Irish Times journalist Grania Willis has become the first Irishwoman to scale Mount Everest by its more technically demanding north ridge, writes Paul Cullen.
Ms Willis (49), who reached the summit at 3.45am Irish time (8am Nepali time) on Sunday, is the third Irishwoman to climb the world's highest mountain. Dr Clare O'Leary and Samantha O'Carroll, who summited last year, climbed from the southern side.
Ms Willis confirmed her success in a brief phone-call to Ireland on descending to camp 4 on the 8,850-metre mountain at 9.45am. She then continued her descent and could not be contacted.
"Grania was excited, exhausted and relieved. She was out of danger and in great spirits. She is now looking forward to a few glasses of kir with her many friends and supporters," said Tom McCormack of the Friends of St Luke's Hospital, who took the call.
Ms Willis, who climbed with the Himex commercial expedition run by New Zealand guide Russell Brice, is aiming to raise €200,000 on behalf of St Luke's and the Irish Hospice Foundation through her climbing endeavours.
Hers is likely to be one of the last successful climbs this climbing season, which has been marred by bad weather. This normally ends on May 31st, as warming temperatures make the snow soft and dangerous for climbers.
However, a late improvement opened up a short window of good weather for Ms Willis and her team to climb in.
At least three climbers have died on Everest this year, including a 49-year-old Scottish man who collapsed at the weekend within 350 metres of the summit.
For Ms Willis, the inspiration to climb Everest came in 2002 when she first glimpsed the mountain from an airplane. "I was just so staggered by its beauty and the sheer scale of it," she said earlier this year. "I just said, 'That's the mountain I want to climb'."
Since then, her life has been dominated by an intensive training programme.
Two years ago, she visited Everest base camp and last September she became the first Irishwoman to summit Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest mountain in the world.
Having left Ireland on March 30th for Kathmandu, she reached Everest base camp, 5,200 metres above sea level, about a week later. Her expedition then proceeded to Advanced Base Camp (6,400m) where very poor weather and high winds delayed the summit attempt until this weekend.
A former international three-day event rider who is Equestrian Correspondent of The Irish Times, she will return to Kathmandu later this week before travelling to Ireland for celebrations on June 11th.
Nine Irish people have now climbed Everest; Ms Willis's success follows that of Dubliner Humphrey Murphy, who summited last Monday.
Also at the weekend, British explorer Ranulph Fiennes (61) failed in his bid to become the first person to cross both polar ice caps and climb Mount Everest after becoming ill on the ascent.