1. Can you describe where Mallory's body was found?
On a moderately steep slope of loose, small, rock close to the 27,000' level of Mount Everest's North Face. Roughly speaking, George Mallory is in the Camp VI vicinity, although not so close as to suffer visits by curious climbers and souvenir hunters.

2. How were his remains conclusively identified?
Mallory had clothing labels sewn into his shirt and sweater (identifying himself) and was carrying letters from his family in his chest pockets.

3. Were there previous expeditions to try and find Mallory's body?
There was one, in 1986. They encountered terrible snow conditions that year and never reached the search area. That was in the Fall, or post-monsoon, season which is known for heavy snow cover. By contrast, our trip is pre-monsoon which is typically dry (this season being one of the driest in memory).

4. How did you decide where to search on Everest? Was there something in particular you expected to find?
Everest historian Jochen Hemmleb is a part of our team and has devoted considerable research to the mystery. We were most optimistic about following his leads concerning the supposed position of Andrew Irvine's body. Irvine is thought to have been found in 1975 by a Chinese climber (deceased shortly afterward) We felt if we could retrace this climber's route, we'd possibly find Irvine. Instead, we broke new ground with the finding of Mallory.

5. What other questions remain for you and your team to explore on this expedition on Everest?
We are now more curious than ever about the things we didn't find. When we re-ascend the mountain (in a few days) we will search again, for Andrew Irvine and for the cameras the two men may have carried. We will also try to illustrate the boldness of their 1924 attempt by having Conrad Anker (a superb and recognized rock climber) attempt to free-climb the Second Step. That feature of the mountain is the crux of the modern route, but has only been climbed without a ladder once (1960 Chinese team whose members sacrificed hands and feet to frostbite in the effort) Could Mallory have climbed it in 1924? We want to see how Conrad rates it.

6. What leads you to believe or not believe that Mallory and Irvine reached the summit?
Mallory had his sunglasses in a chest pocket when we found him, causing us to think it may have been dark (or failing light) when the accident occurred. The implication is that he and Irvine committed themselves totally to the summit bid, disregarding the lateness of the day. Perhaps they made it, being "freed" of the constraints of prudence and caution. Balanced against this is the conviction of many of our team that the Second Step would have been too difficult a problem for even Mallory to surmount with his minimal equipment.

7. How were Mallory and Irvine outfitted for the climb in 1924? What gear did they have?
By our standards, Mallory and Irvine were quite minimally equipped. Their clothing consisted of several relatively thin layers of cotton, flannel, wool and tweed. They carried ice axes, a rope, oxygen tanks, and very little survival gear. For instance, they did not bring lights or a stove, nor any of the down gear we now find so essential for cold climates. On the other hand, for their day, they were well equipped. High altitude mountaineering did not exist as a sport in 1924 and Mallory was carrying an altimeter good to 30,000 feet.

8. Would it be impossible to reach the place that you found Mallory's body today without all the climbers' gear?
No, the difficulty of the terrain which Mallory's body lies on is no greater than that found on the summit ascent via the Northeast Ridge. However, it would be the rare Everest climber who believes he has enough energy to risk "wasting" some on exploration before his attempt at the 29,000' summit.

—Eric Simonson, Expedition Leader

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