During a recent Everest skiing expedition, the team made a historic discovery unrelated to their original goal of skiing down the Hornbein Couloir. They found human remains believed to be from Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, a climber who disappeared in 1924. However, the long-sought camera that might hold clues to his fate was not found.
Irvine’s discovery differs from his climbing partner George Mallory, whose body was located in 1999 high up on Everest. Irvine’s remains, specifically a boot with his foot still inside, were found below the mountain’s North Face on the central Rongbuk Glacier.
Filmmaker and climber Jimmy Chin shared on social media that this find was a stroke of luck. While Chin, Erich Roepke, and Mark Fisher were filming the ski expedition, they stumbled upon the remains.
Sometimes life’s greatest discoveries come when you aren’t even searching Chin wrote.
The old leather boot, with spikes on its sole, was clearly from the early 20th century.
The key piece of evidence came when they lifted the sock inside the boot and found a label stitched with the name “A.C. IRVINE.”
Chin described the moment as deeply emotional for the entire team. We hope this brings closure to Irvine’s family and the climbing community he added.
Only the boot and foot were found—no other parts of the body were nearby.
The Mystery Continues
As exciting as this discovery is, it doesn’t solve the biggest mystery of Mallory and Irvine’s doomed climb: did they reach the summit of Everest on June 8, 1924, before they died? For years, both expeditions and mountaineering enthusiasts have hoped to find the small Kodak camera Irvine was carrying.
In the best case, if the camera is ever found and the film can be developed, it might show a photo from the summit. This would rewrite mountaineering history, proving that two British climbers made it to the top of the world’s highest peak 29 years before Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.
So far, no camera or other significant items have been found. However, finding Irvine’s remains does put an end to rumors that Chinese climbers might have removed his body from the mountain. These rumors have always been unclear—some claimed the body was moved, while others said the climbers just took some items and then discarded the body.
