What Now?

     Eric Simonson’s expedition plans an early arrival at Everest base camp, before many of the other climbers arrive. Will an unholy race to find Irvine result? Will this white spot turn out to be Irvine or possibly another climber or? 

The Family’s Request: 

     “May I just stress that we have made three basic requests to Eric Simonson, and to any other expedition leader:

• Treat the body with respect 
• Show sensitivity to our family in choosing which photos you release to the media 
• Return Sandy's possessions, many of which may be personal, to our family.

     We would prefer that Sandy's body be left in peace; for us Everest has always been his final resting place.  However we recognize the world wide interest in the Mallory/Irvine story and are realistic about the fact that we cannot seek to prevent those who wish to do so from seeking for the answer.” John Irvine stated to EverestNews.com

The Big Question: 

     Should climbers look to solve the mystery or let Sandy Irvine rest in peace? 

The Hard Truth: 

     Few climbers on Everest fall down the face or slip 3000 feet down the mountain except those who die in avalanches. Most of the climbers who die on Everest, especially those on the North side up high, simply run out of gas (due to various reasons) and die on the route or fall a few feet down the mountain and then appear to be frozen in place and time for all to see year after year (more when the snow fall is light as in recent years).  The climbers’ bodies are eaten away by birds and who knows what else over time. In one case a corpse was found near base camp on the south side being eaten by dogs. Souvenir hunters have removed other climbers’ body parts from the mountain. Personal effects (artifacts) have also been removed from the bodies over the years by souvenir hunters and sometimes friends of the family. Approximately 62 climbers have died on the North side of Everest above ABC, with 21 dieing in avalanches, leaving about 41 bodies up high on the North Side of Everest.  Dead bodies on Everest are not a pretty picture. 

The Facts: 

     Recall the Chinese climber, Wang Hang-boa told his story to Ryoten Yoshimoro Hasegawa, a Japanese climber, neither speaking the other’s language. Wang supposedly scrawled the figures in the snow, and used his figures to describe what he found. Wang died on the North Col the day after he had “told” his story. The little known evidence in the past is growing with the body of Mallory discovered, and the body of Irvine most probably to be found since it is known with reasonable certainly that he did not die in an avalanche.

What to do next?

     That is the hard question. Erin Simonson, stated to EverestNews.com, "To be clear, finding the remains of Andrew Irvine is NOT the goal of this expedition. Recovery of a camera and images that might definitively tell the story of Mallory & Irvine's final day is the goal. The only reason this team will go in search of Irvine is to attempt to recover the camera and the truths it may hold. Otherwise, there would be no reason whatsoever to seek his final resting place. This expedition team has no morbid fascination with the dead. They are only willing to confront that grim reality high on Mt. Everest in order to seek the truth, a truth that this team believes the dead deserve to have known and would want known to the world."

Final Thoughts

    After looking at pictures and more new pictures the last several days, it seems to us, there is no way with a photo from a distance to have PROOF that any body on Everest is Irvine's without looking at the body.

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