The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest

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(as of Oct 05, 2026 18:00:26 UTC – Details)


*One of the 57 Most Anticipated Books Of 2021—Elle
Shivering, exhausted, gasping for oxygen, beyond doubt . . .
A hundred-year mystery lured veteran climber Mark Synnott into an unlikely expedition up Mount Everest during the spring 2019 season that came to be known as “the Year Everest Broke.” What he found was a gripping human story of impassioned characters from around the globe and a mountain that will consume your soul—and your life—if you let it.
The mystery? On June 8, 1924, George Mallory and Sandy Irvine set out to stand on the roof of the world, where no one had stood before. They were last seen eight hundred feet shy of Everest’s summit still “going strong” for the top. Could they have succeeded decades before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? Irvine is believed to have carried a Kodak camera with him to record their attempt, but it, along with his body, had never been found. Did the frozen film in that camera have a photograph of Mallory and Irvine on the summit before they disappeared into the clouds, never to be seen again? Kodak says the film might still be viable. . . .
Mark Synnott made his own ascent up the infamous North Face along with his friend Renan Ozturk, a filmmaker using drones higher than any had previously flown. Readers witness first-hand how Synnott’s quest led him from oxygen-deprivation training to archives and museums in England, to Kathmandu, the Tibetan high plateau, and up the North Face into a massive storm. The infamous traffic jams of climbers at the very summit immediately resulted in tragic deaths. Sherpas revolted. Chinese officials turned on Synnott’s team. An Indian woman miraculously crawled her way to frostbitten survival. Synnott himself went off the safety rope—one slip and no one would have been able to save him—committed to solving the mystery.
Eleven climbers died on Everest that season, all of them mesmerized by an irresistible magic. The Third Pole is a rapidly accelerating ride to the limitless joy and horror of human obsession.
*This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF containing maps, notes on sources, and acknowledgments from the printed book.
Listening Length ‏ : ‎ 12 hours and 38 minutes
Author ‏ : ‎ Mark Synnott
Narrator ‏ : ‎ Steve Campbell
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 13, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Audio
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08DKGTQCH
Version ‏ : ‎ Unabridged
Program Type ‏ : ‎ Audiobook
Best Sellers Rank: #83,537 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #43 in Mountaineering (Books) #99 in Expeditions & Discoveries World History (Books) #108 in Expeditions & Discoveries
Customer Reviews: 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,153) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers find this book to be a compelling read that keeps them engaged throughout. The book is well-researched with fascinating facts about Everest climbs, and one customer notes how it weaves in the author’s experience with historical narrative. Customers praise the writing quality, with one noting it’s hard to imagine writing a book like this any better, and appreciate its detailed approach to the subject matter.