There's precious little that's genuinely new in mountaineering, so
it's especially refreshing to see a little-known British climber
committed to undertaking an exciting new line on the world's highest
peak.
What
makes it even more remarkable is that Mary Woodbridge is a sprightly
85 and will be accompanied by her dog, Daisy, to the roof of the
world. Mary and Daisy are in training for the expedition right now
and it's clear from her web site that she's thought long and hard
about the logistics involved.
Rather than mess around with camping on the mountain - something
she dislikes, presumably for ethical reasons - the team will be
making a single push from base camp to the summit along a new, direct
line, which as far as we know is previously unclimbed and has a
severe, purist beauty to it which is unusual in modern
mountaineering on Everest.
Mary will also be climbing without supplementary oxygen, as will
Daisy, in the belief that strenuous training and, presumably, the
absence of heavy camping gear, will make it unnecessary.
A remarkable woman, her web site at www.mary-woodbridge.co.uk
has more information along with two excellent movies showing the
team training.
We'd like to wish Mary the best of luck in her extraordinary
venture and hopefully we'll be able to update you once she's on the
mountain itself. It's no easy undertaking, but it's clear that she
has a realistic grasp of of the task awaiting her.
Ian Brookes
