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Andrew Irvine
Irvine, c. 1920
Born	Andrew Comyn Irvine (1902-04-08)8 April 1902 Birkenhead, Cheshire, England
Died	8 or 9 June 1924 (aged 22) North Face, Mount Everest, Tibet
Cause of death	Mountaineering accident
Occupation	Student at Merton College, Oxford
Relatives	Julie Summers (great-niece)

Andrew Comyn "Sandy" Irvine (8 April 1902 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was a British mountaineer. He was a member of the 1924 British Mount Everest expedition, the third British attempt to climb Mount Everest.

Irvine climbed with George Mallory on the mountain's Northeast Ridge. They disappeared on 8 June 1924 while trying to reach the summit. It is still unknown if they reached the top before they died.^[1][2]

Irvine was born in Birkenhead, England. He studied at Birkenhead School and Shrewsbury School. He was interested in engineering and was very good at repairing and improving machines.

He was also an excellent rower. He studied engineering at Merton College, Oxford, where he joined the Oxford University Mountaineering Club.^[1]

In 1924, Irvine joined the British Everest expedition at the age of 21. He was chosen because of his engineering skills and ability to work with oxygen equipment.^[1][2]

During the expedition, Irvine improved the oxygen tanks and repaired important equipment. He became a respected member of the team.

On 6 June 1924, Irvine and George Mallory started their final climb toward the summit. On 8 June, another climber, Noel Odell, saw them high on the mountain. They were never seen alive again.^[1][2][3]

In 1933, an ice axe believed to belong to Irvine or Mallory was found on Everest.

In 1999, George Mallory's body was discovered at about 8,156 metres. Irvine's body was not found at that time.

Many climbers searched for Irvine because he may have carried a camera. If the camera was found, it could show whether Mallory and Irvine reached the summit.^[2]

In 2024, a National Geographic team found partial remains believed to be Irvine's. A boot with a name label reading "A. C. Irvine" was discovered on the Central Rongbuk Glacier.^[4]

The story of Mallory and Irvine is one of the greatest mysteries in mountaineering history. It is still unknown whether they were the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, decades before the first confirmed climb in 1953.^[1][2][4]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Summers, Julie (2000). Fearless on Everest: the quest for Sandy Irvine. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers. ISBN 978-0-89886-796-1.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Zieliński, Grzegorz (2025). "Who won the fight for Everest? – the century of the death of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine". Sport i Turystyka. Środkowoeuropejskie Czasopismo Naukowe. 8 (1): 11–34. doi:10.16926/sit.2025.01.01.
3. ↑ https://www.dw.com/en/mount-everest-the-100-year-old-mystery-of-mallory-and-irvine/a-70524517
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/sandy-irvine-body-found-everest