 Alan Hinkes surveys the scenery during his ascent of Kanchenjunga |
A North Yorkshire mountaineer has run into trouble in his attempt to become the first Briton to scale the world's 14 highest peaks. Alan Hinkes, from Northallerton, has been forced by bad weather to return to base camp on Kanchenjunga in Nepal.
At 8,586m (28,169ft), the mountain is the world's third highest and is the final hurdle in Mr Hinkes' quest.
"It is going to be touch and go whether I reach the summit or not," Mr Hinkes told the BBC via satellite phone.
If successful, the 50-year-old will be one of only 12 mountaineers to have reached the summit of the world's 14 peaks above 8,000m.
 Alan Hinkes began his challenge to climb all 14 peaks in 1987 |
The 13 he has already climbed include Everest, K2 and Annapurna.
Bad weather forced him to abandon a previous attempt to climb Kanchenjunga in 2000.
During his latest attempt, fierce winds forced Mr Hinkes to retreat after blowing away some of his equipment, including a tent.
"It has been particularly hard and after all these expeditions I have done I am thinking why do I have to have all this on this attempt?
"It really is testing me to say the least but I am going to give it a bash."
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
