On May 1, 1999, American climber Conrad Anker noticed a large slab of flat rock while climbing the northern slopes of Mount Everest. However, when Anker moved closer to examine it more closely, he realized that the “rock” was actually the exposed back of George Mallory, a famous British explorer who had disappeared on the mountain about 75 years earlier and who may have been the first person to reach its summit.
The passage of time had deteriorated most of Mallory’s clothing, but the icy conditions of Everest had preserved much of his body, which helped experts reconstruct the final moments of his life. Because Mallory had a broken right leg and arm, and an ice axe was discovered above him, it appeared that he had probably died after a bad fall during the climb. Tragically, his death was probably not quick. Before he expired, Mallory had apparently crossed his uninjured leg over his broken leg to ease the pain, realizing that the idea of being saved was hopeless.