Climbers believe they have found the partial remains of a British mountaineer who might – or might not – have been one of the first two people to climb Mount Everest, a century after their attempt on the world’s highest peak, according to an expedition led by National Geographic.
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Ahead of the release of a documentary film, the television channel said on Friday that the expedition found a foot encased in a sock embroidered with “AC Irvine” and a boot that could be that of Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, who disappeared at the age of 22 along with his co-climber, the legendary George Mallory, near Everest’s peak on June 8, 1924.
The pair, who were seeking to become the first people to conquer Everest, were last seen around 245 metres (800 feet) from the summit. Their fate has been debated by climbers and historians alike, with some postulating that they had stood atop of the world before disappearing on the way down.
In his final letter to his wife, Ruth, before he vanished on Mount Everest a century ago, 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 8,849 metres (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.
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