Mallory might have been locked in ice and snow for many years. But if he was spotted by Wang, that means that when he was spotted, he would have had to have been lying free of snow and ice, or he wouldn t have been seen. And if it had not been easy to push him into a new position, Wang couldn t have done it. The ground-truth of that hypothesis can be proven by seeing how difficult it is to turn over any of the other climbers lying on the 8200m snow terrace. As to the photographs being morbid, I am at a loss to explain the glee with which some of the climbing fraternity seized on that issue.
Death IS morbid.
I was the first one to tell Mallory s daughter Clare that her father had been found. I later asked her about the photos, and she shared my view that it was cathartic to see them and put the issue to rest. This is how men die on Everest. Others leaped into the fray to opine how demeaning the photos were to the sensibilities of the family, etc., etc. The issue reminds me of the hue and cry put up by left-wingers that the Dartmouth Indian mascot was offensive to American Indians.