Climbers chill out at -40degrees C

MOUNTAINEER Mr Pat Falvey will train for another part of his attempt to climb the highest peaks on seven continents with an overnight…

MOUNTAINEER Mr Pat Falvey will train for another part of his attempt to climb the highest peaks on seven continents with an overnight stay in a freezer later this week. The Cork man has climbed five of the world's highest mountains, including Mount Everest, over the past two years.

The 39-year-old mountaineer will spend 24 hours in temperatures as low as -40C with three other climbers who will be joining him on his Antarctic trip on January 5th. They are Mr Con Moriarty, from Dingle, Co Kerry, and Mr Mike Shea and Mr Gene Tagney, both from Killarney, Co Kerry.

The four, wearing full expedition gear, will set up camp in the beef freezer at Nordic Cold Storage, in Midleton, Co Cork. They will enter at 10 a.m. on Thursday and emerge on Friday morning.

"It won't be very pleasant but it should give us all, and other people, an idea of what conditions are like climbing mountains, especially in the Arctic and Antarctic," said Mr Falvey yesterday.