NORTHERN IRELAND MOUNTAINEER Noel Hanna has died in Nepal after climbing Annapurna, the tenth highest mountain in the world. 

Mingma Sherpa, the chairman of Seven Summit Treks, who organised the climb, confirmed to The Journal that Hanna scaled the 8,091 metre-high peak yesterday.

He said he died last night in Camp III after descending from the mountain.

“His body has been brought down and flown to Kathmandu,” Sherpa told AFP from Annapurna base camp.

Annapurna is situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province in north-central Nepal. It is considered one of the most challenging mountains to climb due to its steep and exposed routes and the frequent risk of avalanches and landslides.

Hanna, a prominent mountaineer from Co Down, was a renowned climber and had scaled Mount Everest ten times. In 2018, he became the first Irish person to successfully summit and descend K2.

In 2006, he climbed the world’s highest peak and then cycled from the route’s base camp to the sea in eastern India, reaching the Bay of Bengal after a marathon two-week bike ride.

Tributes

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Irish mountaineer Pat Falvey paid tribute to Hanna, calling him “one of our great adventurers”.

“He was a professional… He wasn’t being guided or anything like that. He was a professional mountaineer, and sometimes as professional mountaineers, we probably do take extra risks ourselves when we’re doing stuff. Annapurna is one of the most dangerous mountains in the world and sadly it has taken him,” Falvey said.

“Last night I went to bed and I was saying: ‘yes, he’s done it and hopefully he’ll get back’, but it’s coming down always or nearly always where the accidents happen.”

Falvey said he received a message from Kathmandu this morning informing him that Hanna had died.

“It’s just shock. Every time that I hear that, it’s the same thing. It’s shock.”

Tributes have also been paid to Hanna by a number of MLAs in Northern Ireland.

In a tweet, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said: “Devastating news concerning Noel Hanna.

“I had the privilege of meeting Noel and hearing about his mountain climbing exploits, including his conquest of Everest. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his fellow mountaineers at this sad time.”

Sorcha Eastwood of the Alliance Party said it was “desperately sad news”, and described Hanna as “a renowned athlete and adventurer”.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the entire Hanna family circle at this difficult time, the community of Dromara who have lost a very special son & the mountaineering community whom he so loved,” she said.

DUP MLA Paul Frew said: “So sorry to hear of the death of Noel Hanna from Northern Ireland who had just become the 1st Irish climber to summit Annapurna.”

He said Hanna was an “absolute legend” and expressed his condolences to his family.

Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard said: “Tragic news from Mount Annapurna in Nepal this morning as legendary Co Down mountaineer Noel Hanna has sadly lost his life after a climbing incident

“Slieve Croob man Noel was the first person from Ireland to successfully climb K2, and he also climbed the summit of Everest 10 times. Thoughts with Noel’s family & friends at this very tough time.”

In a statement on Facebook, Mourne Mountain Adventures, a guided hiking company in Northern Ireland, also paid tribute to Hanna.

“Very saddened to hear of the passing of Noel Hanna this morning. Local to the Mournes Noel was the first person from Ireland to successfully climb K2, and astonishingly he climbed the summit of Everest 10 times,” the company wrote.

“There is some peace in that he spent his last moments doing what he loved best, such a great man and one of Northern Ireland’s finest mountaineers.”

Rescue

Rescuers and helicopters were busy on the mountain on Tuesday in efforts to locate three other Indian climbers.

Record-holding Indian climber Baljeet Kaur, 28, and compatriot Arjun Vajpai, 30, were both rescued after a search lasting hours, the tourism department said.

Another 34-year-old Indian climber, who fell into a crevasse on Monday, is yet to be found.

The spring Himalayan climbing season had a tragic start last week with the death of three Nepali climbers on Everest.

The trio were crossing the treacherous Khumbu icefall on Wednesday as part of a supply mission when a block of glacial ice fell and swept them into a deep crevasse.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring climbing season, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.

The government has issued more than 700 climbing permits for various Himalayan mountains this season, including 319 for Everest.

Contains reporting from © AFP 2023