Everest winds force Irish climbers to delay summit attempt

Strong winds and deteriorating weather thwarted attempts today by more than 100 climbers to scale 29,035ft Mount Everest.

Among the 100 is a group of five Irish climbers, led by Corkman Pat Falvey and including Hannah Shields, who hopes to be the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest.

With only a few days left of the climbing season, the mountaineers had hoped to reach the summit after several days of better weather.

However, the first group of Sherpas only managed to fix ropes and dig paths in the snow a few feet from their last camp at 26,240ft South Col.

Officials in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu said all the climbers and their Sherpas were reported safe at South Col.

A record number of people are trying to scale the Himalayan peak this month to mark the 50th anniversary of the first time Everest was successfully climbed, by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953.

But the weather has been bad. Some climbers have lost tents, equipment and supplies in wind storms, which have forced many to retreat to base camp at 17,400ft.

The Nepalese government has issued climbing permits to 22 expedition teams for the March to May spring mountaineering season, each with about 12 members, plus Sherpas who help carry gear up the icy slopes.

Over 1,200 climbers have reached the summit, while nearly 200 have died on its slopes.

To mark the golden jubilee of the conquest of the peak, veteran mountaineers are gathering in the Nepalese capital next week. Among them are Sir Edmund and Junko Tabei, who in 1975 became the first woman to reach the summit. Tenzing Norgay died in 1986.