Sponsored by
Deeping pensioner scales Nepalese mountain: Ain’t no mountain high enough
Jim Booth, from Market Deeping during his ascent of Mount Kyazo in Nepal. Photo supplied
A PENSIONER who has battled cancer for the last decade has become the oldest Briton to scale a mammoth 6,000-metre Nepalese mountain.
Jim Booth (67), who lives in Market Deeping, has been climbing mountains all his life and has not let numerous bouts with the illness get in his way.
The ex-marine was first diagnosed with eye cancer in 2000 and, since then, has had battles against cancer of the stomach, lymph nodes, liver and gall bladder.
Since the first diagnosis, Jim has climbed seven mountains in Nepal, including Mount Everest, and he has his own expedition company there.
He only recently returned, having for 20 days between November and December 2011 climbed the 6,186m -high Mount Kyazo – becoming the oldest Brit to ever reach the summit.
To make the feat even more impressive, he even took the difficult route rather than the less taxing one that is available on the other side of the mountain.
Jim said: “Luckily, I have a very sporty doctor and he thinks it’s great that I’m still active.
“I have no intention of going to Sue Ryder, I want to die on a crevasse or after being hit by an avalanche.
“I went up with a local Sherpa called Jetha Tamang, who I’ve done climbs with before.
“It was exhilirating when we got to the top. How it feels depends on how tired you are when you get there.
“Jetha’s shoe had broken the day before, so we had the chance to rest a bit.
“It can be done much easier from the other side, but they all seem to stumble on the last 500 metres.
“Luckily, the last 500 metres on my side are easier, so it helped at the end of the climb.
“Annoyingly, my camera ran out of batteries so I didn’t get any photos up there, but I got a certificate so that provesit.”
Jim is currently clear of cancer, but has regular check-ups
He added: “It seems to be a never-ending battle.
“I try my best not to think about it and, at the moment, I think I am all right.
“But I am back in on Monday for more tests, so I will have to keep my fingers crossed.”
After completing the trek, Jim stayed in Nepal to work for his business, Mongolian Treks and Expeditions Ltd.
He returned to Britain in the new year and is working part-time as a builder.
But Jim isn’t planning on putting his feet up for too long and already has his sights set on his next adventure – a climb up Pumori, a mountain next to Mount Everest.
He added: “It’s much harder than Everest. it doesn’t have climbing frames and ladders like Everest does now.”
Excerpts from Jim’s climbing diary
Day 1: Fly from Kathmandu to Lukla – world’s most feared airport.
Day 2: Trek up to Pakding, camp by a rope bridge overnight.
Day 3: Climb to Namche Bazaar (3,445m) and camp for two days.
Day 5: Bump into an old friend while going to Thame (3,820m).
Day 6: Trek up from Thame to Arye (4,200m), guts feeling dickie.
Day 7: Rest, set up base camp at 5,000m, only yaks for company.
Day 9: Secure route to camp 2 over frozen rock and snow.
Day 10: Dog falls into a snow-covered crevasse, only 3m deep.
Day 11: Relocate to camp 2, temperature is -20C.
Day 12: Attempt to make it to summit but Sherpa breaks shoe.
Day 13: Complete ascent, return to find jackal destroyed camp.
Day 14: Fire at camp and wash before starting six-day descent.
Day 20: Arrive at mountaineering office to receive certificate.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.