Irvine and Mallory were last seen on June 8, 1924. Mallory’s remains were found in 1999, but Irvine was not seen until this September, when a team of climbers and filmmakers discovered a foot in a shoe and sock with his name sewn onto it.
“I picked up the sock and there was a tag sewn to it that said ‘AC Irvine’ in red. We were literally running around in a circle and saying ‘fuck you,'” said film director Jimmy Chin.
Breaking News: Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine’s remains possibly uncovered on Everest. A century after the climber disappeared alongside George Mallory, a National Geographic team has made a discovery that may shed light on one of the greatest adventure mysteries in history. Sea:… pic.twitter.com/4Yy6dQXKmz
— Everest Today (@EverestToday) October 11, 2024
The discovery of Mallory’s body, with deep rope marks indicating a fall, answered some, but not all, of the questions about the deaths of the pair of climbers. For example, Mallory did not have a photo of his wife with him, which he planned to leave on top of the mountain, which would indicate that he and Irvine really managed to reach her, 29 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, The Guardian reminds.
Irvine, then 22, is believed to have had a camera with him. Many therefore hoped that the discovery of his body would either confirm or refute the speculations for good, but unfortunately, nothing more than his leg has been found so far. The discovery specifically took place on a glacier lying lower than Mallory’s remains were found. The found leg is currently in the possession of the Chinese Tibetan Mountaineering Association.
“Sandy was an exceptional person and greatly contributed to our understanding of Everest and the Himalayas. The discovery of his remains provides his relatives and the wider climbing community with an element of closure and we are grateful to Jimmy and his team for making this possible and ensuring that Sandy is in safe hands,” said Professor Joe Smith, director of the British Royal Geographical Society.
“I have lived with this story since I was seven years old, when my father told me about the mystery of Uncle Sandy on Everest. When climbers found the body of George Mallory in 1999, the story became more real; and I wondered if Sandy’s body would be discovered next. A quarter of a century later, the discovery of something new seemed very unlikely. When Jimmy told me he saw the name AC Irvine on the sock patch in his boot, it brought me to tears. It was an exceptional and touching moment and it will remain so,” said Irvin’s great-niece Julie Summers.
