Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition
The discovery of Mallory's body raised intriguing questions, especially given the absence of a photo of his wife, which he had intended to leave at the summit, suggesting he might have reached it.
[6] The initial challenge was to identify the location of the 1975 Chinese Camp VI and use it as the centre point of a circular search zone with a twenty-minute walk or more, if necessary, radius.
[10][11] Other sponsors were Mountain Hardwear, Outdoor Research, Lowe Alpine, Eureka!, Starbucks, PowerBar, Vasque Footwear, Slumberjack, and Glazer's Camera.
[16] From there, the five mountaineers set out at 10:30 a.m. for the "ill-defined rib" identified in Hemmleb's search guidelines and traversed west over the North Face's precipitously angled terrain.
[18][19][20] The body was partially frozen into the scree and well preserved due to the cold, dry air and constant freezing temperatures; it was lying prone, fully extended, with both arms somewhat outstretched and the head pointed uphill.
[24][27] Despite the body being notably intact, Everest's alpine choughs had damaged the right leg, the buttocks, and the abdominal cavity by pecking at them and consuming most of the internal organs.
[28][29] Tied to the corpse's waist were the remnants of a braided cotton climbing rope, some tangled around the body, from which its broken, frayed end trailed.
[36] Close to the nape of the neck, Norton turned over part of the shirt collar and found affixed to it a clothing label with red print, reading, "W.F.
[38][22] Because the corpse had frozen into the surrounding scree, the mountaineers used their ice axes and pocketknives to excavate the site to find crucial artefacts and, most importantly, Somervell's Vest Pocket Kodak camera that he "allegedly" had lent to Mallory for his summit attempt with Irvine.
[28][44] The rope-jerk injuries around Mallory's torso indicate that he and Irvine were roped to each other when the accident occurred; the exact circumstances surrounding their deaths are unknown.
[44][30] After chipping at the ice and rock for one hour with their axes, the expedition members had freed one jacket pocket in which they discovered an altimeter manufactured by Cary, London, that could record altitude to a maximum of 30,000 ft (9,144 m); its crystal was broken and the hands were absent.
[47] Other artefacts were discovered in a pouch on Mallory's right side and from separate pockets: a handkerchief—wrapped around some letters[n 2] addressed to Mallory—with a burgundy, blue, and green foulard pattern, decorated with the monogram G.L.M.
Oates of Sheffield manufactured Lambfoot antler-handle pocket knife with a leather case; an intact box of still usable Swan Vestas matches; and a variety of boot laces and straps.
[47][57] To the dismay of Anker, Hahn, Norton, Richards, and Politz, the most sought-after artefact, the Vest Pocket Kodak camera that Mallory had "allegedly" borrowed from Somervell, was not found after a thorough search.
[58] The five expedition mountaineers buried Mallory by covering his remains with rocks, and Politz read a Church of England committal ceremony provided by Barry Rogerson, the Bishop of Bristol.
[59][58][2] Controversy arose among family members and climbers as to what was seen as an attempt to capitalise on the discovery of the corpse, particularly as photographs of the body were reported to have been sold to Newsweek magazine for more than $40,000.
[60] On 16 May, expedition members Andy Politz and Thom Pollard returned to Mallory's burial site for one last search for the camera that he had reportedly carried, this time using a metal detector.
[67][68] On 17 May 1999, at 2:00 a.m., Anker, Hahn, Norton, Richards, and two Sherpas, Dawa and Ang Pasang, left Camp VI at 26,903 ft (8,200 m) and began their summit bid.
[69] At about 10:30 a.m., Norton, Richards, and the two Sherpas abandoned the bid, retreating at an altitude of circa c. 28,084 ft (8,560 m) between the First and Second Steps; Anker and Hahn would later reach the summit at 2:50 p.m.[70] Shortly after Norton and Richards had decided to retreat, they radioed Eric Simonson at Advanced Base Camp and informed him about their decision, and Simonson asked them to search for the oxygen cylinder he had found in 1991.
[73] The no 9, stamped on the bottle, corresponded to the no 9 written by Mallory—as part of a list of oxygen cylinders he and Irvine took on their summit bid—on the envelope, addressed to him from "Stella," which also contained a letter from her, discovered on Mallory's body.
Eventually, the team abandoned their search for Irvine to rescue several other climbing parties stranded on the mountain and in deep distress.
[citation needed] Jochen Hemmleb led another search expedition in 2010, examining new terrain on the Northeast Ridge, specifically near a feature called "The Warts."
