In 1922, Mallory returned to the Himalayas as part of the party led by Brigadier General Charles Bruce and climbing leader Edward Strutt, with a view to making a serious attempt on the summit. Eschewing their bottled oxygen, which was at the time seen as going against the spirit of mountaineering, Mallory, along with Howard Somervell and Edward Norton, almost reached the crest of the North-East Ridge. Despite being hampered and slowed by the thin air, they achieved a record altitude of before weather conditions and the late hour forced them to retreat. A second party led by George Finch reached an elevation around using bottled oxygen both for climbing and—a first—for sleeping. The party climbed at record speeds, a fact that Mallory seized upon during the next expedition.