The reported discovery of the body of British climber George Mallory, who died on Mount Everest in 1924, has reopened a debate on who was first to climb the world's tallest mountain.
Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, disappeared on June 8th, 1924 within 2,000 feet of the peak, taking with them the answer to the question of whether they had been the first men to reach the summit.
A group of mountaineers on Everest say they have Mallory's body and are trying to determine whether he reached the summit before he died, according to a commercial Web site on climbing.
However, mountaineering experts called for convincing proof, before the history books could be rewritten, that it was Mallory and that he reached the top.
The 1999 Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition, led by Eric Simonson, found the body at 8,327 metres (27,000 feet), the Mountain Zone Website reported (www.mountainzone.com).
Mallory and fellow Briton Irvine disappeared on Mount Everest in 1924. They were believed to have been killed after being blown down by a fierce blizzard.
If it is determined that they reached the 8,848-metre (29,028 foot) peak, they would have beaten Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, who reached the top in 1953. Since then, more than 750 others have scaled Everest, while another 150 have perished trying.
The expedition leader, Mr Simonson, was sure the body was Mallory's, saying on the website that the remains had been identified. The team initially set out hoping to find clues including a Kodak camera carried by Mallory, which could contain a vital picture of the summit.
The director general of Nepal's ministry of tourism and civil aviation, Mr Shailendra Raj Sharma, said in Kathmandu: "I don't believe the news about George Mallory. I cannot believe it unless a DNA test is done."
Prior to Mallory's last climb, he had been on two Everest expeditions, in 1921 and 1922. Before that he had achieved several spectacular ascents in the Alps.
Mallory's great-nephew, Mr Bill Newton Dunn, said yesterday he was glad the team had treated the remains with dignity.
Mallory's son John, aged 80, who lives in South Africa, said he was relieved that the body had been easily identifiable and that DNA tests would not be necessary.
He added: "I didn't see any point in disturbing it. If it comes down to a warmer climate, it is likely to disintegrate very rapidly. I think it is much happier to leave it where it is."