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The discovery of a foot on Mount Everest is believed to have solved one of mountaineering’s greatest mysteries. A team of National Geographic climbers found the foot last month on a glacier, which they believe belongs to Andrew Comyn “Sandy” Irvine. Irvine went missing 100 years ago while attempting to climb Mount Everest with his partner George Mallory. While Mallory’s remains were recovered, Irvine’s body was never found, sparking rumours and speculation that the pair managed to summit the mountain in 1924, 29 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
The team of climbers discovered Irvine’s foot while descending the Central Rongbuk Glacier, found close to where an oxygen bottle marked with the date 1933 was discovered by an Everest expedition that year. Energised by the discovery, the team searched the glacier for several days before spotting the boot emerging from melting ice. The boot was fortuitously discovered as the ice had only melted a week earlier. Since the discovery, the foot has been removed due to concerns that ravens were disturbing it and handed over to the Chinese mountaineering authorities who govern the north face of Everest.
British authorities are presently verifying the foot’s identity using a DNA sample. A spokesperson has also commented that the office has been asked to comment on the discovery. Fears that Irvine was carrying a camera with undeveloped film have excited many, as the discovery of the film could provide evidence that Irvine and Mallory had achieved the impossible. National Geographic has been looking for Irvine’s body for years, with external reports creating a buzz around the climbers’ abilities.
Irvine was the youngest member of the expedition, and he was 22 when he disappeared. The climber was last seen alive on 8 June 1924 as he and Mallory were setting off for the peak. Irvine’s descendent, Julie Summers, revealed in a statement that she wept when Jimmy Chin from the filmmaking team told her about the discovery. The discovery has been called a “monumental and emotional moment” for the entire team and should “bring peace of mind to his relatives and the climbing world at large”, said Chin, who won an Academy Award for his documentary, Free Solo
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