Daniel Light and Mick Conefrey chaired by Stephen Law

Mountaineer Daniel Light and mountaineering documentary maker Mick Conefrey discuss the early days of mountaineering including the story of George Mallory and his ill-fated Everest expedition of 1924.

Light has written a history of the early years of mountaineering, The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering, that recounts early exploits of mountaineers before Everest was conquered. It ranges from the Incan priests who scaled icy Andean slopes to pay tribute to each mountain’s ‘great lord’ to Gurkha riflemen who explored the Karakoram range and tweed-clad mountaineers making the first efforts on Everest. Light has been climbing for more than 20 years.

‘Daniel Light delivers stories that are poetic, spiritual and astonishing in their courage and drive. True climbers remain an esoteric breed but perhaps now they are finally more understandable’ Sonia Purnell

Conefrey is an award-winning documentary maker and author best known for his BBC series Mountain Men and Icemen and the Race for Everest. His latest book is Fallen. George Mallory: The Man, The Myth and the 1924 Everest Tragedy. Mallory was elevated into a hero after setting off for the summit and disappearing. It is still not known whether he made the summit before dying. Conefrey goes in search of the real Mallory to uncover the forces that made him and ultimately led him and some of those around him to their deaths.

Discussions are chaired by Dr Stephen Law, philosopher and academic, and author of bestselling introductions to philosophy for adults and children, including The Philosophy Gym. Law is also the editor of the Royal Institute of Philosophy Journal Think, and the festival’s major projects director.