George Mallory and Andrew “Sandy” Irvine who vanished near the summit of Mt. Everest in 1924, 29 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay accomplished the first summit, left one of the most enduring mysteries in mountaineering history – did they summit or not.

To this day, despite two expeditions in 1999 and 2001 to search for clues high on Mt. Everest, the riddle still has not been solved. Artifacts from Mallory’s 1924 expedition have been found as well as Mallory’s body, but there has been no conclusive evidence to end the speculation. Each attempt to solve the mystery has only fueled further debate, so that some writers have described the 1924 Mallory quest as an expedition without end.

The lecture circuit and the books that were part of the aftermath of the 1999 and 2001 expeditions brought to the forefront of the debate the critical missing pieces to solving the puzzles of the legend. The answer may lie in recovery of Andrew Irvine’s camera or cameras. The film may be preserved by the dry, cold environment and contain evidence of the pair’s highest point, including the summit.

To date, no systematic search since 2001 has been made for Sandy Irvine’s body and his camera. The current search is now at a dead end. The lack of definitive results from the first two expeditions plus the extreme difficulties of conducting a high altitude search in rough, dangerous terrain may have dissuaded any further exploration.

There is at least one person who has guarded a secret that he knows the general area, high on the Northeast ridge of Mt. Everest, where Sandy Irvine’s camera may be. His name is Chhiring Dorje Sherpa. He speaks with the perspective of a 32 year old professional climbing guide who has summited Mt. Everest a total of six times, twice without any supplemental oxygen. At present he has either organized or climbed as a member of at least 27 Himalayan mountain expeditions. He was born and raised in the Rolwaling Valley in the shadow of the southern face of Mt. Everest. He is familiar enough with the Northeast ridge of Mt. Everest to make an educated guess as to where Sandy Irvine’s camera may be.

After our paths crossed for the first time in the village of Tingri, Tibet, and after I invited Chhiring to train and run in an annual race up a mountain in Seward, Alaska called Mt. Marathon, Chhiring asked me to help him in putting together an expedition to search for Sandy Irvine’s camera.

Chhiring saw the need for additional equipment, manpower, and money for such an expedition. The scale of such a project exceeded that of any expedition that he had organized in the past. Equipment such as metal detectors, oxygen, medical supplies, safety hardware and equipment, expedition clothing, and camping gear must be planned for well in advance. Money for climbing permits, yaks, food, porters, and hazardous duty pay for climbing sherpas must be raised. The manpower requirements will be filled by at least 10 climbing sherpas to do the searching for Sandy Irvine’s camera, in addition to a sizeable support staff of porters and kitchen personnel.

We are starting now in 2006 in the planning process for a spring 2008 expedition. An exploratory expedition will take place starting in late March 2007 which, hopefully, will place Chhiring and I high on the northeast ridge of Mt. Everest photographing the search site.

We are in need of sponsors who want to support and participate in the upcoming expeditions. Please email Bill English at wdenglish7001@hotmail.com if you have any questions.