After 100 years later, the partial remains of Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine have finally been found.
Irvine was only 22 years old when he and his climbing buddy, George Mallory, disappeared on Mount Everest in June 1924. The two had embarked on a mission to scale the mountain’s highest peak, but seemingly never made it. Mallory’s remains were found in 1999. A century after the climbers vanished, Irvine’s body was never discovered—until now.
A National Geographic team stumbled upon a foot still inside of a sock and boot—at a higher elevation than Mallory’s body. The remains were found on the Central Rongbuk Glacier (beneath Everest’s North Face) and are suspected to belong to Irvine. Shockingly, the sock included Irvine’s name, which is how they identified it in the first place.
“Sometimes in life, the greatest discoveries occur when you aren’t even looking,” said Jimmy Chin, a professional mountaineer and one of the people who discovered Irvine’s remains. “This was a monumental and emotional moment for us and our entire team on the ground, and we just hope this can finally bring peace of mind to his relatives and the climbing world at large.”
This century-long mystery appears to be solved. Irvine’s living relatives, including his great niece, have been informed of the discovery and will be pursuing DNA testing to confirm the identity.
“When someone disappears and there’s no evidence of what happened to them, it can be really challenging for families,” Chin said. “And just having some definitive information of where Sandy might’ve ended up is certainly [helpful], and also a big clue for the climbing community as to what happened.”
The post Sandy Irvine’s Remains Found on Mount Everest, After 100 Years appeared first on VICE.
The post Sandy Irvine’s Remains Found on Mount Everest, After 100 Years appeared first on VICE.
