This was the first expedition to approach Everest. The discovery of the Rongbuk Glacier route to the North col and other northern approaches to Everest makes this one of the most important books about the mountain.

This is the account of the reconnaissance expedition to Mount Everest in 1921, led by the author, to establish the groundwork for a complete assault on the summit by the British Everest Expedition in 1922. It also provided the first photographs of the peak. George Mallory was the driving force in this as well as the 1922 and 1924 expeditions.