In reply to DaveHK:
A good example of confusing detail are the oxygen bottles being analysed to prove they got to the top. But the only proven bottle found is bottle no 9, and that 100 metres or so above the first step by Jochen Hemmleb in 1999. Now an 1924 number bottle on the summit would be a game changer, but unfortunately none has been found this high. Altogether most of the oxygen bottles from the 1924 Expedition leaked very badly and only 5 were usable and carried up to Camp VI.
Another confusing issue is that Grayson Schaffer in his National Geographical article states that 4 Chinese mountaineers saw the body of a prewar British climber high on Everest, but only two climbers have been identified. also the description of the body is described differently, one describes 'a huddled figure' and another describes a figure in his sleeping bag. So certainly not Mallory. But then why has Mallory got rope-burns around his torso? Surely Irving must have fallen and the weak hemp rope has obviously snapped, suggesting that Irving has gone a long way. Indeed his recent remains have been found on the Rongbuk glacier. So the Chinese descriptions do not make sense. Did he slip because he had absentmindedly left his axe behind during the exhausting descent? It was found resting on a ledge just below the ridge in 1933 by Wyn Harris. It was clearly marked with Irving's signature three stripes. All this is conjecture of course, until more evidence surfaces.
