In the ornately beautiful Dynasty Room (the former bed chamber of a Rana princess) of the Kathmandu's venerable Yak & Yeti Hotel, the members of the Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition met the world press for the first time since their historic discovery of George Leigh Mallory's body on May 1st. The team members displayed artifacts found on the body and addressed sensitive issues relating to the discovery. The breathtaking, baroque room, packed with reporters and television crews from Delhi, Hong Kong, New York, and around the world, was the venue for several surprise announcements by expedition leader Eric Simonson.

Simonson dropped the bombshell that he and his team are already planning a return to the 27,000-foot level of Mount Everest to resume their search for the body of Andrew Irvine and other artifacts relating to Mallory and Irvine's ill-fated 1924 attempt on Everest. The exact date of a follow-up expedition has yet to be determined, but Simonson indicated he hoped to do it by next year.

Simonson also announced that proceeds from the sale of images of Mallory's body will go to Himalayan charities to be determined later— and he hopes to have the involvement of the Mallory family and other appropriate parties.

"We're climbers, not treasure hunters," a tan and windburned Simonson told the room full of journalists. "It is not, and never was, our intention to enrich ourselves from this expedition. Frankly, we're blown away by the level of interest our discovery has generated."

The expedition leader further announced to the press that artifacts collected by the expedition relating to Mallory and Irvine's summit attempt would be put in the care of the American Foundation for International Mountaineering Exploration & Research (AFFIMER). Simonson said that it will the responsibility of AFFIMER to safeguard the handwritten letters, the pocket knife, the altimeter, the glacier goggles, and other items found near Mallory's body by his team while those items are evaluated and examined by experts. Further, it will be AFFIMER's responsibility to determine the ultimate disposition of those items to appropriate museums, historical agencies, and the Mallory family.

The climax of the packed press conference however came when Simonson displayed four of the items discovered by the expedition at 27,000 feet or above on the North Ridge of Everest: a scarf, in perfect condition, monogrammed with Mallory's initials; the glacier goggles found in his pocket; and a length of three-strand cotton climbing rope. Simonson also displayed an oxygen bottle used on the 1924 attempt, which was in remarkable condition—its valve still operational.

The appearance of the long-awaited artifacts resulted in a simultaneous, almost involuntary forward surge by the room full of journalists as all pressed closer for an up-close look at the items, protected by Ziploc bags. Nepali security guards were on hand to safeguard the rare artifacts.

In character for the team-oriented Simonson, he began the press conference by introducing the members of his expedition, beginning with the Sherpa members of his team, followed by the climbers, filmmakers, and historians.

Conrad Anker, who summited the mountain with Dave Hahn, described the summit bid and his successful free ascent of the Second Step. Anker reported that he found the three-meter "problem" of the Second Step to be "moderate," a series of moves he would rate as 5.8 at sea level but a different matter altogether at 28,300 feet. Anker concluded by saying that, in his opinion, it is unlikely that Mallory or Irvine could have reached the summit in 1924, not just because of the technical problems of the Second Step, but because of other difficulties on the final part of the route.

The expedition has been the target of criticism from climbers such as Edmund Hillary and Chris Bonnington for "profiting" from the sale of photos relating to Mallory's body. Simonson's remarks today, reiterating that proceeds would go to charities that benefit people in the Himalayan region, seemed to make the issue a moot point. Not a single question regarding the sale of the images was put forth by the assembled press.

As for returning to Everest to conduct further search efforts for artifacts and signs of Mallory's partner, Andrew Irvine, Simonson said that the precise timing has not yet been worked out, but that he was committed to going back to finish what he and his team had begun.

Other new information to come out at the press conference included responses to questions regarding the number of bodies that remain on the North Ridge climbing route. Simonson answered that he and his team had counted 17 bodies between 27,000 feet and the summit.

Liesl Clark, who is making a film for PBS/NOVA, said that she expects scientific examination of the artifacts to perhaps offer valuable clues as to the enduring mystery of whether Mallory and Irvine reached the summit. Could microscopic examination of the pocket knife perhaps indicate whether Mallory had cut himself free of Irvine? Could scientific examination of the altimeter perhaps indicate the maximum altitude gained by the pair in 1924?

Graham Hoyland of the BBC is the great nephew of Howard Sommerville, Mallory's friend and climbing partner. Hoyland said that contributing to the BBC's book, and film projects relating to the expedition, has been a personal goal dating back to his youth when he first learned of how his great uncle's camera went missing.

For the first time, Simonson revealed at the press conference that climbers Thom Pollard and Andy Politz had returned to the site of Mallory's body during Hahn's and Anker's summit climb. Their exhaustive search of the area around the body, made with metal detectors, uncovered at least one new artifact: Mallory's watch. Simonson said Politz and Pollard made a thorough search of the area and concluded that neither the camera nor other artifacts remain in the area.

Simonson said that, for that reason, no expedition, no climber need ever return to the site of Mallory's body. By searching the area completely rather than make their own summit climb, Politz and Pollard definitively concluded nothing of interest remains in the area. Simonson stated that because of their desire to see Mallory undisturbed, his team purposely chose not to give out the precise location of the body.

"Mallory can from this day forward rest in peace," said Simonson.

The Kathmandu press conference was organized jointly by the BBC, PBS/NOVA, and MountainZone.com, who are media partners and principle sponsors of the 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition.

—Peter Potterfield, MountainZone.com Staff

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