Haunting pictures of Mount Everest expedition emerge for first time

Haunting photographs of a doomed expedition to Mount Everest have emerged in a book and exhibition to commemorate the centenary next month.

British explorers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine attempted to become the first to summit Mount Everest in June 1924 but disappeared without a trace.

They were last seen on June 8 attempting to reach the summit when they became shrouded in mist and were lost from sight.

Mallory was then the most famous mountaineer in the world and the pair’s loss stunned the British public.

A memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral was attended by King George V during a period of national mourning.

Mallory’s legacy includes one of the most famous quotes in history. On a fundraising tour of the US, he was bombarded with questions for days on end.

Why do you want to climb Everest, he was asked endlessly until he lost his temper and snapped: “Because it’s there.”

His body was discovered on Everest at 26,800ft in May 1999, 75 years after his disappearance.

His goggles, wristwatch, altimeter and monogrammed handkerchief were also recovered. Irvine’s body has never been found.

Debate still rages as to whether the pair perished on the way to the summit or whether they had in fact conquered the mountain but died during their descent.

Mallory’s camera, which might have contained photographic evidence to show the pair had reached the summit was missing.

A photograph of his wife Ruth which he had vowed to leave on the mountain’s peak was also absent.

The Royal Geographical Society has commemorated the expedition with an exhibition and a book entitled Everest 24.

The book features never-before-published photos showing climbers and their local guides on the mountain before the ill-fated attempt on the summit.

The book also features a foreword from Norbu Tenzing, son of Tenzing Norgay who with Edmund Hillary became the first to reach the summit of Everest in 1953.