Letters written by one of Britain’s most famous but ill-fated mountaineers and explorers have been published online.

Letters written to his wife Ruth by George Mallory, who disappeared on Everest in 1924, have been published by his former Cambridge University College, Magdalene.

He was 37 when he and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine disappeared near the summit of the world’s highest mountain.

Seventy-five years later, Mallory’s body was found, but Owen’s remains were lost.

It’s unclear whether they made it to the top.

The letters were published to mark the 100th anniversary of his disappearance.

Much of the correspondence took place between their engagement in 1914 and his death, including his last letter before his final summit attempt, in which he described the odds of winning as “Our odds are 50″ Than 1”.

“My dear, I wish you as much as I can that your anxiety will be over until you get this news – the best news. It will also be the quickest,” he wrote.

“We were outscored 50-1, but we were still going to win and be proud of ourselves.”

He signed the letter: “Love you very much. Love you forever, George.”

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His letters also referenced his first reconnaissance mission to Everest in 1921, and his second expedition a year later, when seven Sherpas were killed in an avalanche, for which he blamed himself.

He also described his service in the First World War, including service in the artillery unit during the Battle of the Somme.

A letter from Ruth Mallory to her husband (the only surviving letter from this period) was also posted online, in which she wrote: “I think I want it more than I did before. Your company.

“I know I’m often grumpy and have a bad attitude, and I’m sorry, but the root cause is almost always the fact that I’m unhappy about how little I know you.

“I know it would be foolish to ruin the time I have with you when I don’t have you.”

Three other letters found on Mallory’s body in 1999 have also been released – one from his brother Trafford Leigh-Mallory and one believed to be from expedition support Stella Cobden-Sanderson, and a letter from his sister Mary Brooke, written in Colombo in 1999. Sri Lanka.

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Magdalene College Archivist Katie Green said: “It was a real pleasure working on the letters.

“Whether it was George’s wife Ruth writing about how she sent plum cakes and grapefruits to the trenches (which he said were not yet ripe enough) or his final poignant letter about climbing Mt. Everest The odds are ’50 to 1 against us,’ and they provide a fascinating look into the life of this famous Magdalene alumnus. “

These letters can be found at Magdalene College website.

The first recorded summit of Mount Everest was in 1953 by New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary and Tibetan mountaineer Tenzing Norgay.