A National Geographic documentary team has found on Mount Everest what they believe is the partial remains of a British climber who vanished 100 years ago during a quest to become among the first to summit the world’s tallest mountain. 

The organization announced Friday that the expedition found a foot encased in a sock embroidered with “AC Irvine” and a boot that could be that of Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, who disappeared at the age of 22 along with his co-climber, the legendary George Mallory, near Everest’s peak on June 8, 1924. 

“It’s the first real evidence of where Sandy ended up,” photographer and director Jimmy Chin told National Geographic. “A lot of theories have been put out there.” 

“When someone disappears and there’s no evidence of what happened to them, it can be really challenging for families. And just having some definitive information of where Sandy might’ve ended up is certainly [helpful], and also a big clue for the climbing community as to what happened,” Chin added. 

MOUNT EVEREST CLIMBING DUO VANISHES FROM NOTORIOUS AREA OF WORLD’S TALLEST PEAK 

In his final letter to his wife, Ruth, before he vanished on Mount Everest a century ago, the 37-year-old Mallory tried to ease her worries even as he said his chances of reaching the world’s highest peak were “50 to 1 against us.” 

Mallory’s body was found in 1999, but there was no evidence that could point to the two having reached Everest’s summit at 29,032 feet, according to The Associated Press. 

The apparent discovery of Irvine’s remains could narrow the search for a Kodak Vest Pocket camera lent to the climbers by expedition member Howard Somervell.  

NEPALI GUIDE, UK MOUNTAINEER SURPASS THEIR OWN RECORDS FOR MOST CLIMBS OF MOUNT EVEREST 

The members of the 1924 British Mount Everest expedition, in a colorized photograph. Back row, left to right: Andrew Irvine, George Mallory, John de Vars Hazard, Noel E. Odell and expedition doctor, R.W.G. Hingston. Front, left to right: E.O. Shebbeare, Geoffrey Bruce, Dr. T. Howard Somervell and Bentley Beetham.  (Capt. J.B. Noel/Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images)

For mountaineers, the AP describes it as the equivalent of the Holy Grail — the possibility of photographic proof that the two did reach the summit, almost three decades before New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay got there on May, 29, 1953. 

The sock and boot were found on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below the north face of Mount Everest in September.

Irvine’s family reportedly is volunteering to compare DNA test results with the remains to confirm their identity. 

A sock embroidered with “A.C. Irvine” was discovered below the north face of Mount Everest. (Jimmy Chin/National Geographic via AP)

“I have lived with this story since I was a 7-year-old when my father told us about the mystery of Uncle Sandy on Everest,” Irvine’s great-niece and biographer, Julie Summers, told the AP. “When Jimmy told me that he saw the name AC Irvine on the label on the sock inside the boot, I found myself moved to tears. It was and will remain an extraordinary and poignant moment.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz received Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Berlin on Friday, where Scholz promised further aid packages before the cold Ukrainian winter sets in.

During the tour that included visiting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, Zelenskyy reportedly presented his peace plan, which pledges an end to the war in 2025.

Scholz promised new air defence systems and other weapons, along with a fresh military aid package, in collaboration with other NATO partners, worth €1.4 billion. €170 million has also been earmarked for Ukraine’s energy system, according to Scholz.

All eyes on Washington and 5 November

Zelenskyy was originally set to meet with US President Biden along with other key NATO members at a meeting on the Ramstein airbase scheduled for Saturday. However, the meeting was postponed after Biden stayed in the US as parts of the East coast were battered by hurricane Milton.

With no rescheduled date on the table for the meeting, experts suggest that Ukraine could be nervous ahead of the US election, less than a month away, as a visit from Biden may not carry as much weight when his presidency is coming to an end.

The polls are currently on knife edge between Trump and Harris and if Trump manages to win, experts are predicting that support for Ukraine will dry up from the US side.

The question remaining is how quickly Ukraine could be become a NATO member and if it would be the whole of Ukraine, or simply the territories not occupied by Russian forces. It is clear a lot will depend on the outcome of the US election next month.