THE Irish climber Mr Pat Falvey, who hopes to become the 23rd person to climb the highest peaks on each of the world's seven continents, returned to Cork last night after reaching the summit of Aconcagua on the Argentinian Chilean border in South America. Mr Falvey achieved this on New Year's Eve with a fellow Cork man, Mr Con Collins.
He has already climbed Mount McKinley in Alaska with Mr Collins, and Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro in Africa. He now plans to climb Mount Elbrus in Chechnya, Carstenz Pyramid in New Guinea and Mount Vinson in Antarctica later this year. "The next three will present some logistical problems", he said on his return to Cork last night.
The war in Chechnya, kidnappings in New Guinea and the distance to be travelled over Antarctica to reach Mount Vinson will all have to be taken into consideration in the planning of his next three climbs, the Cork auctioneer acknowledged. He is also seeking sponsorship for the Antarctic climb in particular because of the cost. This will include the hiring of a plane to fly the climbing team from South America on a 2,500 km trip to the base of the mountain.
"I am delighted to have him home safe", said his wife, Marie, adding that she was prepared to let him go to complete his ambition to climb the remaining three peaks. "I would not stand in the way of his dream", she added.
During the climb of Aconcagua the Cork climbers saved the life of an American climber, but in doing so got badly sunburned. "The sun reflecting off the snow so near the Equator burned the roofs of our mouths, our nostrils and inside our ears. It was very unpleasant for a time, but we have recovered completely now", said Mr Falvey, who has clocked up 120,000 km travelling to the four mountains he has scaled over the past 18 months.