Human foot found on Everest may hold key to one of mountaineering’s greatest mysteries | CNN
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In September, a documentary crew from National Geographic stumbled upon a boot and sock protruding from a melting glacier on Mount Everest. They quickly realized that this find could be an important piece in solving a long-standing mystery that has persisted for a hundred years.
A name tag still attached to the wool sock bore the name “A.C. Irvine,” suggesting that it likely belonged to British mountaineer Andrew “Sandy” Irvine. He vanished on Everest in 1924 with fellow climber George Mallory, an incident that remains one of the greatest enigmas in the world of climbing – and the findings could possibly rewrite history.
The two climbers vanished on June 8, 1924, while they were just 800 feet from the top of Everest, aiming to achieve the first recorded climb of the highest mountain on Earth. It remains uncertain if they actually reached the summit and became the first individuals to do so before their tragic end.
Although Mallory's remains were found in 1999, Irvine's body and the camera that the climbers had with them, which could indicate if they made it to the top, have never been located.
That is, until the most recent expedition, when the National Geographic team, which featured “Free Solo” co-director Jimmy Chin, found a foot that they think belongs to Irvine’s boot. They are currently awaiting DNA analysis, comparing the foot samples to those from Irvine’s relatives. This discovery seems to be the first indication of his death since he went missing.
"This is the first solid proof of Sandy's final location," Chin mentioned, as reported by National Geographic. "Many ideas have been proposed about it."
When a person goes missing and there are no clues about their fate, it’s incredibly tough for their loved ones. Having even a bit of clear information about where Sandy might be is definitely useful, and it also provides significant insight for the climbing community regarding the situation.
Just days prior to their discovery of the boot, the team came across an oxygen cylinder that dated back to an expedition from 1933, which had also aimed to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Although that particular expedition did not succeed, it did uncover an ice ax that belonged to Irvine on the northeast ridge of the mountain. This finding led Chin's team to theorize that they might be nearing Irvine's remains.
Based on that theory, they dedicated the next several days to searching the glacier, and it was then that filmmaker and climber Erich Roepke discovered the boot.
“I believe it actually melted away about a week before we discovered it,” Chin remarked.
Chin and his team transported the boot and foot down from the mountain in a cooler after noticing birds causing a disturbance. They then handed it over to the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA).
Not long after they made the discovery, the team reached out to Irvine's relatives, including his great-niece, Julie Summers, who authored a book about the climber.
Summers was deeply touched and brought to tears upon discovering the existence of the boot during a moment that she described as both remarkable and emotional, according to the PA Media news agency.
"I've carried this story with me since I was seven, when my dad shared the intriguing tale of Uncle Sandy on Everest," she mentioned.
The tale took on a new level of reality in 1999 when climbers discovered George Mallory's remains, leading me to ponder whether Sandy's body might be found afterwards. Now, twenty-five years later, it appeared highly improbable that there would be any new discoveries.
Julia Buckley from CNN provided additional reporting for this piece.
