Mallory's Body Found on Everest | |
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I have some huge news to announce, so I hope everyone is sitting down and ready for this one. Our climbing and search team members Dave Hahn, Tap Richards, Jake Norton, Andy Politz, and Conrad Anker just returned to Advanced Base Camp late this afternoon with an amazing story. They climbed to Camp VI at about 10am on Saturday morning after having left our Camp V at about five o'clock in the morning in very cold and windy conditions. After reaching Camp VI, they investigated the location of the 1975 Chinese camp and then fanned out to begin the preliminary search of our target area.
At about 1pm in the afternoon, they communicated briefly to me via radio that they had already made a discovery with details to be relayed in person by them upon their return to ABC. They slept at Camp V last night again in some tough weather and then descended today to Advanced Base Camp. It looks like we got lucky this time.
I'm pleased to announce that The 1999 Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition has found the remains of George Mallory, lost on Mount Everest on June 8th, 1924. [Click to see the photo.] The remains were conclusively identified and the surrounding area investigated by our team. After the search, which comprised several hours of activity at 27,000 feet, the team performed a committal ceremony and then buried George Mallory.
In the following days we hope to provide more information about the details that were discovered. On behalf of The Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition, I want to convey how much for us this discovery is a huge achievement and so far beyond our wildest dreams. It is hard to convey our excitement over this discovery. Our expedition was formed to pay homage to these great British climbers, and I can only say again that I have always revered the world's brave explorers, and that I am humbled and honored to be able to lead this expedition and the climbers on this team who are responsible for this discovery. Our job is not finished however, and we will continue over the next several weeks to do more searching and to climb the mountain. This is only the beginning.
Many people have considered our expedition to have had million-to-one odds of success and some have criticized us. At this point, I really want to restate our sincere thanks to the sponsors who have made this trip possible, starting with MountainZone and our equipment sponsors, which include Lowe Alpine, Outdoor Research, Eureka!, Slumber Jack, Mountain Hardwear, and Vasque Footwear, all of whom shared our vision from the beginning and who have made this historical moment possible. Without their help we would never have gotten to the mountain.
Again, our expedition continues and the members are going to descend now for some rest at Base Camp before heading back up for our final efforts. Thanks again, and we will be in touch over the next few days with more information and hopefully, some photos; plus we'll turn Dave Hahn loose on you with some dispatches. [Click for Dave Hahn's dispatch on finding Mallory.] Goodbye for now.
—Eric Simonson, Expedition Leader
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The Expedition Leader and High Altitude Search Team's Dispatches on Finding Mallory:
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