This wonderful story can motivate young KS3 or KS4 scientists. Create the “Everest circus” of experiments. Which materials are the best insulators for clothes and tents? Originally: wool, linen, leather, or modern fibres (carefully wrap the sleeve of a coat around the beaker of warm water).
Measure the breaking strength of various materials as mock ropes. Consider progress in electronics, 1950s radios to modern mobiles; the original Mallory camera to digitals. What principles are involved in these technologies? Look at the biology of oxygen demand at various heights. How do you design breathing apparatus? Food and drink too: how easy is it to melt snow and drink, let alone cook the proverbial egg?
