British Climber Plans Radical Line On Everest

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.