By Tim Binnall
A foot found in thawing ice may solve a century-old mystery of an explorer who vanished while attempting to summit Mount Everest. In June of 1924, Andrew Comyn "Sandy" Irvine and mountaineer George Mallory disappeared during a British expedition aimed at reaching the planet's highest peak. Although it was presumed that the pair perished during the climb, the question of whether or not they achieved their goal has long gone unanswered. The discovery of Mallory's remains in 1999 confirmed his unfortunate fate while offering a tantalizing clue by way of a missing photograph of his wife that he had planned to place at Everest's peak upon completing the historic feat. Now, the reported recovery of what is believed to be Irvine's foot could provide new insights into the enduring mystery.
The remarkable discovery, announced on Friday, was made by a team from National Geographic during an expedition to Everest last month. As they searched for Irvine's remains on a glacier where they suspected something might be found, they spotted a boot in thawing ice. Upon closer inspection, the team found that it contained a socked foot that, team leader Jimmy Chin recalled, featured "a red label that has A.C. IRVINE stitched into it." While DNA tests will be conducted to confirm that the remains are those of the long climber, the nature of the discovery leaves little doubt as to what the findings will be. "I mean, dude,” Chin marveled, "there's a label on it."
What makes the recovery of Irvine's partial remains particularly compelling is that, during the climb, he carried a camera to document the historic moment when the expedition reached the top of Everest. By finding the foot, researchers believe they have a better idea of the general area where the lost device might have come to rest. Should the camera also be discovered and its film successfully developed, the photos could contain proof that the pair made it to the summit in 1924. Such a revelation would rewrite history as Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay are currently credited with having first achieved the feat in 1953, a whopping 29 years after Irving and Mallory vanished.