1922

Mallory and Irvine

George Mallory, right, and Andrew Irvine, left, set out on the next attempt to reach the summit, four days later, on 8 June 1924, and perished. They were the first European climbers to die on Everest. 

Mallory, a graduate of Cambridge, school teacher and headmaster, was considered the best rock climber of the day. Mallory was the only climber on all three of the first British expeditions to Everest. He left a wife and three young chidren in England.

Irvine was a chemistry student and oarsman at Oxford.  

A British climber on the next expedition to Everest, in 1933, found an ice axe from the 1924 expedition high up on the mountain, about two hours above Mallory's and Irvine highest camp. The ice axe could only have been Mallory's or Irvine's.

A Chinese climber on the 1975 Chinese expedition to Everest claimed to have found the old body of an English climber 300 metres below the point where the ice axe was found earlier.

In 1999, an American climber found Mallory’s body at the spot reported by the Chinese climber in 1975.

Mallory’s body was intact and his injuries limited, indicating a short fall, mostly over a thick snow surface, of some 50 metres or so. Mallory was about one hour from camp. It is believed that Mallory fell while on his way back down to camp. 

In 1965, a Chinese climber on the 1960 Chinese expedition to Everest claimed to have found the old body of an European climber wearing braces (suspenders) at a point not far in a horizontal direction from the spot where the 1924 ice axe was recovered in 1933. Irvine wore braces. (Mallory did not.)

This body was about 300 metres above the spot where Mallory was found in 1999.

This body has not been reported since but it was more than likely Irvine's.  

The Epic of Everest