The great mystery of Mount Everest is the question: Did George Mallory and Sandy Irvine reach the summit in 1924 before perishing on it? Everyone knows about Mallory, but who was Irvine? Andrew Comyn Irvine (1902-1924), nicknamed Sandy, was a young climber who excelled at rowing and studied engineering at Oxford.

Irvine was the youngest member of the Mallory's expedition. He was a whiz at keeping the oxygen sets working properly, a skill that factored in Mallory's choice of Irvine as his summit partner, although some people have made the absurd postulation that Mallory was sexually attracted to Irvine. The pair disappeared on the Northeast Ridge near the Second Step on June 8. It appears they fell and the rope broke. Irvine's ice axe was found in 1933 but his body has not been found (Mallory was found in 1999), although a couple Chinese climbers reported seeing the body of an "old English dead." It is hoped that when Irvine is found, one of the expedition cameras will be on his person and the film could shed light on the mystery.