Climber who scaled Annapurna with Noel Hanna says he had suffered 'excessive exhaustion'

Noel Hanna will be laid to rest this coming Saturday, April 29. Picture: noelhanna.com

The man who scaled one of the world's most dangerous mountains with Irish climber Noel Hanna has said the Co Down man had no oxygen backup and was suffering from “excessive exhaustion” before he died.

Climber Arjun Vajpai, who found Hanna dead in his tent, has spoken briefly of his last hours with the 56-year-old. He was one of a group climbers who had gone up west Nepal’s 8,091m-Mt Annapurna with Noel.

He said some 18 climbers in total had started expeditions up to what is one of the tallest and most treacherous mountains in the world at around the same time.

At 7pm, on April 16, he, Noel and three others — Naila Kiani and Shehroze Kashif from Pakistan, and Khoo Swee Chow from Singapore — had set off from Camp IV for the summit some 200m above them.

On their way they had crossed paths with an Indian climber Anurag Maloo, 34, and his group, who were returning to Camp IV having reached the summit earlier.

The following day, at around 7.30am, Noel, Arjun, and the others reached the summit and then returned back to Camp IV.

But, he said, they did not all arrive at the same time.

Arjun said Noel returned after him at 7pm, made himself some soup and then went to sleep because he was exhausted.

Arjun said it was on the morning of Tuesday, April 18, that a sherpa guide at Camp IV first noticed that Hanna had stopped responding to attempts to contact him. He then went to check and found the Irishman.

"I found Noel lying in the tent, motionless,” Arjun, who has since returned to his home in India, told the Times of India.

The previous day, Hanna had returned to the camp around 2-3 hours after me at 7pm and gone to sleep immediately. He was trekking without oxygen backup.

“We believe he died due to extreme weather conditions and excessive exhaustion.” 

On the same day that Hanna scaled Annapurna, Indian climber Anurag had slipped and fallen 300m into a deep crevice from a 5,800m point on his way down to base camp.

Another climber, Baljeet Kaur, 27, also went missing near Camp IV while on her way down from the summit.

Both have since been rescued and are recovering after their ordeals.

Although still in intensive care in a hospital in Nepal, Anurag is said to be in a much better condition than he was when he was rescued after being trapped for three days.

Meanwhile, details of ten-time Everest summiteer Noel’s funeral have been announced on Facebook by his wife Lynne, the former Clarins CEO who climbed to Everest twice with her husband.

Noel Hanna meeting Bill Clinton. Picture: noelhanna.com

The former RUC officer who was once a body guard to Bill Clinton when he visited the North in the 1990s will be laid to rest this coming Saturday, April 29.

There will be a cremation service at Roselawn Cemetery and Crematorium in Belfast at 2pm for family and close friends only.

This will be followed at around 3.30pm with a “gathering and celebration of Noel’s life” at Belfast’s Stormont Hotel.