Given that Munster has the highest mountain peak on this island, it was appropriate that two men from the province should make successful ascents of Everest early yesterday. Mick Murphy (43), from Leap in west Cork and Ger McDonnell (32), from Kilcornan, Co Limerick, reached the 29,035-foot summit from its southern flanks over an hour apart, becoming the third and fourth Irish climbers to do so.
By a curious symmetry, Murphy was a member of the first, and successful, Irish Everest expedition, which saw Belfast architect Dawson Stelfox reach the summit on May 27th, 1993, on the mountain's north side. The achievement also comes 50 years after New Zealand beekeeper Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay first conquered the mountain. The Cork expedition, led by Pat Falvey, was following the original Hillary/Tenzing route along with a number of other mountaineering teams.
Sadly, Falvey (45), and fellow climber, Hannah Shields (38), from Derry, had to turn back at the south summit. However, the leader already has an Everest ascent under his belt - recorded in 1995 - and has climbed the highest peaks on seven continents. For both Falvey and Shields, it was a particularly courageous decision. Experienced mountaineers agree timing is crucial, and the descent can prove most hazardous, given that elation and exhaustion can cloud judgment in fickle weather conditions.
Although some 1,200 people have now climbed Everest, some 175 have lost their lives - the worst year being 1996, when 15 climbers perished, including eight on one day. A third of those who have died have been Sherpas, the professionals who make their living guiding, assisting and supporting mountaineers. Mick Murphy, deputy expedition leader, was keen yesterday to emphasise the contribution of the Sherpa team to the Irish effort when he spoke to this newspaper by satellite phone. The Sherpas risked their own lives to ensure that the climbers reached safety at the 26,000-foot South Col in a blizzard.
Many reservations have been expressed about the pressure on the mountain during this 50th anniversary year - with a race between China and the US to broadcast the first live television pictures from the summit. However, one of the positive aspects of this heightened interest has been the boost given to the income of indigenous peoples. On Everest's southern side, mountaineering tourism has been seriously affected by the conflict which has followed the Maoist uprising of 1996. That conflict has claimed over 4,000 lives in Nepal, and the fighting has taken a heavy socio-economic toll on the Sherpa homeland in the Khumbu region.