A MOUNTAINEER has climbed Mount Everest wearing clothes recreated from threads found on George Mallory's body.

Graham Hoyland wore replicas of the woollen garments that Mobberley-born Mallory wore during his ill-fated Everest expedition 82 years ago - and lived to tell the tale.

"The first thing to report is how extraordinarily comfortable they are," he said after taking on the 29,035ft peak.

"When I first put on the clothes I found they felt warm instead of the slightly clammy feel of the synthetic alternative.

"The other layers, instead of feeling bulky, fitted very well."

Experts initially believed Mallory was ill-equipped after they discovered his frozen body 2,000ft below the summit in 1999.

But Mr Hoyland has helped to destroy that myth.

Last week Professor Mary Rose, who headed the three-year project to recreate Mallory's clothes, said the results provided key additional information for all those interested in the story about Mallory and his climbing partner Andrew Irvine.

"The replicas help answer some of the questions of today's outdoor equipment innovators," she said.

"The result of this work stands out as a challenge to outdoor clothing designers because Mallory's clothing was much lighter than today's equivalent."

In notes about his climb, Mr Hoyland said when cutting steps into the ice he found he could lift his arm fully without disturbing warm layers of air.

But it was later when he was exposed to a cutting wind blowing off the main Rongbuk glacier that he discovered the garments' true worth.

"These resisted the wind and allowed the eight layers beneath to trap warmed air between them and my skin," he said.

Among those to be impressed by Mr Hoyland's findings were Julie Summers, Irvine's great niece, and a trustee of the Mountain Heritage Trust.

And Sir Chris Bonington, a fellow trustee, said it showed Mallory and Irvine could have made it to the summit.

"It has shown that they were well enough clad to have had a chance of reaching the summit," he said.

"It also knocks on the head the popular myth that they were wandering around Everest dressed in tweeds for the grouse moor.

"They were obviously very well equipped, and indeed the boots they wore were actually much lighter than the ones we wore when we climbed Everest in 1975."