Climber's foot found on Everest rekindles Irvine mystery
An extraordinary discovery has been made on Mount Everest that could shed light on one of the greatest mysteries in mountaineering history. A film crew working on a documentary for National Geographic has come across a foot, which preliminary findings suggest belongs to the British climber Andrew Comyn "Sandy" Irvine, who went missing nearly 100 years ago.
In June 1924, Andrew Comyn "Sandy" Irvine, along with his partner George Mallory, attempted to reach the world's highest peak. It was a valiant expedition that unfortunately ended in tragedy – both climbers disappeared during the ascent.
Mallory’s body was discovered only in 1999, but Irvine never returned home, and his fate remained a mystery for decades. He was last seen alive on 8th June 1924, when he set off for the summit with Mallory. He was just 22 years old at the time.
Discovery under the glacier
The breakthrough in the case came this September, when a group of climbers working on the documentary for National Geographic found a foot emerging from beneath the melting ice of the Central Rongbuk Glacier, on Everest's northern side.
The expedition, led by acclaimed explorer and Oscar winner for the documentary "Free Solo," Jimmy Chin, was astonished by this discovery. As Chin remarked, it was a "monumental and emotional moment" that affected the whole team.
Findings spark hope of solving the mystery
The foot, found inside a boot which contained a sock embroidered with the letters "A.C. Irvine," immediately captured researchers' interest. What initially seemed like a chance finding quickly gained immense significance, particularly for the mountaineering community, which has long speculated whether Irvine and Mallory might have been the first to reach Everest's summit – a full 29 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's historic achievement in 1953.
Many researchers and climbers believe that Irvine might have carried a camera, which could hold crucial evidence about whether they reached the summit. Although Irvine's body has yet to be found, the discovery of his foot on the glacier near an item linked to the 1933 expedition—an oxygen canister—has given rise to hopes that his remains might be nearby.
Amid concerns that birds might disturb the foot, the climbing team handed it over to the Chinese authorities responsible for the northern side of Everest. Currently, British authorities are conducting DNA tests to confirm the identity of the discovered body part.
Controversies around the search
The search for the missing climbers’ bodies has been controversial over the years. Some suspicions changing conditions on the mountain might have moved the bodies, complicating the research further. Nonetheless, this latest discovery provides hope that the mystery of Irvine might finally be solved.
The finding of Irvine's foot is not only a historically significant event but also a breakthrough discovery for the relatives of the missing climber and the entire mountaineering community. As Jimmy Chin noted: "Sometimes in life, the greatest discoveries occur when you aren’t even looking."
