doug748
Well-Known Member
The debate on sailing gear prompted me to check out the kit used in the good ole days.
I have an image of Mallory shinning up Everest with his Norfolk jacket and pipe, and it turns out to be not far from the truth. However this stuff is not to be underestimated:
"The Universities of Lancaster, Southampton, Leeds and Derby combined their expertise to assess the artefacts and clothing found with Mallory's body on Everest. Replica clothing, worn in the tests by Mountaineer Graham Hoyland, proved conclusively that the clothing George Mallory wore for climbing Everest was more than adequate for the elements. Mallory's total clothing weight on Everest in 1924 was 4.160g, compared with the modern equivalent worn by Alan Hinkes, on Everest in 2005 which weighed 4.825g .
Mallory wore a very effective system of layers that allowed freedom of movement. Analysis of Mallory's gear proves that there was nothing about either the clothing or footwear that would have in itself prevented a successful ascent of Everest. In fact the lightweight nature of the clothing was ideally suited and would have given a distinct advantage to Mallory.
And so what did Mallory wear?
WOOL!
In Mallory's case, the wool was interlayered with silk, but this was more for itch-reduction and ease of layering, than for anything else. Graham Hoyland, who wore the Mallory replicas, is quoted as saying
"I immediately found the [woolen] underclothes warm to put on, whereas the modern polypropylene underwear feels cold and clammy….Like most mountaineers, I am used to synthetic outdoor clothing: polypropylene underclothes and outer fleeces …They are unforgiving in stretch, and begin to smell unpleasant if worn for more than a couple of days. There is a harsh synthetic sensation next to your skin."
This, as you might guess, is a bit of a blow to the synthetics industry who fund much of the research, and also fund the annual Clothing for Extremes Conference. Strangely enough, they have gone very silent on the findings of the research! "
Think I will get Dad's old Guernsey out of the shed.
I have an image of Mallory shinning up Everest with his Norfolk jacket and pipe, and it turns out to be not far from the truth. However this stuff is not to be underestimated:
"The Universities of Lancaster, Southampton, Leeds and Derby combined their expertise to assess the artefacts and clothing found with Mallory's body on Everest. Replica clothing, worn in the tests by Mountaineer Graham Hoyland, proved conclusively that the clothing George Mallory wore for climbing Everest was more than adequate for the elements. Mallory's total clothing weight on Everest in 1924 was 4.160g, compared with the modern equivalent worn by Alan Hinkes, on Everest in 2005 which weighed 4.825g .
Mallory wore a very effective system of layers that allowed freedom of movement. Analysis of Mallory's gear proves that there was nothing about either the clothing or footwear that would have in itself prevented a successful ascent of Everest. In fact the lightweight nature of the clothing was ideally suited and would have given a distinct advantage to Mallory.
And so what did Mallory wear?
WOOL!
In Mallory's case, the wool was interlayered with silk, but this was more for itch-reduction and ease of layering, than for anything else. Graham Hoyland, who wore the Mallory replicas, is quoted as saying
"I immediately found the [woolen] underclothes warm to put on, whereas the modern polypropylene underwear feels cold and clammy….Like most mountaineers, I am used to synthetic outdoor clothing: polypropylene underclothes and outer fleeces …They are unforgiving in stretch, and begin to smell unpleasant if worn for more than a couple of days. There is a harsh synthetic sensation next to your skin."
This, as you might guess, is a bit of a blow to the synthetics industry who fund much of the research, and also fund the annual Clothing for Extremes Conference. Strangely enough, they have gone very silent on the findings of the research! "
Think I will get Dad's old Guernsey out of the shed.
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