Team members including Mallory and Sherpas at a rest stop on Everest, J.B Noel 1922 (c) RGS-IBG
To mark the centenary of the first European expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s, the Society is exploring and reflecting on the context, depiction, and legacy of these early expeditions.
Our Everest through the lens exhibition, open to visitors until 20 January 2023, explores how the films of Captain John Noel helped create the popular image of Everest in the 1920s and reveals some of the lesser-known elements of the expeditions, including the role of the Indigenous and regional labour forces who supported the climbing teams. The exhibition draws on research undertaken by Dr Jan Faull using the Society’s Everest archives, and supported through the AHRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Programme. Everest through the lens is open to all between 10.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Saturday (excluding over the Christmas period), and is free to visit.
Continuing our series of events linked to the exhibition, we are hosting a panel discussion on Wednesday 23 November examining how the first Everest expeditions were documented and recorded, as well as the role of the local knowledge and resources that facilitated the climbs. The event will be hosted by Maxine Croxall, with speakers Professor Felix Driver, Dr Jonathan Westaway and Atem Lemtur.
This programme of activity is linked to and builds on a two-day symposium exploring Other Everests, held at the Society earlier in the year. The event brought together international scholars, archivists, curators, learned and professional societies, and the mountaineering community to critically assess the legacy of the Everest expeditions, and to re-evaluate the symbolic, political and cultural status of Everest in the contemporary world.
Working alongside a network of academics and the custodians of significant archival collections relating to Everest, plans for further exhibitions, events, webinars, and more over the next two years are in development, as we look to mark a number of key Everest anniversaries in 2023 and 2024. Details will be shared as these are confirmed.