Not So Famous Sportsman

Andrew "Sandy" Irvine was an Englishman who dedicated himself to sporting pursuits. Born in 1902 he rowed crew as a boy and ended up on the Oxford crew team and competed against Cambridge in 1922 and 1923. Shortly thereafter, he caught the mountaineering bug. He climbed Spitsbergen with his University expedition and was chose by Mallory for a try at Everest.
Irvine died in his attempt at Everest in June 1924. Recent expiditions unearthed Mallory's remains and traces of where Irvine likely met his death. There is specualtion that Mallory may have summited and many theories as to why Irvine was killed in a different location.The real story may never be known. What we do know is these men attempted a potentially fatal climb with crude equipment: old fashioned oxygen gear and little more than wool and leather clothes and boots. These men clearly were in peak condition and were intrepid and perhaps foolhardy....and Irvine is a Sportsman about whom few have heard.