British explorer Ranulph Fiennes said yesterday he will make a second attempt to climb Mount Qomolangma, three years after he nearly died just short of the summit.
The 64-year-old said his last bid to conquer the world's highest mountain in 2005 failed when he was struck by crushing chest pains "like an elephant treading" on him.
He survived after being rushed off the mountain and taking heart drugs prescribed after his near-fatal heart attack and double heart by-pass surgery two years earlier.
His first attempt on Mount Qomolangma ended 300 meters from the summit ridge. He began foaming at the mouth after taking an entire packet of drugs to combat chest pains. He was rushed from a base called Death Camp and flown to a London heart specialist.
"I didn't achieve the ascent record, but going from Death Camp to Harley Street in two and a half days is quite reasonable," he said.
He will be joined on Everest by Britons Kenton Cool, who has reached the peak five times before, and Dr Rob Casserley, a four-time veteran.
Fiennes hopes to become the first person to have crossed both polar ice caps and scaled Mount Qomolangma. The team will set off for Nepal in late April and hopes to reach the summit some time after May 15 when the weather should be at its best.
The attempt will come just days after the Olympic torch is due to be carried to the top of Mount Qomolangma, 8,848 meters above sea level.
Fiennes hopes his latest adventure will raise three million pounds for the charity Marie Curie Cancer Care. He lost his first wife and two sisters to cancer in the space of 18 months.
Hailed as one of the world's greatest adventurers, the former soldier traveled 52,000 miles around the globe on its polar axis between 1979 and 1982.
Eleven years later, he and Dr Michael Stroud became the first men to cross the Antarctic unsupported on foot.
The public can follow his progress on the expedition website, www.everestchallenge.org.uk.
Source:China Daily/Agencies
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