The goal of the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition of 1999 was to discover evidence of whether
George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s.
Born in Cheshire, Mallory became a student at Winchest ...
and
Andrew Irvine had been the first to summit
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
in
their attempt of 8–9 June 1924. The expedition was organised by regular Everest expedition leader
Eric Simonson
Eric Simonson (born June 27, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American writer and director in theatre, film and opera. He is a member of Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, and the author of plays '' Lombardi'', ''Fake'', ''Honest'', '' Magic/B ...
and advised by researcher
Jochen Hemmleb, with a team of climbers from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Hemmleb's investigations of 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
An ice axe is a multi-purpose hiking and climbing tool used by mountaineers in both the ascent and descent of routes that involve snow, ice, or frozen conditions. Its use depends on the terrain: in its simplest role it is used like a walking ...
had been found by
Percy Wyn-Harris
Sir Percy Wyn-Harris KCMG MBE KStJ (24 August 1903 – 25 February 1979) was an English mountaineer, colonial administrator, and yachtsman. He worked in the Colonial Service in Africa and served as Governor of the Gambia from 1949 to 1958.
E ...
on the expedition led by
Hugh Ruttledge
Hugh Ruttledge (24 October 1884 – 7 November 1961) was an English civil servant and mountaineer who was the leader of two expeditions to Mount Everest in 1933 and 1936.
Early life
The son of Lt.-Colonel Edward Butler Ruttledge, of the Indian ...
in 1933. The team hoped in particular to find a
camera
A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...
on Irvine's body which, had the pair been successful, should have contained a picture of the summit. After commencing the search on 1 May 1999, Conrad Anker mistakenly got off course and, surprisingly, found Mallory's body, not Irvine's.
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. It seemed probable that he had been a victim of a fall while roped to Irvine. The body was only an hour or two from the safety of their camp.
Many artefacts were found on the body, including a pocket knife, altimeter, and snow-goggles, but no camera. Three discoveries in particular fuel continuing speculation:
*First, a pair of goggles were in Mallory's pocket, suggesting he was descending at night when he fell (though he may have had a second pair, ripped off in his fall).
*Second, 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.
*Finally 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 found among his remaining personal possessions.
The expedition interred Mallory where he lay.
Subsequent expeditions
During a second expedition in 2001, most of the 1999 team returned to search further. Many discoveries were made, including nearly every pre-World War II camp on the mountain.
Jake Norton
This list consists of people who reached the summit of Mount Everest more than once. By 2013, 6,871 summits have been recorded by 4,042 people. Despite two hard years of disaster (2014 and 2015), by the end of 2016 there were 7,646 summits by 4,46 ...
and
Brent Okita re-discovered the 1924 Camp VI, last occupied by Mallory and Irvine. Eventually, 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 oedema, a condition where the victim can
hallucinate
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...
, lose balance, and eventually become unable to 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
This list consists of people who reached the summit of Mount Everest more than once. By 2013, 6,871 summits have been recorded by 4,042 people. Despite two hard years of disaster (2014 and 2015), by the end of 2016 there were 7,646 summits by 4,46 ...
and
Dave Hahn
David Allen Hahn (born November 3, 1961, Okinawa, Japan) is an American professional mountain guide, ski patroller, journalist and lecturer. In May 2013, he reached the summit of Mount Everest for the 15th time—at the time, this was the most sum ...
returned to Everest with a film team and support from
Sherpas Danuru and Tashi to look once more for evidence of Irvine and answers to what happened to Mallory and Irvine in 1924. While the team was able to scour the
Yellow Band
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
, 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 an expedition led by
Russell Brice Russell Reginald Brice (born 3 July 1952) is a New Zealand mountaineer. He was the owner/manager of Himex (Himalayan Experience Ltd.), a climbing expedition company. He has summited Cho Oyu seven times, Himal Chuli and Mount Everest twice, as well ...
, which included
Graham Hoyland (
Howard Somervell
Theodore Howard Somervell OBE, FRCS (16 April 1890 – 23 January 1975) was an English surgeon, mountaineer, painter and missionary who was a member of two expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s, and then spent nearly 40 years workin ...
's grand-nephew and member of the 1999 Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition).
In 2007, the
Altitude Everest Expedition led by
Conrad Anker
Conrad Anker (born November 27, 1962) is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located George Mallory's body on Everest as a member of a sear ...
, who had found Mallory's body, tried to retrace Mallory's last steps.
Jochen Hemmleb led another search expedition in 2010, examining new terrain on the Northeast Ridge, specifically near a feature called "The Warts." Nothing of consequence was discovered.
See also
*
List of Mount Everest expeditions
This is a list of expeditions to Mount Everest. Many of these are mountaineering expeditions for exploration, sport, science or fundraising.
Introduction
There have been many expeditions throughout the 20th (1900s) and 21st (2000s) centurie ...
External links
1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition website by MountainZone1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition website by PBS/NOVAMallory and Irvine Research expedition 2001Mallory's body shortly after its discovery on May 1, 1999Mallery and Irvine team member Jochen Hemmleb InterviewMallery and Irvine team member Jake Norton Interview
{{Mount Everest
1999