Determined Brian will be climbing Nepal peaks for the RNLI
WILL RAISE FLAG ON SUMMIT OF IMJA TSE
LOCAL man Brian Barnes (49) will travel to Nepal later this month ahead of his attempt to scale Imja Tse, a 6,189m mountain, in aid of the RNLI and SOS Himalya.
Brian, from Bellewstown in County Meath, will fly to Katmandu on February 28th and take and internal flight to Tenzing Norgay, which has a runway on the side of a mountain and has an ultra short runway, from where he will climb the 2,200 metres to Everest Base Camp.
From here, he and climbing companion Lakpa will continue up to 5,100 metres at Island Peak before finally attempting to reach the summit at 6,189 metres.
‘ The challenge is to raise an RNLI flag higher than it’s ever been raised before,’ explained Brian. ‘We’re also raising funds for a charity in Nepal called SOS Himalya. It’s not really possible to climb the 6,000 metre peak in Nepal without the help of the Sherpa people so anything we can do to help them is great. SOS is a voluntary organisation providing education in remote areas.’
Brian said the reason he has chosen the RNLI is because he has always had respect for what the organisation does but the recent tragedies have brought the risks they take even more into focus.
‘ The training is going okay, it’s a slog in the gym but everything else is good, I’m enjoying the climbing and the mountain walking. It’s been tough going and I’ve already lost two stone.
‘I’m basically a rock climber, a very average rock climber, I’ve done Irish peaks like Slieve Donard or Carauntoohil which are around the 1,000 metre mark so it will be a massive challenge in Nepal but hopefully it will be a slow trek to a high altitude and then a couple of days to recover before we climb the mountain.’
Brian said the climb has only been made possible by his friend, Lakpa Sherpa, who has agreed to be his climbing partner on the trip. Lakpa is an experienced climber having scaled K2 three times and he runs a company specialising in high altitude climbs.
‘THE CHALLENGE IS TO RAISE AN RNLI FLAG HIGHER THANIT HAS EVER BEEN RAISED BEFORE’
Anyone interested in following the trek or donating to the fundraising drive can follow Brian and Lakpa on their Facebook and Instagram ‘Summit for Lifesaveres’.
The expedition itself is privately funded so all donations will go directly to the two charities.
Brian’s interest in rock climbing started as a young man when he became interested in Falconry and scaled a number of extreme locations to get his own peligrine falcon chick.
‘My problem was that I would have to go to some pretty extreme locations to find a nest site and be prepared to climb into it myself and take the chick myself as I didn’t want any body else picking or handling my falcon in any way prior to me.
So I didn’t take to the mountains and love them, I was terrified at first and it took about a year of climbing into nest sites for other people before I was comfortable at all. I can’t say I ever enjoyed the experience but I was capable and proficient and my legs weren’t shaking any more as I abseiled into many peregrine nests both on Coastal Cliffs and Mountain escarpments.
There was only one goal with this and I achieved it in June 1990 when I took Enya, my female peregrine falcon from her quarry wall nest site and that was the end of my climbing for 25 years.
‘It wasn’t a pleasant introduction itw as something I had to do if I wanted to progress that hobby so the initial climbing expeditions were leg shaking affairs, it was terrifying, absolutely terrifying!,’ said Brian.
‘As soon as I got to take the falcon that was it, didn’t go back to it for 20 years or more. Now I really enjoy it and enjoy the locations for what they are.’
Brian’s wife Freda and daughters Rachel (18) and Emma (15) are behind him all the way and Brian says they have been a great support to him during the build up to his big adventure.
‘I’m sure they’re nervous too, it’s a dangerous part of the world but they have been very supportive.’
He also extended thanks to the print company where he works in Dublin, Digital Print Dynamics, who have also been big supporters of the project.
‘Hopefully we will raise some money and not let everyone down.
‘I’m really excited about it. I’m like a kid waiting for Christmas at the moment. It’s been great getting all the new toys, new gear and my family have all been very generous and are very concerned about me being warm when I get to Nepal so all the Christmas presents and birthday presents have revolved around it.’
‘I find I am at my happiest, when I am in the mountains, whether hanging from rock and climbing or just hiking and hill walking, but most of all I love climbing Sea Stacks. The combination of exposure both from the rock and the ocean beneath you is also somewhat hard to describe. Ha Ha, lets call it atmospheric to say the least but man it’s so rewarding.’