British explorer Sandy Irvine's foot discovered 100 years after he vanished on Everest

A likely solution to a century-old mystery has emerged with the discovery of what is believed to be the foot of British explorer Sandy Irvine, found on Mount Everest. Andrew Comyn "Sandy" Irvine, along with fellow climber George Mallory, vanished during an expedition in June 1924, as they strived to be the first to conquer the world’s highest summit. Whether they achieved this goal prior to their deaths remains uncertain. While Mallory's body was located in 1999 without the photograph intended for the summit, Irvine's whereabouts, particularly his Kodak camera, which might hold key evidence of their adventure, remained unknown until this recent discovery.

In a significant breakthrough, a National Geographic documentary group led by acclaimed director Jimmy Chin, and including climbers and filmmakers Erich Roepke and Mark Fisher, encountered what they believe to be Irvine's foot. It was identified on Everest's Central Rongbuk Glacier, at a location lower than where Mallory’s remains were previously found. Encased in a boot and with a sock bearing the label "A.C. IRVINE," these remains now offer a tangible clue to what transpired up there.

Throughout past explorations, Irvine and Mallory were last seen scaling the heights on June 8, 1924, as Noel Odell, a team member, briefly spotted them as small dots nearing the mountain’s notorious steps before they disappeared. Anker, a U.S. climber who located Mallory, deduced from the form of discovery and Mallory's injuries, possibly tied by a climbing rope and signaling a tragic joint fall during the climb.

The recent efforts by Chin’s team also led to notifying key organizations associated with the original expedition such as the China Tibet Mountaineering Association and the Royal Geographical Society. Julie Summers, Irvine’s great niece and biographer, expressed her poignant feelings about the revelation, evoking personal memories from her childhood when she first learned about "Uncle Sandy’s" mysterious disappearance.

Looking to bringing closure to a historical narrative infused with mystery, the Irvine family is offering DNA to confirm the identity of the remains while investigations continue for potential clues including Irvine's elusive camera, a finder which could offer new insights into the historic climb and potentially alter the recorded history about the first successful Everest ascent.

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