George Leigh Mallory | Ice axe, said to have belonged to Mallory, c.1920s

[George Leigh Mallory.]

“Edelweiss” ice axe, steel head (length 29 cm) with serrated pick (18cm) and adze (11cm), with wooden shaft (length 103.5cm) and pointed spike on ferrule, head stamped (“FUHRER F[RER]ES | GSTAAD”, “[S]CHWEI[ZER] PICKEL”, with Edelweiss device), with extensive markings from use

AN ICE AXE WITH EXCEPTIONAL PROVENANCE CONNECTING IT TO GEORGE MALLORY, ONE OF THE GREATEST FIGURES IN THE HISTORY OF MOUNTAINEERING. This ice axe belonged to George Mallory’s sister Mary, who said that it was her brother’s ice axe and that he had left it with her before setting off on the 1924 Everest Expedition. The ice axe bears obvious signs of wear so it is likely, but not certain, that it was used on his earlier attempts on Everest in 1921-22.

This axe was supplied by Fuhrer Frères of Gstaad. This company did not themselves manufacture ice axes: other Schweizer Pickel axes with the Edelweiss device appear to have been manufactured by Hupfauf of Einsiedeln. The records of the British Everest Expedition of 1924 reveal that Fuhrer Frères of Gstaad provided 15 ice axes for the expedition (Royal Geographical Society Archive, EE/26/7 and EE/39/2). This appears to have been the first time the company had supplied ice axes to the Everest expeditions: in 1922, 19 French ice axes were supplied by Arthur Beale Ltd, a long-established British chandler (RGS Archive EE/8/1/1). It must be supposed, however, that the more experienced mountaineers in the expeditions, such as Mallory, are likely to have preferred to use their own more familiar ice axes rather than relying on those supplied for the expedition. Perhaps, indeed, the decision to use Fuhrer Frères for the 1924 expedition was a result of Mallory’s recommendation following his use of this axe on earlier expeditions.

NO ICE AXES KNOWN FOR CERTAIN TO HAVE BELONGED TO MALLORY ARE RECORDED.

PROVENANCE

Mary Mallory, sister of George Mallory; thence by direct family descent