In a life jam packed by remarkable physical endeavour, Ranulph Fiennes last night took a step beyond even his own many records of achievement.
At 65, Fiennes became the oldest Briton to conquer Mount Everest. With poetic understatement, he described the journey as “the closest you can get to the moon by walking."
But only last year he swore, after his second failed attempt, that he would never try to climb Everest again. After all, his first attempt in 2005 had also ended short of the summit with a heart attack.
What changed his mind?
The spur to this ultimate mountaineering challenge was his disappointment at failing to reach his £3 million target for the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity. He raised only £2.6 million in his 2008 attempt because he was forced to turn back from the peak with exhaustion.
Quite simply, he was determined to make up the difference. And extra motivation—the x-factor that galvanised his soul—surely came from the loss of his wife, mother and sister from the disease within 18 months of each other.
The pace of his successful climb was, according to the BBC correspondent Andrew Nor...
Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - Sports & Society
Article is property of BleacherReport.com