Mountaineer and journalist Grania Willis set off from Dublin yesterday on her attempt to become the first Irish woman to climb the north face of Mount Everest.
Willis, who is the equestrian correspondent of The Irish Times, became the first Irish woman to reach the summit of the sixth-highest mountain in the world, the Tibetan peak Cho Oyu, at 8,201 metres, last September.
She now faces her greatest mountaineering challenge with the north face of Everest, considered to be the most demanding route to the summit.
"Clare O'Leary and Samantha O'Carroll were the first Irish women to climb the south face last year, so I wanted to do something different. I always want to challenge myself to the ultimate and this is the ultimate," said Willis before her departure from Dublin Airport.
Willis is hoping to raise €2,000 for the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Friends of St Luke's Hospital. "I feel they're very worthwhile causes. Everyone knows someone who has suffered from or has lost friends and family to cancer, as I have myself."
Willis is due to fly into Tibet on Saturday and hopes to reach Everest base camp on April 8th. The main climb will begin in mid-April and, weather permitting, it is hoped to reach the 8,850-metre summit between May 17th and June 2nd.
She will be the only Irish representative in a team of eight mountaineers, led by New Zealander Russell Brice. The international expedition includes a one-armed Australian climber, who reached 8,500 metres on Everest last year; a Dane; two Japanese; one British; one German-American; and an American.
Willis will be using advanced light-weight computer equipment to allow her to send regular reports back to The Irish Times via satellite.
Donations to the Grania Willis Mount Everest Challenge can be made through the Permanent TSB in Blackrock, Co Dublin, (bank sort code: 99-06-44; account number: 86877341; Visa card donations: 01-2303009).
