National Geographic explorers faced extreme weather and record crowds as they struggled to install a crucial network of weather sensors. Tom Matthews, National Geographic explorer and climate scientist, discussed what it was like installing the world’s highest weather station on Mount Everest.
It’s been 100 years since Andrew “Sandy” Irvine and legendary climber George Mallory disappeared near the peak of Mount Everest in 1924.
Now, climbers believe they’ve found the partial remains of Irvine, a discovery they hope can help prove that the pair reached the world’s tallest summit almost three decades before New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay got there on May 29, 1953.
The partial remains were discovered in September by a National Geographic documentary team who noticed a boot melting out of the ice of the Central Rongbuk Glacier, below the north face of Mount Everest.
Inside the boot was a foot with a sock on it. Stitched into that sock was a red label that read A.C. IRVINE.
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Members of the 1924 British Mount Everest expedition. Back row, left to right: Andrew Irvine, George Mallory, John de Vars Hazard, Noel E. Odell and expedition doctor, R.W.G. Hingston. Front, left to right: E.O. Shebbeare, Geoffrey Bruce, Dr. T. Howard Somervell and Bentley Beetham.
(Capt. J.B. Noel/Royal Geographical Society / Getty Images)
Irvine and Mallory were seeking to become the first people to conquer Everest. They were last seen around 800 feet from the summit. Their fate has been debated by climbers and historians alike, with some believing that they stood atop of the world before disappearing on the way down.
In his final letter to his wife, Ruth, the 37-year-old Mallory, who once famously said he wanted to conquer Everest “because it’s there,” tried to ease her worries even as he said his chances of reaching the world’s highest peak were “50 to 1 against us.”
Mallory’s body was found in 1999, but there was no evidence that could point to the two having reached Everest’s summit at 29,032 feet.
There is still no such evidence, though the apparent discovery of Irvine’s remains could narrow the search for a Kodak Vest Pocket camera lent to the climbers by expedition member Howard Somervell. For mountaineers, it’s the equivalent of the Holy Grail – the possibility of photographic proof that the two did reach the summit.
The sock and boot were found at a lower altitude than Mallory’s remains, on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below the North Face of Mount Everest.
“This was a monumental and emotional moment for us and our entire team on the ground, and we just hope this can finally bring peace of mind to his relatives and the climbing world at large,” Climber and National Geographic explorer Jimmy Chin said. “It certainly reduces the search area.”
According to The Associated Press, the China Tibet Mountaineering Association, which is responsible for climbing permits on Everest’s northern side, is in possession of the partial remains.
This story includes information from National Geographic and The Associated Press.