Photo: Daniel Prudek (Shutterstock)
In 1924, British mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine attempted to climb Mount Everest, but no one knows if they succeeded, as no one returned from their ill-fated expedition. The fate of the climbers was unknown until 1999, when the body of Mallory was uncovered only about 2,000 feet from the summit of Everest. If the pair did make it to the top (and they were clearly very close) they beat the “official” first summit of Everest by 29 years—it wasn’t until 1953 that Sir Edmund Hillary climbed to the highest point in the world.
Although Mallory’s body was found, his camera and fellow climber Irvine were not. Irvine probably had the camera, and if it can be recovered and the film developed, it could settle the biggest mystery in mountain climbing history. Chances seem good that Mallory and Irvine would have snapped a pic or two from the highest point on earth.
As for the camera and Irvine’s whereabouts, there are two main possibilities: Either the remains and the film were discovered and spirited away by a Chinese expedition in the 1970s, or Irvine and the film are still up there, frozen in the ice, waiting for an adventurer like you to dig them out.
Chances you could find George Mallory’s camera: Really good! I find the story of China stealing the camera dubious, which means that Irvine and the camera are just sitting there. All you need to do is travel to Nepal and ascend to nearly the top of the highest mountain on Earth and it’s right there!
