As journalist Peter Gillman tracked the historic debate stewing around the unknown fate of British mountaineer George Mallory, he never imagined the body of the storied Mount Everest climber would be found 75 years after Mallory’s disappearance in 1924.
But much to Gillman’s surprise, on May 1, 1999, American climbers from Seattle stumbled upon Mallory’s remains and photographed them.
Gillman, a former reporter at the London Sunday Times for 15 years, spoke Monday evening in Willamette Hall to a crowd of more than 100 people about his recently completed biography about Mallory.
At the time Mallory’s remains were discovered, Gillman and his wife, Leni Gillman, had ironed out the details for a biography about the climber and were gathering information to finish it. The book would explore Mallory’s life beyond ice axes and crampons to the symbiotic relationship between Mallory’s outdoor ambitions and his wife and children.
But with the flurry of attention devoted to the recent find, publishers told Gillman to push the release date forward.
Despite being familiar with deadlines as a veteran reporter for the Times, Gillman said he kindly declined. There was too much information to gather, and a rush wouldn’t do it justice.
The book recounts Mallory’s life from his first climb up the steeple and ridge of his father’s church to his homosexual relationships and later devotion to his wife and children.
It also examines whether Mallory actually made it to Mount Everest’s summit on his third attempt in June 1924. Gillman believes Mallory never reached the top.
“I think he died in retreat,” Gillman said.
But he also subscribes to the romantic visions of Mallory’s daughter, Claire.
“It doesn’t matter to me whether or not he made it,” Gillman said, quoting Claire. “It was his life I loved and love.”
Gillman said this work has been 30 years in the making, but that through the last year the project really took form.
Two people in attendance at Gillman’s lecture Monday have a special interest in Mount Everest and in George Mallory — Cottage Grove residents Hugh and Joan Peniston.
Their son is the director of a national park in Nepal close to Mount Everest, and in 1997, longtime pastor Hugh and his son hiked throughout the region. The Penistons said they were drawn to the lecture because of the mystery surrounding Mallory’s fate.
“Well, nobody knew what had happened to him,” Joan said.
Hugh added: “I didn’t know some of the details of his life. But ever since I mentioned his ‘I climb it because it’s there’ statement in a sermon, I’ve been interested in him.”