In a groundbreaking discovery that sheds new light on one of mountaineering’s greatest mysteries, the partial remains of Andrew Comyn “Sandy” Irvine are believed to have been found on Mount Everest, a century after his disappearance.
A small expedition team led by National Geographic Explorer and Academy Award-winning director Jimmy Chin has uncovered what is believed to be Irvine’s foot, still encased in a sock and boot, on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below Everest’s North Face. The discovery was made during a climb for an upcoming National Geographic documentary film.
“Any expedition to Everest follows in the shadow of Irvine and Mallory,” said Chin. “We certainly did. And sometimes in life the greatest discoveries occur when you aren’t even looking. 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.”
Sandy Irvine, along with his climbing partner George Mallory, vanished on June 8, 1924, during their attempt to become the first to conquer Mount Everest. At the time, Irvine was just 22 years old. Their disappearance has captivated the mountaineering community for decades, sparking numerous search expeditions and endless speculation about whether they reached the summit before their deaths.
In 1999, Mallory’s body was discovered by climber Conrad Anker at an altitude of 26,760 feet (8,157 meters) on Everest’s north face. However, Irvine’s remains had eluded discovery until now. The new find is located at a lower altitude than Mallory’s body, potentially offering new insights into the pair’s final movements.
The partial remains were identified by Irvine’s name stitched into the sock. They are now in the possession of the China Tibet Mountaineering Association, which oversees climbing permits for Everest’s northern route. The Irvine family has volunteered to provide DNA samples to confirm the identity of the remains.
Julie Summers, Irvine’s great-niece and biographer, expressed deep emotion at the discovery, noting its significance in the centenary year of her great-uncle’s disappearance. The Royal Geographical Society, which co-organized the 1924 expedition with the Alpine Club, has commended the respect and sensitivity shown by Chin’s team in handling the discovery.
“It is remarkable that this discovery was made in the centenary year of Sandy’s disappearance,” said Summers. “I have lived with this story since I was a 7-year-old when my father told us about the mystery of Uncle Sandy on Everest. The story became more real when climbers found the body of George Mallory in 1999, and I wondered if Sandy’s body would be discovered next. A quarter of a century after that discovery, it seemed extremely unlikely that anything new would be found. When Jimmy told me that he saw the name A.C. Irvine on the label on the sock inside the boot, I found myself moved to tears. It was and will remain an extraordinary and poignant moment.”
The 1924 British Mount Everest Expedition was the third British attempt to scale the world’s highest peak. Led by Colonel Edward Norton, it was a massive undertaking for its time, involving months of planning, a trek across Tibet, and the establishment of multiple camps on the mountain’s forbidding slopes.
Mallory and Irvine’s final push for the summit on June 8, 1924, was observed by teammate Noel Odell, who last saw them climbing a rocky step high on the mountain before clouds obscured his view. Whether they reached the summit before their deaths remains one of mountaineering’s most enduring mysteries.
This discovery may provide crucial evidence in determining the fate of Mallory and Irvine, potentially answering whether they were the first to reach Everest’s summit, 29 years before the officially recognized first ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
In 1979, Ryoten Hasegawa, leading a Japanese contingent on a Sino-Japanese reconnaissance expedition, had a significant conversation with Chinese climber Wang Hong-bao. Wang recounted that during the 1975 Chinese Everest Expedition, he had encountered the body of an “English dead” at 8,100 meters (26,600 feet), lying peacefully at the foot of a rock. He identified the body as British based on the old-fashioned clothing, which was decaying, and noted an injury by poking his finger into the cheek. Tragically, Wang was killed in an avalanche the next day, preventing further inquiries into his sighting.
This account gained credibility from a 1986 conversation between American Everest historian Tom Holzel and Zhang Junyan, Wang’s tent-mate during the 1975 expedition. Zhang confirmed that Wang had described discovering “a foreign mountaineer” at the same elevation. Given that no other European climber was recorded as having perished at that altitude on the north side of Everest, it was surmised that the body belonged to either George Mallory or Sandy Irvine.
Wang’s sighting ultimately aided in the discovery of Mallory’s body in 1999, although the details he provided—specifically the “hole in cheek”—did not align with Mallory’s condition, leading to speculation that Wang may have seen Irvine instead. In 2001, an expedition located Wang’s campsite but only found Mallory’s remains.
Additionally, during a 1960 expedition, Xu Jing, the deputy leader of the Chinese team, reported seeing a dead climber lying on his back during his descent, suggesting he may have encountered Irvine, given that only Mallory and Irvine had been lost on that side of Everest before then. A 1965 lecture by Wang Fu-chou also noted finding a European corpse at 8,600 meters, further complicating the narrative surrounding these historic sightings.
The climb during which the discovery was made is part of an upcoming documentary directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, the team behind the Oscar-winning “Free Solo.” The film is being produced by National Geographic Documentary Films and Little Monster Films.
IMAGE CREDIT: Jimmy Chin