To boldly go where no man has gone before

THE boundaries of human capability are hard to grasp. Determination, nerve, intelligence or physique produce achievements so far beyond common experience as to seem scarcely credible. Motivations might range from conquest to sport or merely an urge to excel. For example, Kim Collison—who, in 2020, ran 96 miles in 24 hours over 78 Lake District peaks—says simply that he ‘loved the hills and the physical release’.

Mountains are a testing theatre. During the 1924 Everest expedition, despite blizzards, delay and exhaustion, four Englishmen climbed within 1,000ft of the wind-whipped, icy summit —wearing pullovers, tweed jackets and gaberdine smocks. Two, George Mallory and Andrew ‘Sandy’