When a group of mountaineers on Mount Everest filmed a documentary for the science magazine National Geographic last month, they probably didn’t expect that they might be helping to solve one of the greatest sporting mysteries of all time. A team of climbers found human remains with a shoe there. Experts believe it belonged to Andrew Irvin, who is not yet known to have been able to climb the summit.
The remains with the shoe were uncovered by the melting ice. The well-known American climber Jimmy Chin, one of the group of climbers, called the discovery a “monumental and emotional moment”, writes the British BBC.
Twenty-two-year-old Briton Andrew Irvine, nicknamed “Sandy”, tried to climb Mount Everest in June 1924 together with the famous climber George Mallory. But both died during the expedition. Due to the deteriorating weather and the arrival of the monsoon, another climber should have seen them for the last time using binoculars.
Breaking News: Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine’s remains possibly uncovered on Everest. A century after the climber disappeared alongside George Mallory, a National Geographic team has made a discovery that may shed light on one of the greatest adventure mysteries in history. More:… pic.twitter.com/4Yy6dQXKmz
— Everest Today (@EverestToday) October 11, 2024
Mallory’s body was found only after 75 years, in May 1999 at an altitude of 8155 meters. Irvin’s body was never found.
To this day, experts do not know whether the couple managed to conquer the mountain located at an altitude of 8,849 meters. There has been speculation about it for decades. If they could prove it now thanks to the found shoe, it would be a major breakthrough.
Until now, it was thought that man first climbed the world’s highest mountain only in 1953, 29 years after Irvine and Mallory set out to climb it. The championship is held by the expedition led by the mountaineer Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.
Over the years, other climbers have tried to find Irvin’s body, as well as the camera the pair of climbers was supposed to have with them. But unsuccessfully. At the same time, the images could prove whether they managed to climb the mountain.
British authorities are now verifying who the part of the leg belonged to using a DNA sample, according to National Geographic, which first reported the case on Friday. However, the film team has no doubts as to who the shoe belonged to. “AC Irvine” is embroidered on the inside of the shoe. The American Chin was supposed to respond to the findings by saying: “Yeah, dude… here’s a patch”.
The group came across the find on the north face of Mount Everest, where another expedition last year found an object that belonged to Irvin. The filmmakers hoped that the melting ice might reveal more evidence.
Experts subsequently removed the remains from the site because there were too many ravens flying in the area and handed them over to the Chinese authorities who manage the North Wall.
“It was a huge and emotional moment for us. We only hope that this will finally bring peace to Irvin’s relatives and the global climbing community in general,” said Chin.
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