Sir Ranulph Fiennes has begun the arduous trek to Everest Base Camp, where he will make an attempt on the summit that previously defeated him.

The journey began with a forty minute flight on an 18 seat twin-propeller plane from Kathmandu, Nepal to Lukla, the market town at an elevation of 2,840m, where the ten day walk to Everest Base Camp begins.

The Yeti Airlines Air Hostess, in a pristine maroon uniform, handed out sweets from a silver tray as she picked her way over the rucksacks that lined the airplane’s narrow aisle dividing two rows of single seats.

Speaking yesterday from Namche Bazzar, Sagarmatha National Park, Sir Ranulph Fiennes said: “Acclimatisation is the key to success for people who aren’t big mountain climbers. We left Kathmandu yesterday morning and spent the night at a half way camp and then today we came up a fairly steep bit to Namche Bazzar. Compared with my attempt to climb Everest from Tibet three years ago and the approach to the base camp on the Tibetan side – the Nepali side is wonderful.”

Mountaineering is always risky but it is usually events such as avalanche or bad weather that can hamper an expedition. This year, unexpectedly, the challenge has come from China. The Olympic torch is heading for the summit of Everest from the Tibetan side and is due to arrive between May 1-10. For this period the mountain has been effectively closed on both the Nepali and Chinese side.

Kenton Cool, expedition leader, has secured climbing permits and the expedition is pushing ahead.

by Marie Curie Cancer Care