Alan Mallory - The Family that Conquered Everest: And the Secrets to their Success

GENERAL STORE PUBLISHING HOUSE INC.

499 OBrien Road, Renfrew, Ontario, Canada K7V 3Z3

Telephone 1.613.599.2064 or 1.800.465.6072

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ISBN 978-1-777123-074-2

Copyright Alan Mallory 2014

Cover art, design: Magdalene Carson

Published in Canada

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), One Yonge Street, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario, M5E 1E5.

Mallory, Alan, 1984-, author

The family that conquered Everest : ... and the secrets to their success / Alan Mallory with excerpts from Dan Mallory, Barbara Mallory, Adam Mallory and Laura Mallory. The Incredible Story of a Unique Family and Their Journey to the Top of the World.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-77123-074-2 (pbk.). --ISBN 978-1-77123-187-9 (epub).

--ISBN 978-1-77123-188-6 (mobi).--ISBN 978-1-77123-189-3 (pdf)

1. Mallory, Alan, 1984-. 2. Mallory, Alan, 1984- --Family.

3. Mallory, Alan, 1984- --Travel--Everest, Mount (China and Nepal).

4. Everest, Mount (China and Nepal)--Description and travel.

5. Mountaineers--Canada--Biography. 6. Success. I. Title.

GV199.44.E85M34 2014 915.49604 C2014-900903-8

C2014-900904-6

This book is dedicated to my grandfather, Wilbert Eugene Mallory, who passed away in 2011. I am thankful for all the life lessons and practical knowledge he passed on to me that helped nurture and craft the person that I am today.

There are many people that I would like to acknowledge and thank for their contributions to this book, their participation in the anecdotes contained within it and their influence in the exciting and interesting journey that my life has been thus far. I am fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my life.

First, I would like to thank my family for their love and support, and especially my parents for raising me the way they did and for all the fabulous adventures I have been honoured to take part in. To my brother and sister, Adam and Laura, you have been the best siblings I could ever ask for and I look forward to many more years of excitement and camaraderie in our future ventures.

Many of my friends and coworkers have been kind enough to read through and comment on the draft versions of this book and for that I am very grateful as well. Your feedback and support have been invaluable throughout the process, so thank you for devoting your time.

Most important, I would like to thank my beautiful wife Natalie, who loves me for who I am and has stuck with me through all of the crazy ideas I have conjured up and ventures I have commenced during our marriage thus far. Thank you for your encouragement and trust. It is a great privilege and a blessing for me to have such a wonderful partner in life to love and to share the journey with.

I WAS CLINGING to the jagged, exposed rock on the summit ridge of Mount Everest, and the last of my oxygen cylinders had been depleted. I had just collapsed on the icy, cold surface beneath me and I frantically tore off my now useless oxygen mask, gasping desperately for sufficient air to satisfy my starving lungs. My inner core was filled with a strange, bitter-cold sensation, and my limbs were trembling violently out of my control. My mind raced, and although I fought hard against the building fright within me, I began to panic. I still remember that terrible feeling and the memory brings back a chill even to this day.

My thoughts were drawn to the nearly 200 other climbers who had lost their lives on Everest and I couldnt help but realize that the state I was entering into was exactly the condition that would have befallen many of those climbers shortly before they lost their lives. Many other thoughts and feelings flashed through my mind and body during that dreadful period as well. Sadness, helplessness, confusion, and even some feelings of regret; but all of these were dwarfed by the solemn realization, which was becoming more and more of a reality: I am going to die on this mountain!

Everyone has dreams of one sort or another in life aspirations of becoming someone important or doing something significant with our time here on earth. It is only human nature for us to have these dreams. Even in early childhood, each of us begins setting lofty goals for the type of person we want to be and what we want to do with our lives. Unfortunately, some of these dreams can get lost in the hectic busyness of our daily lives. It is important to dream, though. It gives us motivation and something to look forward to; something to set our sights on.

This book is about my family and how we set and collectively achieved one of our common dreams, to climb to the highest point on earth, the summit of Mount Everest. I was encouraged to share this story by the many individuals and especially the families who found our journey inspirational and personally moving. Close-knit families are becoming a rarity nowadays, and the strong camaraderie my family shares is a great gift and a privilege.

I am the middle child of a unique family of five from a little village in Southern Ontario by the name of Utopia. Although many would argue that it is not quite the ideally perfect place the name suggests, it is a quiet, rural area off the beaten track and has several wilderness areas nearby. I expect this is the reason my parents chose this area in which to live and raise a family.

My upbringing, and that of my brother and sister, was a little different than normal, I suppose. We never had a television growing up, and even through our university years, the only television my parents had in the house was an old cathode-ray tube that sat in the basement and was rarely used.

Not having a television changed the way we had to entertain ourselves as children. When most of our friends were watching cartoons and their favourite shows, we were obliged to amuse ourselves by exploring the surrounding area and finding other things to do, usually in the outdoors. We didnt have many of the fancy toys that most children have nowadays, either. I guess my mother and father thought that these playthings were a waste of money, or maybe we couldnt afford them, but for whatever reason, we grew up playing with wooden blocks and homemade games instead of trendy brand-name toys.

What we did do, though, was spend a lot of time exploring and taking part in various outdoor activities with our parents. Mom would spend all summer with us up at the cottage and for as long as I can remember, we have been going on hikes and camping trips as a family.

My father planted the competitive seed in us at a very early age. I can recall his entering us in mountain bike races, running competitions, and triathlons shortly after I learned to ride a bike. I didnt always enjoy all of these outdoor activities but eventually the competitive spark and sense of adventure began to grow inside of me, as it did in my brother and sister, and we have retained it ever since.