An Irishwoman's Diary

After the terrifying avalanche, it was one of the Sherpas who spotted an ankle above the snow.

He and his colleagues dug furiously and eventually pulled her out. Junko Tabei, a 35-year-old mother of one, was one of seven Japanese climbers and six Sherpas injured in the snowfall.

Just 12 days later, Tabei must have blessed that ankle when she and her sirdar, Ang Tsering, reached the summit of Everest -achieving the first successful female ascent of the great mountain.

Her feat, 30 years ago this month, may not have generated special editions of National Geographic and other journals, as occurred with the 50th anniversary of the Hillary/Tenzing ascent. Many of those climbers currently on the "big hill" may hardly know her name. However, "Honouring Junko Tabei" is the title of a joint Japanese-Chinese women's expedition which is among a plethora of groups on Everest's flanks, preparing for that elusive weather break before the end of May.

Tabei, an English literature graduate, broke social taboos back in 1975 when she accepted an invitation to travel with a group of female climbers to Nepal. She was married and was not expected to leave her husband. However, her partner gave her his blessing on condition that they had a child first, and so she left a 30-month-old daughter behind her when she packed her rucksack.

Since then, 99 women have recorded a similar achievement, including Ireland's first female Everest summiteers, Dr Clare O'Leary and Samantha O'Carroll, both of Cork, in 2004. Grania Willis of this parish is currently hoping to do likewise. When Tabei returned to Japan, she had a second child but didn't pack away her crampons. She became the first woman to have climbed the "seven summits" or highest peaks on seven continents. and she still skips up three to four mountains a year.

Tabei is current chair of the Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan (HAT-J), an organisation dedicated to preserving the environment of a mountain coming under sustained pressure - and not just from the worst excesses of mountain tourism.

Geophysicists have noted that rock faces on high peaks are already crumbling in Europe because of higher summer temperatures associated with climate change. Such temperatures heat some rock faces to such an extent that permafrost, which glues the racks and joints together, melts, decreasing stability.

In the Himalayan region, global warming could be similarly catastrophic. Two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers are already retreating, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. This poses a flooding risk in the short term, and a drought when great rivers like the Ganges and Yangtze are starved of water, with alarming consequences for the economies of China, India and Nepal.

Armagh climber Richard Dougan will be hoping to return to Everest long before this, however. The outdoor pursuits instructor, college lecturer and holder of a Duke of Edinburgh gold medal has held a long-time ambition to reach the Earth's three poles - the North, South, and Everest. He was leader of the successful Northern Irish expedition of 2003 which put two climbers on the summit, 10 years after Belfast architect Dawson Stelfox made that historic ascent of the mountain's north-east ridge.

Unfortunately, Dougan was hit by frostbite, along with colleague David Sharp, and had to return to Kathmandu before his colleagues, Terence "Banjo" Bannon from Newry, and Jamie McGuinness, a New Zealander based in Nepal, reached the summit. "Banjo", who shared a tent with me during the 1993 Irish Everest expedition, now has his sights set on the fearsome K2, the world's second highest peak, which has claimed the lives of many climbers, including Britain's Alison Hargreaves.

Another unlucky climber during the same season was Derry dentist Dr Hannah Shields, who was within 100 metres of the summit on the Nepalese side of the mountain when she contracted frostnip and broke three ribs. Dr Shields is part of a new Northern bid which Dougan has put together for next year. Joining the eight-strong climbing team will be Neill Elliot who is, as Dougan puts it, "two mountains away" from becoming the first person from the North to climb the world's seven summits. As part of its preparations, the expedition team is offering its services to schools on both sides of the Border. For just £100 sterling, schools can book a presentation by Dougan, supported by an exhibition of 30 photographs.

Dougan says the presentation will tie in with the school curriculum, and teachers will be offered a number of "Everest lesson plans". Pupils can enter a poster competition, with the prospect of the winning entry being "flown" at 29,035 feet next year. There will also be opportunities for schools to link up with the expedition as it progresses.

Further details are available from Dougan; e-mail info@lurgaboylodge.com.

Meanwhile, another Northerner, Gavin Bate,is currently making an oxygenless, solo attempt on Everest from Nepal. And in one of the better kept secrets of Irish mountaineering, Irish outdoor pursuits expert Humphrey Murphy is over on the mountain's Tibetan side as part of a multinational group called Monterosa 2005. Bate, director of Adventure Alternative Ltd, has turned back twice from the top, and hopes to raise money for communities in the foothills of the Himalaya if he makes it this time.

Neil Johnson of Croí, the west of Ireland cardiology foundation, is certainly hoping he does, safely, as he has booked Bate to lead a fundraising trek to Nepal and Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, in the autumn.