A new discovery may offer insight into the fate of British mountaineer Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, who disappeared with fellow climber George Mallory in 1924 during their attempt to become the first to reach the summit of the world’s highest peak. Irvine’s foot, still inside his boot and sock, was found, marking a key breakthrough. This find allows Irvine’s family to compare DNA results to confirm his identity, according to National Geographic. The foot was located on the Central Rongbuk Glacier on Everest’s north side and is being sent to a laboratory in China, where it will be matched with DNA samples from Irvine’s surviving relatives.
National Geographic photographer Jimmy Chin and his climbing partners discovered in September while filming a documentary about the mountain. While exploring a melting glacier, they noticed a boot and sock sticking out of the ice and immediately recognized it as a clue to a century-old mystery. The sock bore Irvine’s name, and the boot was his. Chin says he is confident that other items—including the camera Irvine was believed to have been carrying at the time of his death—are nearby. “It certainly reduces the search area,” he says.
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The discovery may be the first step in solving the mystery of Irvine and Mallory, whose disappearance was a defining moment for Britain’s Empire, which would soon lose its grip on the rest of the world. It also has the potential to rewrite mountaineering history. Mallory and Irvine were last seen alive 240 feet below the summit, which was first climbed by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. If Irvine’s remains are indeed those of the missing climber, and if his camera contains a summit photo, it could prove that Mallory and Irvine successfully scaled Everest in 1924, nearly three decades before the currently accepted record-holders.
The foot has been reported to the Royal Geographical Society and Irvine’s great-niece, Julie Summers, who has volunteered to provide a DNA sample for comparison. The team plans to continue searching for other artifacts—including the camera Irvine was believed to have carried at the time of his death—on the mountain’s north face. They have not yet revealed where they discovered to avoid encouraging trophy hunters. The find also does not confirm that Mallory and Irvine succeeded in reaching the summit, as some have speculated because deep rope marks on Mallory’s corpse indicate he fell from the peak. That conclusion was reached in 1999, when the remains of the 22-year-old were found, with his dark snow goggles and a picture of his wife in his pocket. His camera, however, was not retrieved. It was later reported that the photograph had been destroyed, possibly by a climber who mistakenly believed it was a marker left by another climber.