In the Centenary year of the ill-fated Mallory-Irvine Everest expedition there has been a rush of new books, films, exhibitions and more, all marking the moment. For example, tucked away behind Carrock Fell, just inside the northernmost boundary of the English Lake District national park is the pretty village of Hesket Newmarket. Here you will find the country's first community-owned pub, The Old Crown, and an enclave of mountaineering history. Piece by Greg Hackett.

The combination of a good mountaineering history film, a welcoming community and a decent pint was simply too much to resist.

Squeezed into the back room of one of the 2024 Cumbria Life Pub of the Year were about 30 locals and most likely a few passers-through, elbow-to-elbow in a few rows of seats, here to watch a film about a mountain mystery that has rumbled away for a century. There would be a second screening afterwards, and maybe even after that..

Everest Revisited 1924-2024 is not only a film about the fate of Mallory and Irvine, it is also a story which shows due respect to the Sherpas and high-altitude porters who lost their lives on this and other expeditions of the early Everest years. And of course, it seeks to explain the enduring allure of the world's highest mountain with the help of a line-up of experts.

In amongst them is Ed Douglas, whose book Himalaya I would recommend to anyone who wants to understand this part of the world to at least a fraction of the extraordinary level that Ed does. Also in the film is Julie Summers, great niece of Sandy Irvine, an historian who in amongst her other work is continually drawn back to the intrigue of her own family story. Leo Houlding turns up in period mountaineering clothing, and Sir Chris Bonington also shares his thoughts, and with a raised eyebrow gently prods Mallory's choice of the inexperienced Irvine as his climbing partner.

The film makes excellent use of a number of sources, in particular BFI footage of the early Everest expeditions. These scenes flicker away silently, a black and white reminder of how a century can pass in the blink of an eye. Inspired by watching such scenes in Everest Revisited, at this year's Kendal Mountain Festival I attended a session in which the Climbing Mount Everest film of 1922 was shown in full with a live performance of a new, and very modern, quite trippy musical score. This original film had been made not only as a record of that year's expedition, but as marketing collateral to drum up sponsorship for the 1924 effort. Seven porters died in 1922, and although the Sherpas are credited as expert mountaineers, no names are given, and the terrible incident isn't mentioned.

Also happening this summer has been the centenary celebration: Other Everests: One Mountain, Many Worlds at the National Trust’s Wray Castle, on Windermere’s shores. Curated by Harvey Wilkinson and historian Dr Jonathan Westaway, the exhibit is also a nod to the Lake District’s role as the birthplace of rock climbing. Again, light is thrown on the often-overlooked contributions of Sherpas to the 1920s Everest expeditions, with vivid lightbox photography, historic artefacts, and a recreation of George Mallory’s iconic climbing outfit.

Former president of the Alpine Club John Porter, one of the golden era of climbers of whom it was once said "nearly climbed themselves into extinction" is co-director of Everest Revisited alongside Dom Bush, whose Land & Sky filmmaking outfit resides in nearby Kendal. Porter's CV reveals a strong creative streak, something other than your usual mountaineer. A co-founder of the Kendal festival he has also gained international recognition as a writer - One Day as a Tiger picked up the Grand Prize at Banff - and he has published a book of poetry.

Together, Dom and John have made a film of the Everest story that felt to me as though it was within a pitch of closure. I don't think I have seen anything else that describes so unambiguously the experiences of those local workers who died for the dreams of western adventurers. The money behind the expedition is weighed up alongside the rewards available to porters and the contrast is stark. It felt like a setting-to-rights.

The other loose end that may never be tied is of course the mystery of whether they made it to the top or not. Houlding seems to think not, largely on the basis that a 15-foot cliff they faced would have been too much for them with the equipment at their disposal combined with what they had already experienced. His hope is that "the camera" will never be found and the summit mystery will never be solved.

Will this film and the passing of a century finally give the mountain some peace? Unlikely.

Will the debate ever come up in The Old Crown again? Probably.

#theoldcrownhesket #hesketnewmarket #everest #mounteverest #mallory #malloryandirvine