Just a quick heads up to let you know that Sir Rannulph Fiennes
has succeeded in climbing the North Face of the Eiger, which is
pretty extraordinary given his lack of climbing experience, frostbite
injuries, problems with vertigo and heart issues, not to mention his
age.
He now says that had he known what he was letting himself in for,
he wouldn't have done it. But hats off to the guy, it's easy to sit
and judge from the comfort of your sofa, but would you have done the
same thing?
Anyway, in a brief Saturday afternoon stylee, below is the press
release in full from Marie Curie Cancer Care.
You can also find reports at www.itv.com/news/eiger
and, complete with summit
team photo, Sir Rannulph's own Myspace page at www.myspace.com/ranulphfiennes
you can find details of how to make a donation online at either.
Press Release In Full
Saturday March 17
Saturday March 17, 10.30am, the world's greatest living explorer,
Sir Ranulph Fiennes, successfully completed his climb to reach the
summit of the Eiger's treacherous north face.
After spending the night on a south-facing ridge, 300m below the
summit, cold but in good spirits, the team began their push for the
top around 8am. Sir Ranulph said: "I am very pleased that we
succeeded in getting to the top, and I'm really hoping for big money
for our charity.
"But to be honest it is more than I would have wanted to have
taken on. I think I will have nightmares for a long time over the
Traverse of the Gods. My policy of not looking down just wasn't
possible, there was nowhere but down. You have to look down to see
the next foothold because it is so totally vertical."
Yesterday was perhaps their toughest day when they tackled two
notoriously difficult sections called the Traverse of the Gods and
the White Spider. Sir Ranulph admitted he would never have begun his
attempt on the north face of the Eiger if he had known about its
terrifying hazards. Of the Traverse of the Gods Sir Ranulph said:
"Had I known that it was part of the thing, I don't think I would
have done it, even for Marie Curie Cancer Care. I thought it was
going to be just a more difficult version of the practise climbs I
have been doing with Kenton around Chamonix and the Alps. Not the
nightmarish thing that it actually was."
On reaching the summit Ian Parnell said: "It was a spectacular
ridge to the summit, so it was a really nice finish. I'm pretty proud
of what we did. Particularly for Ran. It is quite inspirational for
someone, who when he was first interested in the project two years or
so ago, you wouldn't call a climber in anyway. And for him to then do
a route like the north face of the Eiger, which by any climbers
reckoning is one of the big tough routes of the climbing world, it's
impressive."
For the last five days Sir Ranulph and his team have been battling
up 6000ft of horrifically exposed near-vertical rock and ice. They
have dealt with free-falling ice-axes, the threat of avalanche and
the terrifying exposure of Europe's most dangerous and respected
peak.
Sir Ranulph only started climbing two years ago. He suffers from
vertigo, a heart condition, and as a result of developing severe
frostbite on a solo polar expedition in 2000, will be climbing
without the use of half the fingers on his left hand. He is hoping to
raise £1.5 million for the Marie Curie Delivering Choice
Programme.
Sir Ranulph trained in the shadow of the Eiger at base camp for 11
days whilst waiting for a five-day window of good weather. The team,
which included Ian Parnell and Kenton Cool, began their climb at dawn
on Tuesday March 13.
Before climbing Sir Ranulph said: "The Eiger is a big monster and
climbing it will be truly challenging, but with every step that our
three-man team takes, I'll know that our efforts will be making a
real and tangible difference to the lives of terminally ill people
and their families and carers across the UK. I am desperately keen to
enable Marie Curie Cancer Care to raise a very substantial sum
through this Eiger appeal thanks to the hoped for generosity of the
UK public."
Sir Ran has chosen the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme
to be the sole beneficiary of the epic ascent. He was moved to
support the initiative after losing his wife, sister and mother to
cancer all within an 18-month period.
Pioneered by leading charity Marie Curie Cancer Care, the Marie
Curie Delivering Choice Programme aims to give terminally ill people
the choice over where they are cared for and die &endash; which is
usually at home. There are currently three flagship projects
underway in Tayside, Leeds and Lincolnshire. All are working in
collaboration with a broad range of local service providers to
deliver new and improved palliative care services.
Sir Ranulph, said: "I have watched my own nearest and dearest die
of a terminal illness and I understand the huge difference to a
patient's morale and sense of well-being when they have the choice to
spend their last days in the security of their own home.
"The Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme will enable more
people to make this choice. I am proud to be supporting this
groundbreaking initiative and I am urging people to get behind the
programme by sponsoring my Eiger Challenge online at
www.mariecurie.org.uk/EigerChallenge."
You can support Sir Ranulph's Eiger Challenge by donating on
line at www.mariecurie.org.uk/EigerChallenge or by calling 0800 716
146.
To find out more about the Marie Curie Delivering Choice
Programme go to www.deliveringchoiceprogramme.org.uk
Jon Doran
