Remains thought to be Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine found on Everest
One of the most enduring mysteries of mountaineering, or perhaps in all sports, was the 1924 British expedition with George Mallory and Andrew Sandy Irvine. It’s most notable for whether they summited or not. If they did summit, that would precede Tenzing and Hilary by 29 years. Mallory’s body was found in 1999, but there was no proof that he died going up or coming down, thus the importance of finding the camera and potential photos of a summit.
Now we have more clues. This past Autumn 2024, a National Geographic team hoping to ski the Hornbein Couiler on the Tibet side of Everest had to abandon their project due to weather and timing. Instead, once they got home, they told the world that they discovered a leather hobnail boot containing what they thought was Sandy Irvine’s foot. An attached sock has a tag sewn onto it reading “A.C. Irvine.” They found it at the base of a glacier, where recent warm temperatures may have released its icy grip. They took a DNA sample for positive identification with the family’s permission.