So it's a fascinating read so far, I've got to tell you, and I'm going to enjoy reading the rest of it, but Everest has fascinated people, hasn't it? I mean, those years, and interesting to read this, I didn't know this either, that until really Mallory, maybe 10, 20 years before him, no one had got within spitting distance of the mountain, had they?

They hadn't got within 40 miles of it, and The other thing is this, that you or I, let's say you or I back in the 1920s, we make the trek.

We get through 300 miles of Tibet.

We make the trek from the north and then we come face to face With 10,000 feet, we get to 20,000 feet, but there is another 10,000 feet of sheer rock face.

I know what I would do.

I would say, geez, I'm glad I've seen that.

That is just amazing.

Totally.

On the way up, not the way

down.

Well, that's not that no one knows, but he'd said to his wife, I will have – I've got the photo of you that I cherish.

If I get to the top of Everest, I will bury this photo there on the top of Everest.

So when they opened his coat pockets – So when they defrosted him? They defrosted – well, they searched his pockets.

There's no photo.

So the theory is he got there.

policeman couldn't bash you with it.

What's with these two guys? Do people still do this now?

I don't think they do it now.

Well, they do it in their hundreds to get to the top of Everest now.

Jonesy, you and I, if we had enough money, we could basically hire enough porters to practically carry us to the top of Everest with our oxygen canisters.

But back in the 1920s.

When Mallory started, the famous question was put to George Mallory, why? Why are you trying to climb Everest? And the famous answer was, because it's there.

Is that where that's come from? That's it.

policeman couldn't bash you with it.

How do you rate the impact of Les Kiss?

He's liberated them.

There was a brilliant article done on him a couple of weeks ago.

As a matter of fact, I wrote it.

Little joke, Heather.

Anyway, basically what I loved about what he said was that... to play what's in front of them.

He said players shouldn't be transactional.

So if you accept that, as you say, they've turned a corner and they're on the up and we are putting up a squad with some key players missing, how do you rate the chance of an upset tomorrow?

Now, Peter, you say you had to be really persuaded to do this book, and it sure doesn't read like it.

The man that introduced you to me was Matthew Kelly, editor, publisher, editor of Random House.

And Matthew's been at me for 15 years to do Weary Dunlop.

And I started once and I started twice.

I just couldn't get into it.

And about two years ago, I started and I looked at the detail.

I started to really get into it.

What was it designed to do? Was it ever finished? And is it in use