The Irish Seven Summits team has had to abandon its latest assault on the world’s highest mountain following the decision by Sherpas to withdraw their services following a spate of recent deaths.

Nepal has agreed to set up a relief fund for Sherpas who are killed or injured in climbing accidents, one of several key concessions to the mountain guides after Mount Everest’s deadliest disaster.

Rescuers were digging through piles of snow and ice today for four Sherpa guides buried on Mount Everest when an avalanche swept down the slopes and killed 12 other Nepalese guides in the deadliest disaster on the world’s highest peak.

Six local guides have been killed and nine more are missing after an avalanche swept a route used to scale the world’s highest peak, a Nepalese tourism official said.

Three seasons. Three All-Ireland semi-finals.

It’s been a hectic year for Blue Raincoat theatre company.

As the 60th anniversary of the first Everest climb approaches, Conall Ó Fátharta looks back on the achievement of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

Mountaineers should be banned from climbing Everest using oxygen, because they are “diminishing the adventure” and “achieving nothing”, actor Brian Blessed said today.

From Machu Picchu to King Tut’s grave, the ‘National Geographic’ auction takes us on a rich pictorial history, writes Trevor Coin

ANYONE who has ever held a hurley in his hand has had the dream, or some variant of the dream.

A record-breaking Nepalese Sherpa flew to Mount Everest today to prepare to scale the world’s highest mountain once again and scatter the ashes of its most celebrated climber, Edmund Hillary.

A veteran Sherpa guide says he is planning to climb Mount Everest for a record 20th time while cleaning up tons of rubbish, campaigning for Nepal's tourism industry and taking up the ashes of Edmund Hillary.

CONTROVERSIAL author Jeffrey Archer delivered the keynote address at the Thomas Crosbie Holdings annual business dinner in the company’s South Mall headquarters last night.

Edmund Hillary’s widow today unveiled the trophy, named in her husband’s honour, which will be on the line when England face New Zealand in Saturday’s Investec Challenge.

A pizza company which used an advert featuring the dancing dead bodies of the Queen Mother, actor Heath Ledger and Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary apologised today.

A new rugby trophy contested by England and the All Blacks will honour the late Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand Prime Minster Helen Clark announced today.

DIGNITARIES from around the world paid their respects to Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary at his state funeral yesterday.

HUNDREDS of people queued yesterday to pay their last respects to Sir Edmund Hillary, the conqueror of Mount Everest, whose body lay in state in New Zealand ahead of his funeral today.

Thousands of New Zealanders filed solemnly past the casket of Mount Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary today as they paid final respects ahead of his state funeral tomorrow.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark today has paid personal condolences to the widow of Mount Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary, who died this week.

Edmund Hillary, the man who conquered Mount Everest, will be given a state funeral, the New Zealand government said today.

Edmund Hillary, the unassuming beekeeper who conquered Mount Everest has died, New Zealand’s prime minister Helen Clark said tonight.

A COSY little pub in the Dingle Peninsula might be a long, long way from the South Pole but the achievements of the first Irish team to reach the southernmost point on earth were celebrated there, last night.

An expedition on Mount Everest retracing the 1924 climb by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine returned from the mountain today unable to say whether the two men were the first to scale the world's highest peak.

A 71-year-old Japanese mountain climber has become the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Mountaineering legend and Mount Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary was discharged from a New Zealand hospital today, nearly a week after he was admitted following a reported fall.

A DUTCH daredevil is to tackle the world’s highest peak wearing just boots, shorts, gloves and a cap, the expedition leader said yesterday.

A Mount Everest expedition leader criticised for leading his team past a dying British climber said today that he did not know during his team’s ascent that anyone was in trouble near the peak.

A Scottish climber died near the summit of Mount Everest today, Nepalese mountaineering officials said.

Edmund Hillary, who was first to conquer Mount Everest along with his Sherpa guide more than 50 years ago, will miss his annual trip to this Himalayan nation where he is considered a hero, a close associate said today.

THE Guinness Book of Records celebrated its 50th anniversary in Dublin yesterday with a line-up of new record holders, including a TV3 crew who beat the world record for putting on a duvet cover and then equalled the record for cramming the most people into a Smart car.

An ace Sherpa guide scaled Mount Everest in a record eight hours and ten minutes today, Nepalese mountaineering officials said.

NEARLY 60 climbers and their Sherpa guides scaled Mount Everest over the weekend, becoming the first to reach the summit of the world’s highest peak in 2004, Nepalese tourism officials said.

A new opinion poll confirmed Arnold Schwarzenegger as the front-runner in the campaign for the California governorship today, hours after one of his rivals dropped out of the race.

THE Irish team that conquered Mount Everest will fly into Cork todayat the end of a gruelling two-and-a-half months’ climbing in the Himalayas.

THE Irish Mount Everest expedition team had a miraculous escape when a helicopter crashed on the mountain yesterday, killing one crewman and three climbers on the ground.

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of his historic conquest of Mount Everest, Edmund Hillary complained that legions of modern-day climbers were holding drunken parties at base camp and then scrambling to the summit on fixed ropes and ladders.

A helicopter that was flying to pick up climbers in the Mount Everest area crashed near the base camp today, killing a Nepalese flight attendant and injuring six other people.

Edmund Hillary and a Sherpa from his 1953 Everest expedition led a colourful procession through the Nepalese capital today to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their conquest of the world’s tallest mountain.

Half a century on from his great achievement, Sir Edmund Hillary still plays down being one of the first two men to set foot on the summit of Everest.

A visibly exhausted Sir Edmund Hillary, confined to a wheelchair, arrived in Nepal today to take part in celebrations to commemorate his conquest of Mount Everest a half century ago.

Two Irish climbers have successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain.