Has a 100-year-old mystery been solved?

Were the two British climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine on Everest as early as 1924 – a full 29 years before the first recorded ascent of the highest peak by New Zealanders Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tensing Norgay? This question has delighted many for decades, many books have been written on the subject.

What is known about the summit attempt 100 years ago

Now, alpinist and documentary filmmaker Jimmy Chin from the US and his team have discovered on the central glacier under the north face of Everest an old mountaineering boot, the remains of a foot and a bag with the monogram “ACIrvine”. “I think the glacier exposed the discovery just a week before we found it,” Chin told National Geographic. Can it be considered then, 100 years later, that the mystery surrounding Mallory and Irvine finally solved?

In 1924, 37-year-old Mallory and 22-year-old Irvine were part of a British expedition aiming to make the first ascent of Everest. They start on the northern Tibetan side of the peak, as Nepal is still closed to foreigners at that time.

Mallory and Irwin started for the summit on June 6 from an altitude of about 7,000m, together with several Tibetan Sherpas. The next day they reach their last camp at an altitude of about 8,200 meters. From there, the Tibetans finally return, carrying a note written by Mallory to another member of the expedition Noel Odell. He says: “We may leave early tomorrow until the weather is clear.” Since then, the traces of the two have been lost – they are considered missing.

After Mallory and Irwin disappear, Odell makes his way up to the final camp again. He goes even higher, but bad weather makes him come back. The approaching strong storm makes further research impossible. The leader of the expedition, Edward Norton, sent the following telegram to the Times newspaper: “Mallery and Irwin died in their last attempt to reach the summit.”

As part of the trip, Norton reached an altitude of 8,570 meters – without using oxygen bottles, unlike Mallory and Irwin. This is a record in the conquest of Everest, which was passed only in 1978, when Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler reached the highest point in the world at 8849 meters for the first time without oxygen bottles.

In 1933, members of another British expedition heading for Everest found Irwin’s peak at 8,460 meters. Other climbers from China and Japan who went to the summit in the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s confirmed that they saw a very old body. But there is no unequivocal evidence.

On May 1, 1999, American climber Conrad Anker found Mallory’s body in the ice at an altitude of 8,159 meters. One of his legs is broken, there is also a serious injury – apparently from a fall. Irwin is still missing. The Kodak camera with which the two wanted to film the ascent was also not found.

But is there any doubt that the open shoe belongs to Ervin? The answer is no. The shoe has steel nails, as climbers used in those years. The condition of the leather is also consistent with a 100-year-old boot that has been in the ice for a long time.

The most important mark, however, is the “ACIrvine” monogram. And DNA research is expected to provide ultimate clarity. Irwin’s heirs have agreed to donate genetic material so that it can be compared with what remains of the leg, he says.Mother well“.

What does the finding mean?

The first conclusion is that Irwin died on Everest. “The artifacts belonged to him and they will tell what happened to him,” said Irwin’s great-niece, Julie Summers, the author of his biography. And he says it finally represents a kind of ending, because Irwin’s parents left their house open and the lights on for years after the accident, hoping their son would one day return.

“Even after finding the shoe, it is not clear whether the two reached the summit and what happened to them,” said German alpinist Jochen Hemmelb. A Kodak camera could provide an answer, which has not been released. still found.

It is for this reason that Jimmy Chin does not want to know where Irwin’s remains were found – so that the trophy hunters do not run to the base of Everest. Jimmy Chin is sure the camera and other things are nearby.