Sir, - The discovery of the frozen corpse of the late Himalayan climber, George Mallory, missing on Mount Everest since 1924, brings to mind the link between Mullingar and Himalayan mountaineering exploration. In 1921, George Mallory was a member of the first ever Mount Everest expedition led by Colonel Charles Kenneth Howard Bury of Belvedere House, Lough Ennel, Mullingar.
This expedition was responsible for the first modern reconnaissance and mapping of the area. Their approach was via the Rongbuk Glacier on the Tibetan Side - the route followed by the successful Irish expedition in 1994 led by Dawson Stelfox and Frank Nugent.
The example of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine in possibly reaching the summit of the world's highest mountain is a reminder of the day when men clothed in tweeds and hob-nailed boots sought the highest peaks for no material reward, but just for the sake of curiosity or personal satisfaction. - Yours, etc., Michael J. Duffy,
Lynn Cross, Mullingar, Co Westmeath.