Challenge 8000 Brit' Alan Hinkes is on the final straight of his
quest to become the first Briton to summit all 14 of the world's
8,000 metre plus peaks with the announcement that he's off to attempt
Kangchenjunga at the end of March.
If he succeeds in climbing the mountain, he'll become one of only
12 mountaineers to manage the extraordinary feat after 15 years of
trying. Kangchenjunga at 8586 metres is the world's third highest
peak behind Everest and K2 and was first climbed by a team including
the legendary Mancunian plumber Joe 'the Human Fly' Brown 50 years
ago.
Hinkes has tried and failed to climb Kangch' before, narrowly
escaping with his life after a snow bridge collapsed during his
descent and depostited him in a crevasse. He escaped with a broken
arm, but it could have been much worse and Alan will know just what a
dangerous task lies ahead.
'The mountain lies at the eastern extreme of the Himalaya,'
observes Hinkes. 'And is exposed to exceptionally bad weather as the
monsoon period moves in. This isn't my first visit and I know what
lies in store - the terrain is very difficult and once on the
mountain there is a very serious danger of avalanche and
rockfall.
'I am however not worried, it feels like I'm returning to an old
friend and I'm really looking forward to it. As I always say, I climb
to live, not to die. The summit is optional but returning is
mandatory.'
More details to follow in good time, but we'd like to wish Alan
all the best for his second crack at Kangchenjunga. We'll carry
updates here, but you'll also be able to follow his progress on the
web site of Alan's
main sponsors, Berghaus. More OM coverage from our previous articles
linked below.
Finally, we were very tickled by the description of Alan as a
'worldwide legendary hero' in a Berghaus press release. Shhhh...
don't tell him, it might go to his head ;-)
Marcus Crompton
