Last week’s announcement that a boot and partial remains believed to belong to the British explorer Sandy Irvine had been found on Mount Everest by a National Geographic documentary crew supercharged interest in a mystery that has endured since he vanished with George Mallory on the mountain 100 years ago.

National Geographic team discovers remains believed to be Andrew 'Sandy' Irvine, solving a century-old Mount Everest mystery. Did Irvine and Mallory reach the summit before falling?

The enduring mystery of Mallory and Irvine, the tweed-clad heroes of Everest last seen vanishing into a cloud as mist swept over the Himalayan summit, may finally have been solved 100 years on from the tragedy that so nearly ended in triumph.

Inside the shoe, the team discovered the remains of a foot encased in a sock embroidered with the name “A.C. IRVINE,” presumably for Andrew Comyn “Sandy” Irvine.