On June 8, 1924, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared somewhere near the summit of Mount Everest, leaving open the tantalizing question of whether they had reached the summit of Everest twenty-nine years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. In 1999, climber Conrad Anker discovered Mallory's body on Everest and helped solve one of the greatest mysteries in the history of adventure and exploration. In The Lost Explorer, Anker and historian David Roberts craft a dramatic account of the expeditions of 1924 and 1999, and ultimately capture the passion and spirit of two men driven to test themselves against nature at its most brutal.

On June 8, 1924, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew "Sandy" Irvine were last seen climbing toward the summit of Mt. Everest. Clouds soon closed around them, and they vanished into history. Ever since, mountaineers have wondered whether they reached the summit, twenty-nine years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. On May 1, 1999, Conrad Anker, one of the world's strongest mountaineers, discovered Mallory's body, frozen and naturally mummified at 27,000 feet on Everest's north face. The condition of the body, as well as the "artifacts" found with Mallory, are important clues in determining his fate. Seventeen days later Anker free-climbed the Second Step, a ninety-foot sheer cliff that is the single hardest obstacle on the north ridge. Anker's climb was the first test since Mallory's of the cliff's true difficulty. From the Second Step, Anker led teammate Dave Hahn to the summit under treacherous conditions. Reflecting on the climb, Anker explains why he thinks Mallory and Irvine failed to make the summit, but also expresses his awe for Mallory's achievement with the primitive equipment of the time. Handsome, charismatic, and a climber of legendary gracefulness, Mallory continues to fascinate mountaineers today. The Lost Explorer is the remarkable story of this extraordinary man, and of the equally talented modern climber who spearheaded a discovery that may help solve the mystery of Mallory's disappearance.