Were the two British climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irwin on Everest as early as 1924 - a full 29 years before the first documented ascent of the highest peak by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tensing Norgay? This question has excited many for decades, many books have been written on the subject.
What is known about the summit attempt 100 years ago
Now the alpinist and documentary filmmaker Jimmy Chin from the USA and his team have discovered on the central glacier below the north face of Everest a very old mountaineering shoe, the remains of a foot and a sock with the monogram "A.C.Irvine". "I think the glacier revealed the find just a week before we found it," Chin told "National Geographic". Can it then be considered that, 100 years later, the mystery surrounding Mallory and Irvine has finally been solved?
In 1924, 37-year-old Mallory and 22-year-old Irvine were part of a British expedition that set out to make the first ascent of Everest. They take the Tibetan north side of the summit, as Nepal is still closed to foreigners at that time.
Mallery and Irwin set off for the summit on June 6 from an altitude of about 7,000m, accompanied by several Tibetan Sherpas. The next day they reach their final camp at an altitude of about 8,200 meters. From there, the last Tibetans return, carrying a note written by Mallory to fellow expedition member Noel Odell. It says: "We will probably leave early tomorrow so that the weather is clear.". From then on, the traces of the two are lost - they are considered missing.
After Mallory and Irwin disappear, Odell makes his way up to the last camp once more. He goes even higher, but bad weather forces him to return. The approaching strong storm makes further search impossible. The head of the expedition, Edward Norton, sent the following telegram to the Times newspaper: "Mallery and Irvine perished in their last attempt to reach the summit."
During the expedition, Norton reached a height of 8,570 meters - without using oxygen bottles, unlike Mallory and Irwin. This is a record in the conquest of Everest, surpassed 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 headed for Everest discovered Irwin's peak at an altitude of 8,460 meters. Other climbers from China and Japan who went to the summit in the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s testified that they saw a very old corpse. But there is no unequivocal evidence.
On May 1, 1999, the American alpinist Konrad Anker found Mallory's body in the ice at a height of 8159 meters. One of his legs is broken, there are also serious injuries - apparently the consequences of a fall. Irwin remains missing. The "Kodak" camera with which the two wanted to film their ascent was also not found.
But is there any doubt that the discovered shoe is Ervin's? The answer is no. The shoe is spiked with steel nails, such as were used by climbers 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 indicator, however, is the monogram "A.C.Irvine". And final clarity is expected to bring DNA research. Irwin's heirs have agreed to provide genetic material so it can be compared to the remains of the leg.
What does the find mean?
The first conclusion is that Irwin really died on Everest. "The items belonged to him and tell what probably happened to him," says Irwin's great-niece Julie Summers, author of his biography. And he adds that this finally represents a kind of ending, considering that after the accident, Irwin's parents left their house open and the lights on for years, hoping that their son would one day return.
"And after finding the shoe, it remains unclear whether the two reached the top and what happened to them,", the German alpinist Jochen Hemmelb points out in turn. An answer could be given by the "Kodak" camera, which, however, has not yet been found.
It is for this reason that Jimmy Chin does not want to reveal exactly where Irwin's remains were found - so that trophy hunters do not rush to the foot of Everest. Jimmy Chin is sure the camera and other items are probably nearby.
Author: Stefan Nestler