Sir Ranulph Fiennes : Articles : SPEAKERS for BUSINESS

Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Sir Ranulph Fiennes set foot on the summit of Everest in the early hours of

today, two failed attempts and a heart attack after he first tried to conquer

the mountain in 2005.

The explorer is the first man to cross the North and South Poles and climb the

world's highest peak. He is also, at 65, the first British pensioner to reach

the summit of Everest.

Arriving at the summit just after 1am UK time, Sir Ranulph, who is attempting

to raise £3 million for the cancer charity Marie Curie, said in a phone call to

the BBC:

"We came to the summit as dawn broke. It was very, very cold."

He added in a statement that climbing Everest had long been a personal goal.

PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS

Sir Ranulph turned back within 350m from the summit on his first attempt in

2005 after having a heart attack. Exhaustion forced him to turn back when he

tried to climb it again last year.

After he turned back last year, Sir Ranulph said:

"I won't be returning to Everest. It's a seven-week trip – last time I had a

heart attack, this time bad timing and weather scuppered my chances. I think any

third attempt would be bad luck."

CHARITY CLSOE TO HOME

But he changed his mind and now he can add Everest to his eccentric list of

achievements.

His efforts this time are raising money for the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity

- his wife, mother and sister all died from the disease within 18 months.

A spokeswoman for Marie Curie said:

"He wanted to do it quietly with no fuss. He only just failed last year – he

got to within a short distance of the summit but had to turn back from

exhaustion."

"So he decided he wanted to keep it very low-key without all the build-up and

media attention of last year."

LIFE OF ADVENTURE

During his career Sir Ranulph has led more than 30 expeditions. The explorer is

perhaps best known for a three-year transglobe expedition - the first successful

circumnavigation of the world on its polar axis - which was completed in 1982.

He also travelled to the North Pole unaided, along with Dr Mike Stroud, as well

as a 97-day trek across Antarctica. Sir Ranulph had a triple heart bypass in

2003 after suffering from a heart attack. Only four months later, he and Dr

Stroud ran seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.