Everest climber's foot believed to be found after 100 years

A ft believed to beryllium to a British climber who went missing 100 years agone has been recovered connected Mount Everest, successful a find that whitethorn lick 1 of mountaineering's biggest mysteries.

Andrew Comyn "Sandy" Irvine had attempted to ascent Everest successful June 1924 with his spouse erstwhile the brace vanished. While his partner's remains were yet retrieved, Irvine's assemblage was ne'er discovered.

But past period a squad of climbers filming a National Geographic documentary stumbled connected the foot, revealed by melting crystal connected a glacier.

Well-known adventurer Jimmy Chin, who led the team, hailed the find arsenic a "monumental and affectional moment".

British authorities are verifying the individuality of the ft utilizing a DNA sample, according to a National Geographic report. The BBC has asked the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for comment.

But the filmmaking squad is reasonably assured the ft belongs to Irvine, owed to the sock recovered wrong the footwear being embroidered with the words "A.C. Irvine".

"I mean, dude... there's a statement connected it," Chin was quoted arsenic saying.

The find was made erstwhile the squad descended the Central Rongbuk Glacier by the northbound look of Everest successful September.

Along the way, they recovered an oxygen vessel marked with the day 1933. An Everest expedition that twelvemonth had recovered an point belonging to Irvine.

Energised by this imaginable motion that Irvine's assemblage could beryllium nearby, the squad searched the glacier for respective days, earlier 1 of them saw the footwear emerging from melting ice.

It was a fortuitous spot - they estimated the crystal had lone melted a week earlier their discovery.

The ft has since been removed due to the fact that of concerns that ravens were disturbing it, according to reports, and passed to the Chinese mountaineering authorities who govern the northbound look of Everest.

Julie Summers, a descendent of Irvine, said successful a connection that she was "moved to tears" erstwhile Mr Chin told her astir the discovery. "It was and volition stay an bonzer and poignant moment.”

"Sometimes successful beingness the top discoveries hap erstwhile you aren’t adjacent looking. This was a monumental and affectional infinitesimal for america and our full squad connected the ground, and we conscionable anticipation this tin yet bring bid of caput to his relatives and the climbing satellite astatine large," said Chin, who is known for making Oscar-winning climbing documentary Free Solo.

Aged 22 erstwhile helium disappeared, Irvine was the youngest subordinate of an expedition that has intrigued the mountaineering satellite for a century.

Many person wondered if his squad succeeded successful becoming the archetypal radical to acme Everest, 29 years earlier Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the top.

Over the years, immoderate person tried to search for Irvine's body arsenic helium was said to person been carrying a camera with undeveloped movie which could beryllium that helium and his climbing spouse George Mallory had succeeded.

The brace was past seen live connected 8 June 1924 arsenic they acceptable disconnected for the peak.

Mallory's assemblage would not beryllium recovered until 1999 by an American climber. In caller decades, the hunt for the climbers' remains has been mired successful contention amid suspicions that the bodies were moved.