Fiennes set to be the oldest man to climb Mt.Everest at 64

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

London, May 24 : Sixty-four-year-old Sir Ranulph Fiennes is close to achieving a long cherished dream of becoming the first man to cross both ice caps via the North and South Poles, and to scale Mt. Everest, the world's highest mountain. At 64, he will also be the oldest Briton to climb Everest, reports The Telegraph.

Fiennes, who is a part of the Team Marie Curie left Camp IV, the launching post for the summit, at 4 p.m. (GMT).

The weather forecast predicts high winds of 29 miles per hour. The upper limit that climbers can tolerate for summiting is around 30 miles per hour.

The paper quoted Kenton Cool, the mountain guide leading Team Marie Curie, as saying that: "The weather is not looking too great but we're leaving Camp IV for the summit in around two and a half hours time, Ran is looking really good, so wish us well."

Fiennes said: "I'm not too worried about not having much rest before we leave as I have been expecting this for a long time."

Fiennes attempted the climb Mt.Everest in 2005, but experienced serious heart problems just 300 metres from the summit and was forced to turn back.

He had a triple heart bypass operation in 2003 and is currently in remission for prostate cancer.

Over an 18-month period, Sir Ranulph lost his mother, two of his three sisters and his first wife, Ginny to cancer.

The attempt on Everest, which is sponsored by Wesleyan Assurance Society and Thuraya, aims to raise three million pounds for Marie Curie's Delivering Choice Programme, through which the charity aims to double the number of people given the choice to die at home.

ANI

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