Lost Photos, A Stolen Yeti Hand, & Unexplained Floating Creatures: 5 Stunning Mt. Everest Mysteries

In June 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine set out to conquer Mount Everest, driven by the ambition to be the first humans to stand atop the world’s highest peak. They never returned. The last sighting placed them 800 feet from the summit, but whether they reached it remains one of mountaineering’s greatest mysteries. When Mallory’s body was finally discovered in 1999, it opened more questions than answers. Did Mallory and Irvine achieve their dream, or did Everest take them before they could? Mallory’s body lay face down on the mountain’s north face, his fingers clawed into the snow, a rope tied around his waist, suggesting a fatal fall. Irvine’s remains, however, have never been found. Crucially, the camera they carried—a Vest Pocket Kodak (VPK)—was missing. This small piece of equipment could hold the truth: a photograph capturing the pair on the summit, forever etching their names in history. Experts from Kodak speculated that if the camera were found, its film mig