Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition
Encyclopedia
The goal of the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition of 1999 was to discover evidence of whether George Mallory
and Andrew Irvine
had been the first to summit Mt. Everest
in their ill-fated attempt of 8–9 June 1924. The expedition was organized by regular Everest expedition leader Eric Simonson
and informed by researcher Jochen Hemmleb, with a team of climbers from the U.S., Great Britain
, and Germany
. Hemmleb's investigations of sketchy reports of earlier sightings and photographs had led him to identify what he believed was the area in which Irvine's body lay, some distance below where his ice axe
had been found by Percy Wyn-Harris
on the expedition led by Hugh Ruttledge
in 1933. The team hoped in particular to find a camera
on Irvine's body which, had the pair been successful, should have contained a picture of the summit. Within hours of commencing the search on 1 May 1999, Conrad Anker
found a body on the North Face, at 8,155 m; but to their surprise it was that of Mallory, not Irvine.
Mallory lay face-down, arms outstretched as if to break a sliding fall, with one broken leg and a serious wound to the skull, but otherwise very well-preserved and relatively uninjured. It seemed probable that he had been a victim of a fall while roped together with Irvine. The body was only an hour or two from the safety of their camp.
Many artifact
s were found on the body, but no camera. Three discoveries in particular fuel continuing speculation.
The expedition left Mallory where he lay.
, a condition where the victim can hallucinate
, lose balance and eventually the ability to even walk, due to lack of oxygen
(which, high up on Everest, is only one-third the partial pressure of oxygen at sea level) in the brain
. This condition has led to many deaths and injuries in mountaineering.
In early 2004, Jake Norton and Dave Hahn
returned to Everest with a film team and support from Sherpas Danuru and Tashi to look once more for evidence of Andrew Irvine
and answers to what happened to Mallory & Irvine in 1924. While the team was able to scour the Yellow Band, the combination of a small team and uncooperative weather eliminated most chances of a major discovery.
During that same season, search parties were on the mountain from the website EverestNews as well as with Graham Hoyland (Howard Somervell
's grand-nephew and member of the 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition) who was a member of Russell Brice
's expedition that year.
George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s....
and Andrew Irvine
Andrew Irvine (mountaineer)
Andrew "Sandy" Comyn Irvine was an English mountaineer who took part in 1924 British Everest Expedition, the third British expedition to the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest....
had been the first to summit Mt. Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
in their ill-fated attempt of 8–9 June 1924. The expedition was organized by regular Everest expedition leader Eric Simonson
Eric Simonson
Eric Simonson is an American writer and director in theatre, film and opera. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 1993 for The Song of Jacob Zulu.- Personal life :...
and informed by researcher Jochen Hemmleb, with a team of climbers from the U.S., Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Hemmleb's investigations of sketchy reports of earlier sightings and photographs had led him to identify what he believed was the area in which Irvine's body lay, some distance below where his ice axe
Ice axe
An ice axe, is a multi-purpose ice and snow tool used by mountaineers both in the ascent and descent of routes which involve frozen conditions. It can be held and employed in a number of different ways, depending on the terrain encountered...
had been found by Percy Wyn-Harris
Percy Wyn-Harris
Sir Percy Wyn-Harris, KCMG, MBE, KStJ was an English mountaineer, political administrator, and yachtsman...
on the expedition led by Hugh Ruttledge
Hugh Ruttledge
Hugh Ruttledge was an English civil servant and mountaineer who was the leader of two expeditions to Mount Everest in 1933 and 1936.-Early life:...
in 1933. The team hoped in particular to find a camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
on Irvine's body which, had the pair been successful, should have contained a picture of the summit. Within hours of commencing the search on 1 May 1999, Conrad Anker
Conrad Anker
Conrad Anker is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author famous for his challenging ascents in the high Himalaya and Antarctica. He is a member of The North Face climbing team and also works closely with Timex Expedition as brand ambassador...
found a body on the North Face, at 8,155 m; but to their surprise it was that of Mallory, not Irvine.
Mallory lay face-down, arms outstretched as if to break a sliding fall, with one broken leg and a serious wound to the skull, but otherwise very well-preserved and relatively uninjured. It seemed probable that he had been a victim of a fall while roped together with Irvine. The body was only an hour or two from the safety of their camp.
Many artifact
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
s were found on the body, but no camera. Three discoveries in particular fuel continuing speculation.
- First, Mallory's goggles were in his pocket, suggesting he was descending at night when he fell (though he may have had a second pair, ripped off in his fall).
- Secondly, on an envelope he had noted the amounts of oxygen in each of their cylinders, figures which suggest a slight possibility that the pair may have taken three cylinders on their final climb, rather than two as generally believed.
- Lastly it was absence of an artifact which was perhaps most intriguing: it had been reported that Mallory carried a photograph of his beloved wife Ruth with him which he planned to place on the summit in the event of success: it was not among his many personal possessions.
The expedition left Mallory where he lay.
Subsequent expeditions
During a second expedition in 2001, the team abandoned their search for Irvine to rescue several other climbing parties stranded on the mountain and in deep distress. The victims included two Chinese glaciologists, three Russian climbers, an American guide, and his Guatemalan client. Several of the climbers were suffering from high altitude cerebral edemaHigh altitude cerebral edema
High altitude cerebral edema is a severe form of altitude sickness. HACE is the result of swelling of brain tissue from fluid leakage and almost always begins as acute mountain sickness...
, a condition where the victim can hallucinate
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
, lose balance and eventually the ability to even walk, due to lack of oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
(which, high up on Everest, is only one-third the partial pressure of oxygen at sea level) in the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
. This condition has led to many deaths and injuries in mountaineering.
In early 2004, Jake Norton and Dave Hahn
Dave Hahn
Dave Hahn is a professional mountain guide, ski patroller, journalist and lecturer. On May 20, 2011 he reached the summit of Mt. Everest for the 13th time - the most for a non-Sherpa climber. Among Hahn’s other notable accomplishments are his 27 summits of Vinson Massif, Antarctica’s highest mountain...
returned to Everest with a film team and support from Sherpas Danuru and Tashi to look once more for evidence of Andrew Irvine
Andrew Irvine (mountaineer)
Andrew "Sandy" Comyn Irvine was an English mountaineer who took part in 1924 British Everest Expedition, the third British expedition to the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest....
and answers to what happened to Mallory & Irvine in 1924. While the team was able to scour the Yellow Band, the combination of a small team and uncooperative weather eliminated most chances of a major discovery.
During that same season, search parties were on the mountain from the website EverestNews as well as with Graham Hoyland (Howard Somervell
Howard Somervell
Theodore Howard Somervell OBE was a British surgeon, mountaineer and missionary who was a member of two expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s, and then spent nearly 40 years working as a doctor in India.-Early life:...
's grand-nephew and member of the 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition) who was a member of Russell Brice
Russell Brice
Russell Reginald Brice is a New Zealand mountaineer. He is also the owner/manager of Himalayan Experience Ltd., a climbing expedition company...
's expedition that year.
External links
- 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition website by MountainZone
- 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition website by PBS/NOVA
- 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition website by AFFIMER
- Mallory and Irvine Research expedition 2001
- Mallory and Irvine Research expedition 2004
- Images of the discovery of George Leigh Mallory's remains on May 1, 1999