. I know that's the right course for me and Andy, and most likely, those other guys can pull off some miracle, but they'll probably be comfortable. Conrad, you on? 

NORTON: We're not moving an inch. Over. 

SIMONSON: Way to go there Jake. 

NORTON: Thanks Eric. It was Conrad with the big day, but we all had a good one up there. Over. 

SIMONSON: Hey, I'm really proud of you guys. Way to hang in there, and yeah, treat yourself to a nice juicy flow tonight and feel good in the morning. 

NORTON: Roger that. 

HEMMLEB (off radio): That's it....yes, yes, yes! 

HAHN: Right Eric. Nothing more from up here really. 

SIMONSON: Okay, we'll let you guys go. Get something to drink and have a pleasant night. Talk to you at seven in the morning. ABC standing by. 

HEMMLEB: Camp Five. This is Jochen. You guys are splendid. Congratulations. Have a good night. Have a safe way down tomorrow. That's all I have to say. Over. 

HAHN: Thanks Jochen. You're going to be a happy man. Talk to you in a couple of days. 

 

                                                                                                                                 

George Leigh Mallory

 

 

     

Alguns dos pertences encontrados junto ao corpo de George Mallory: uma caixa de fósforos, seu relógio (com os ponteiros quebrados), uma pequena lata de carne, os óculos de sol (que estavam em seu bolso), o canivete, uma luva, as botas e a bússola

 

 

   

  O corpo da Mallory, preservado pelo frio e o ar rarefeito por 75 anos

 

  A equipe da expedição que descobriu o corpo de George Mallory: da esquerda para a direita, à frente, Eric Simonson, Thom Pollard, Conrad Anker e Dave Han. Da esquerda para a direita, atrás: Andy Politz, Jake Norton e Tap Richards.

É um incrível documento, não? Em breve estarei postando uma série que chamei de Heróis do Everest, com biografias dos principais nomes que escalaram a montanha – desde Mallory até os maiores alpinistas atuais, passando, claro, por Sir Edmund Hillary e Tenzing Norgay. Então entrarei em mais detalhes sobre a vida e a carreira de Mallory – mas quem quiser ter uma excelente fonte deve ler a biografia Vida e paixões de Mallory, de Peter e Leni Gillman. O livro não foi lançado no Brasil. Eu tenho em espanhol, editado pela Desnivel e comprado através de seu site (http://www.libreriadesnivel.com/).

 

 

A descoberta foi transformada no documentário Lost on Everest: The search for Mallory & Irvine – que eu tenho em casa e recomendo. É ótimo! E no livro Fantasmas do Everest – Em busca de Mallory e Irvine, em português, lançado aqui pela Companhia das Letras. Traz todo o relato da expedição de 1999, além de fazer um paralelo desta com a expedição de 1924. É muito bom, vale a pena ler.

 

 

Até a próxima!