George Mallory, First to climb Everest?

[#juan]

I've just finished a book written by Jeffery Archer. Archer has stepped away from fictional thrillers this time. The Book is a kind of historical biography in that all the characters are real. George Mallory was lost on Everest in 1924. He was last seen 800 feet from the summit. His body was found in 1999. He had promised to leave a picture of his wife at the summit. His wife's picture was not in his wallet when the body was found.
George Mallory in 1999:

 

[#juan]

George Mallory

• Born: 1886
• Birthplace: England
• Died: 8 June 1924 (mountain accident)
• Best Known As: The guy who climbed Everest "because it is there."

Also Known As: George Herbert Leigh-Mallory
An expert mountaineer, George Mallory led three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s. On the third, in 1924, Mallory and climbing partner Andrew Irvine made an attempt at the summit but disappeared in heavy weather, never to return. It seemed certain they had perished on the mountain, but whether they reached the summit before they died was unknown. (Sir Edmund Hillary became the first man to officially reach the summit in 1953.) A 1999 expedition found Mallory's frozen body 27,000 feet up Everest's north face. The body was remarkably well preserved, but offered no evidence that Mallory had made it to the summit before his death.
Mallory's grandson, George Mallory II, reached the Everest summit in 1995.

George Mallory: Biography from Answers.com