London [UK], October 12: The remains, shoes and socks of a man who went missing while climbing Mount Everest a century ago have been discovered, revealing clues about the mysterious disappearance.
The Guardian reported on October 11 that the remains of Andrew Irvine had been found on the slopes of Mount Everest , a century after he and fellow climber George Mallory died on their expedition to Everest. The pair were last seen approaching the summit on June 8, 1924. The disappearance became one of the longest-running mysteries in mountaineering, with members of the British expedition long claiming that Irvine and Mallory died after reaching the summit.
Mallory's remains were discovered in 1999. Last September, a group of climbers and filmmakers discovered the remains of a foot in a climbing shoe, clearly engraved with the words "AC Irvine" on the outside.
Mallory's body was found with rope marks, suggesting he had fallen. However, questions remain about whether he had actually summitted Everest. When Mallory's body was found, he did not have a photograph of his wife, which he had intended to leave at the summit. This was seen as a sign that the climber had reached the summit and died on the way back.
Mr Irvine's foot was found on a glacier below the north face of Everest, lower than where Mr Mallory's body was found. The location of the rest of Mr Irvine's remains is unknown.
The accident left the journey of the two men still a mystery. Meanwhile, the first people recognized to have climbed Everest were climbers Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Julie Summers, Andrew Irvine's niece, said she had heard the story of her uncle's Everest mystery since she was seven. "The story became more real when Georgia Mallory was discovered in 1999," she said.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper