Other Everests: One Mountain, Many Worlds

Other Everests: One Mountain, Many Worlds marks the centenary of the 1924 Mount Everest expedition. It tells the almost forgotten story of the Sherpas who worked on the mountain, highlighting their contribution to the 1920s expeditions to Everest.

Using stunning photographs presented in large-format vivid lightboxes, combined with displays of artefacts, including the now famous recreation of George Mallory’s climbing outfit found when his body was finally discovered on Everest in 1999, the exhibition shares fascinating archives from the Royal Geographical Society and the Mountain Heritage Trust. With funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council there has been research into the hidden histories of Indigenous high-altitude workers on Everest. These expeditions relied on a huge army of indigenous labourers working in a range of roles like interpreters, porters, high-altitude climbers, cooks, mail runners, photographic and collection assistants.

The exhibition takes a step back from the usual narratives around the 1924 expedition, setting them in a wider context of the people and places that surrounded the mountain, and the transforming effects of mountain tourism The exhibition offers interactive family activities too along with a small traversing climbing wall.