The partial remains of a British climber who disappeared on Mount Everest 100 years ago are believed to have finally been found.
On Friday, National Geographic reportedthat one of their documentary teams discovered a boot last month while climbing Central Rongbuk Glacier, which is located below the north face of Mount Everest.
Upon further inspection, the team found the remains of a foot were still inside the boot, as was a sock. “I lifted up the sock,” said photographer and director Jimmy Chin, “and there’s a red label that has A.C. IRVINE stitched into it.”
In 1924, British climber Andrew Irvine and his climbing partner George Malloy went missing as they attempted to become the first people to summit Everest. Although Malloy’s remains were found in 1999, what happened to Irvine has remained a mystery.
According to Chin, the group instantly recognized the name and “were all literally running in circles dropping F-bombs.”
As for the importance of this discovery, Chin said that it may bring experts closer to answering one of the biggest questions in the history of mountaineering: did Mallory and Irvine successfully reach the peak of Everest? (As of right now, the honor is currently held by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, who successfully summited Everest in 1953.)
Chin went on to say that he hoped they can also bring closure to Irvine’s living relatives. In fact, he said that one of the first people he called was Julie Summers, Irvine’s great niece and the author of a book about his life.
“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,” Summers said. “It was and will remain an extraordinary and poignant moment.”
Although there is still no definitive answer to whether Irvine and Mallory reached the top of the mountain, Chin said he believes there is more evidence out there that could point to what exactly happened to the British climbers.
As for where the remains were found, Chin said that he wouldn’t be divulging that information as he didn’t want to encourage trophy hunters from starting their own search.
Chin also said he was granted permission from the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) to move the boot off the mountain so it wouldn’t be disturbed, and that the team took DNA samples to hopefully conclusively prove their findings.
“But I mean, dude,” Chin added. “There’s a label on it.”
According to CBS News, since Everest expeditions began in the 1920s, over 300 people have died.
