"When I was watching a documentary about the famous British climber, I was fascinated by one of his photos. It's a different perspective," said Dong Shuchang, 24, a photographer from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, who started shooting landscapes of snowy mountains in May.

 

He shared a copy of the old photo, taken during Mallory's first reconnaissance mission to the slopes of the world's tallest mountain, with Ma Chunlin, 27, a landscape photographer specializing in the Himalayas. Together, they confirmed that Mallory's photo was shot from the Kharta Valley, east of Qomolangma and 5,700 meters above sea level.

 

Through Google Earth, they got a view of the valley and found that the northeastern ridge of the mountain was perfectly presented.

 

"The northeastern face is not visible from the Kaamo Tsangpo Valley of the eastern face, or from Base Camp, in front of the north face," Dong said.

 

In 1921, Mallory and his fellow explorers passed through the Kharta Valley. From there, they could not reach the summit but they confirmed the first route to the top, which is still used by climbers today.

 

Dong and Ma found that very little information was available about the valley, so they decided to go there. They wanted to take a photo from the same perspective and make comparisons with the one Mallory took 100 years ago.

 

In September, with the help of a Tibetan guide, they arrived, after climbing from 4,200 to 5,700 meters above sea level in two days.

 

Although they had simulated the scene countless times on Google Earth, they were still shocked by what they saw in person.

 

"The moment I saw the mountain, all the pain and discomfort of the hike disappeared," Dong said.