Letter: Good Luck to 2001 Team
Read Koury - Cyberspace
Mon, April 23, 2001 2:30PM

Good luck on the Mallory Irvine 2001 Expedition and congratulations on the achievements to date.

I was unaware until recently of the controversy surrounding the past expedition and criticism from some quarters regarding publication of the photos and handling of Mallory's body. I can only say that I thought that the team was very respectful, and that the photographs were essential to understanding the story, and not in bad taste at all.

The whole idea is ridiculous given the wide publication of pictures of corpses beginning with the Civil War, where such pictures were viewed at the time as illuminating the essential character of war. The Mallory photos also revealed something essential and true about high altitude climbing, and are part of the history of the mountain. Moreover, I don't think Mallory would mind and neither would Irvine. We are talking about history here not morbid fascination with corpses. I think the criticism is just wrong, and in Sir Edmund's case, perhaps motivated by his subconscious pride in his own achievement.

Anyway, don't worry about the criticism and keep up the good work. You have a lot of support out here and respect for the way you all have handled things.

Good luck to you and best wishes.

Read Koury, Website Visitor

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