Explorer says Mallory not first on Everest

Did George Mallory reach the summit of the Mount Everest before his mysterious disappearance in 1924?

Conrad Anker, who discovered the body of the man that has and still is spurring romantic speculation and debate about who really reached the world’s highest of peaks first, said Mallory didn’t.

"I believe he couldn’t make it to the summit," said the 40-year-old Anker, who not only succeeded in his breathtaking ascent to Mt. Everest but also trekked dangerous undiscovered routes in the frozen wastes of Antartica.

"It’s because of the conditions, it was too late in the day and they couldn’t make it up, they were on their way down," he added.

Anker, the polite enigmatic 43-year-old Buddhist acolyte, was here in town and discussed his book he co-wrote with David Roberts titled "The Lost Explorer" at the Power Plant Mall thanks to The North Face.

The book talked about riveting tales of Anker’s discovery of Mallory’s body 75 years after he launched the most daring and first official assault of the mountain in the 20th century.

If the 37-year-old Mallory and his youthful 22-year-old companion Andrew Irvine had succeeded despite their primitive equipment, they could have laid fair claim as the first to having pulled off the greatest mountaineering feat ever performed.

The odd pair of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, who made it to the peak 29 years after Mallory’s failed attempt, wouldn’t have been the pioneers.

While talking about the book, Anker also signed autographs for local mountaineers including members of the first RP Everest Expedition team headed by Art Valdez.

Anker even gave tips as to how the team, the first ever assault by the Filipinos, would succeed in conquering the mountain, considered as the world’s Third Pole for its awesome aura of mysticism.

"First, you have to plan ahead, have a good, cohesive team that communicates clearly. Find the right people whom you can strengthen yourself with. And be patient," he said. — Joey Villar