A group of climbers were on Mount Everest last month filming a documentary for the US television network National Geographic. A member of the team suddenly stumbles upon a frozen shoe. The shoe came out of the melting ice of the glacier.
The shoe is believed to belong to British mountaineer Andrew Comyn 'Sandy' Irvine. Hundred years ago in June 1924, he went missing with his companion George Mallory while climbing Everest. Since then, Irvin's family has been waiting for news. The shoe seems to have put an end to that wait.
The clue to the shoe may be the solution to one of the greatest mysteries in the world history of mountaineering. In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest.
But the question of whether Irvin and Mallory were able to reach the top of Everest 29 years earlier, can be answered by the clues of the shoe.
National Geographic's documentary filmmaking team was led by renowned mountaineer Jimmy Chin. He said, inside the shoe was a fragment of a leg. Expressing excitement at this discovery, Jimmy said, 'It was a memorable and emotional moment.'
To Julie Summers, Irvin's niece, it's nothing short of extraordinary. He told the BBC, "My body froze...we had given up all hope of finding him (Irvine)."
Many people have searched for Irvin's body over the years. This was partly because the 22-year-old climber had some video on his camera. It might have pictures of him and Mallory climbing Everest.
Is the discovery of the shoe the first step in finding Irvin's body and the camera?
His family has already provided a DNA sample to confirm whether the foot fragment inside the shoe is indeed Irvin's.
But the film-making team is very confident, the shoe is Irvin's. Because, the sock found inside the shoe had 'AC Irvine' written on it.
The film crew found the shoe last month while descending the Rongbuk Glacier on the north side of Everest. Earlier on that way they got an oxygen bottle. The year 1933 is written on the bottle. An item belonging to Irvin was found during an expedition to Everest that year.
After seeing the bottle, there was intense tension among the film-making team. They searched for seven days, thinking that Irvin's body might be nearby. At one point, one of the group saw a shoe peeking out from the melting snow.
The team luckily found the shoe. Because, according to their calculations, the glacier had started to melt just a week before they got the shoe.
According to a National Geographic report, the shoe along with the foot fragment was brought from Everest and handed over to Chinese mountaineering authorities. That authority is in charge of looking after the north face of Everest.
The discovery is deeply emotional for Irwin's descendants on the centenary of his disappearance. Irvin's niece Julie Summers grew up hearing stories of her grandmother's adventurous adventurer and young brother (Irvin) studying at Oxford. They knew Irvin as 'Uncle Sandy'.
Julie Summers recalls, 'My grandmother had a picture of Irvine by her bed. He kept the picture there till his death. Nani used to say, “There are no good people like Irvin.”
Irvin disappeared at the age of 22. At that time he was the youngest climber. He and Mallory have long been objects of curiosity to many climbers around the world. Irvin and Mallory were last seen on June 8, 1924. They were preparing for the journey to the top of Everest that day.
Mallory's body was found in 1999 by an American mountaineer. The discovery of Irvin and Mallory's remains has been the subject of controversy in recent decades. It is also said that their bodies have been removed.
But Julie Summers has always dismissed these stories and suspicions. Julie breathes a sigh of relief when Jimmy Chin calls her to tell her that Irvin's remains are still on Everest.
But what if it turns out that Irvin and Mallory managed to reach the top of Everest? But will the entire history of mountaineering change? Because, if this happens, they will be the first people to step on the top of Everest.
Samar said, "It will be great, we will all be very proud." We will know the truth once we get a picture of the camera believed to be with Irvin. It seems that the search for the camera will continue from now on.
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